*** Angela Strehli

DEJA BLUE

(House of Blues)

This Austin-bred barroom belter's first self-produced album (she's also its primary songwriter) turns out to be her best, full of no-frills numbers delivered with power and brass. Up-tempo tunes like "Boogie like You Wanna" and "Cut You Loose" -- really, most of the CD -- let Strehli push her hard-edged voice like a rocker, which suits her fine. Guitarist Mike Schermer keeps the licks coming, fast-and-tight Texas style. For these two, the blues aren't about subtlety so much as energy, and it's near impossible not to get swept up in the tailwind of their hell-bent-for-good-times delivery. Save for the requisite simmering ballad, this is old-fashioned barrelhousing music -- pure and direct. The soulful vocal turn from Strehli and Doug Sahm on the duet "Too Late" is a bonus.

-- Ted Drozdowski