by JOHNSON CUMMINS

When bands like the Birthday Party and the Gun Club first started merging punk with blues in the early '80s, it seemed like an obvious pairing. The genres shared a primal simplicity, a sense of urgency and passionate, straight-from-the-guts delivery. Now blue-eyed bluesmen like Zen Guerilla and Jon Spencer Blues Explosion are continuing in the tradition of Nick Cave and Jeffrey Lee Pierce, and it looks like the Black Keys may be the ones to lead the charge.

This Akron, Ohio, duo's new CD Rubber Factory is a sure bet for critics' year-end lists and, with its modest yet inventive production, possesses the same gritty charm as records by Junior Kimbrough or the Sonics. "We recorded our new record in our rehearsal space again," explains singer/guitarist Dan Auerbach. "We've always recorded this way, we don't really know any other way. We did try to record at another studio once and it was just horrible. It's these multimillion-dollar places and those guys just don't want you to touch their stuff, so it just makes for a really uncomfortable experience."

Despite the Black Keys' blues and raw soul leanings, they still seem to be somewhat of a black sheep, compared with tried and true bluesmen like their label-mates Model T. Ford and R.L. Burnside. The Epitaph offshoot Fat Possum, to which they're signed, may be a leading label for raw blues, but the Keys could care less about pissing off the purists with their rock 'n' roll racket. "Fat Possum has been really cool with us, by making sure that record stores don't rack us in the blues section. That was one of our conditions when we signed with them and they totally understood. I don't think we are traditional in any way.

"I love blues music, it's how I learned to do what I do and it will always be there. But Pat [Carney, drummer] pretty much hates blues music. He's more into Yes right now."

With the Cuts and Starvin Hungry at Cabaret tonight, Thursday, Sept. 30, 9:30 p.m., $17.50

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