HIGH-OCTANE PUNK, BLUES

Band: That Petrol Emotion.

Personnel: Steve Mack, vocals; Ciaran McLaughlin, drums; Reamann O’Gormain, guitar; Sean O’Neill, guitar; Damian O’Neill, bass.

History: Just another London-based band from Northern Ireland with a singer from Seattle. . . . Sean O’Neill, McLaughlin and O’Gormain got together in their hometown of Derry, Northern Ireland, in 1985, and soon relocated to London, where Sean’s brother Damian had settled (the O’Neills had played a major role in the original ‘70s punk upheaval as founding members of the Undertones). In London, they recruited Seattle-native Mack, who was working in a pizza parlor. That Petrol Emotion released its first single, “Keen,” on Pink Records, and followed it up with “V2” on its own Noiseanoise label. Demon Records issued TPE’s first album, “Manic Pop Thrill,” in spring of 1986, and the LP topped the U.K. independent charts for six weeks. The group went on to sign with Polydor Records and released its second album, “Babble” (produced by Roli Mosimann, a member of psychic-assault bands Swans and Wiseblood) in June. The group has just moved to Virgin Records, which has just put out a new single, “Genius Move,” as TPE starts its first American tour.

Sound: The sleeves of both “Babble” and the new single feature excerpts from essays on England’s oppression of the Irish, but you won’t find too much hard politics in the music itself. The lyrics’ concerns are more general as the band casts a wary but playful eye at the grimness and glory of modern life. With a musical vocabulary built largely on blues and punk, TPE serves up a down-to-earth, ungimmicky rock sound (but with some studio touches for dynamism), and remains pretty solidly traditional while looking for some new ways to twist old tricks. That Petrol Emotion hasn’t quite distilled a distinctive voice yet, but it’s off to a solid start, and in “Babble’s” standout track--an extended version of the thundering, Velvet Underground-style blues-rocker “Big Decision”--it’s better than that.

Shows: Wednesday at the Roxy, Saturday at the Coach House.