A3 Adds Dose of Sin-Salvation to Techno-Blues

With eight musicians sporting pseudonyms and an array of Western wear, spiffy suits, shades and hats, British techno-blues act A3 looked like punk gangsters holding a revival meeting at the Roxy on Saturday. The presentation was almost campy, especially because the band kicked off with its most recognizable number, the electro-funky “Woke Up This Morning,” a.k.a. the theme for HBO’s Mafia drama “The Sopranos.”

Still, singer Rob Spragg (a.k.a. Larry Love) and rapper Jake Black (the Very Reverend Dr. D Wayne Love) had deeper points to make during the almost 90-minute set, drawn from the Brixton-based collective’s current album, “La Peste” (French for “plague”), as well as its 1997 debut, “Exile on Coldharbour Lane.”

The group’s blend of sacred and profane fit a grand pop tradition harking back at least to Robert Johnson and Jerry Lee Lewis. However, A3 wrapped its themes of sin/salvation in a modern fusion of organic blues and gospel, pulsing beats and buzzing electronica whipped up with guitar, keyboards, percussion and harmonica. Its songs, while not devoid of ego, were less self-aggrandizing, ruminating on such issues as drug abuse, police brutality and the plight of the underclasses.

But the messages were secondary to the hypnotic, dissonant groove, which at its best evoked the devilish cacophony of late-’60s Rolling Stones. However, the irony at the heart of A3’s style ultimately kept the show from reaching the over-the-top frenzy that made Mick Jagger et al. seem truly dangerous in their day.