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Outside of a silence = death T-shirt, widescreen politics have never been a strong suit of this gravel-voiced vet of such indie-circuit scene-definers as Live Skull and Come. Which might explain her ham-fisted, Bush-is-a-Christian-who- lies album title.

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Duos simplify the concept of "band" as far as it can go before becoming "solo artist." Synth pop made duos an emotionally unique form, testifying, "Us and our funny haircuts against the world, baby. All I need is a keyboard, an arpeggiator, and thou." Hip-hop's "He's the DJ, I'm the rapper" steez brought bold ambition -- here's a turntable, a mic; let's change the world.

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On 2006's Evangelista, ex– Geraldine Fibbers frontwoman Carla Bozulich teamed up with Montreal musicians from avantchamber- rock collectives (Godspeed You!

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Drums that can't decide between the dance floor and art school, guitars that flicker and nod versus a bassist futzing between smooth rhythm and chunky riffs, a stock-still gal punching buttons, and a singer whose ranting may or may not mean something. These New Puritans prove the model perfected by New Order ain't dying anytime soon.

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All blues-punk duos, the Black Keys included, start with a reverence for the source material and the thrill of ruled composition. They get ragged for a while (in the Keys' case, for four albums), eventually establishing bona fides. Then comes the futzing around (see the thick thrum of the White Stripes' "Seven Nation Army").

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Four vets of the Chicago outsider-rock scene do not quite a supergroup make, but when the band includes two guys from U.S. Maple, whose output features some of the most deeply alien takes on punk ever, you pay attention. Like Maple, Singer tie minimalist songs into Gordian knots: Clean guitars stab and moan, while drums skate around the rhythm, rather than hammer it home.