The one instant comparison drawn from a listen to The Wanderer’s Drift’s Rowdy is the White Stripes. A closer listen reveals subtly hidden classic rock and modern rock influences with another power duo coming to mind: Local H.

Aside from being a duo—Mego Rene on drums, Church Rowe on guitar—there are a lot of stripped-down garage rock, pre-Icky Thump sounds a la the White Stripes—though it lacks the punch of “Seven Nation Army,” Rowdy benefits from stronger drumming from this Meg and a lead singer who does not sound like Jack White looks.

Like the Stripes, The Wanderer’s Drift switches lead duties. Unlike the Stripes, Mego’s songs aren’t throwaway tracks. Her “Bruce and the German” (which adds a playful dance beat) steals the show. A concept album, Rowdy follows two vagrants making their way across town, rocking out, then deciding to rob a bank. Audio interludes that sound like pocket recordings from the ne’er-do-wells link the songs with a common thread but hinder the record a bit with a slew of intro recordings that don’t go anywhere and prolong things.

Nonetheless, they catch the spirit well: the pair sounds a little too at home here; you almost might think it’s for real. Even in songs about being a thief and robbing banks, surprising and cryptic poetry sneak into Rowdy.

It’s these well-worded and completely under-emphasized lines—“Why would I wait ’til the walls crash down, knowing that I won’t make a sound to get you back/ No, not after that/ Sulphuric animosity, without reciprocity, creates an illusion that hates you back.”—that belie the unpolished vibe of the record and make it worth repeated, deeper listens.