Tesla’s most recognizable work thus far has been its acoustic remake of “Signs,” released last year as part of the grab-bag Five Man Acoustical Jam live album—and that’s too bad. When chugging along at full speed, with guitars sufficiently amplified and distorted, Tesla is one of the best straight-ahead rock bands around. You’ll find no girly falsettos or anemic anthems on a Tesla record; lithe vocalist Jeff Keith’s rasp, the dual guitar attack of Frank Hannon and Tommy Skeoch, and the meat-and-potatoes rhythm section make for an Aerosmith of the ‘90s, capable of ballsy no-frills rock with a lyrical flair.

The group’s two previous studio albums, Mechanical Resonance and The Great Radio Controversy, contained at least half an album’s worth of strong material (“Heaven’s Trail,” “Modern Day Cowboy,” “To Be A Man” among them). Psychotic Supper offers a higher noteworthy-to-filler ratio. “Call It What You Want” builds predictably to the chorus but is executed with such finesse that the release is still uplifting. And it contains the lyrical twist “music means a lot to me/like love make it when I can,” which comes across not so much as a boast as a sincere representation of Keith’s main interests. “What You Give” and “Toke About It” are equally self-explanatory, “Freedom Slaves” more complex. The musicians may occasionally get a bit self-indulgent with the tremolo bar (“Edison’s Medicine”). But when they dream up a title that refers to the bizarre dining habits of a late-19th-Century inventor (Nikola Tesla), a little overindulgence is understandable.