CMJ: A Rocket Out of This Place

Chad Batka for The New York Times Deap Vally.

Bottom line first: Deap Vally was too good for the room. Playing Wednesday night at the Fader Fort, a pop-up space organized by the music and style magazine in a Williamsburg building that also houses Rubber Tracks, a Converse-sponsored recording studio, the band was confident and direct and efficient. You'd be surprised what short supply those things are in during CMJ.

Deap Vally is a Los Angeles duo â€" Lindsey Troy on vocals and guitar, Julie Edwards behind the drums â€" that walks a path made familiar by the White Stripes, the Black Keys and any number of acts who can't get along with a third or fourth member.

Even though Ms. Troy and Ms. Edwards met at a needle work class, they both wore spangled outfits here. Together, they made for a band with a polished, firm idea of itself. It's already signed to Island Records, through a partnership with Communion Records, which is founded in part by Ben Lovett of Mumford & Sons. Ms. Troy said that the band had just spent a month recording its debut album.

Ms. Troy was once was in a folksy major-label sister duo, The Troys, which worked with pop powerhouses the Matrix; she's been down this road before, and it showed. She's an earthy, strong singer with just a bit of sarcastic edge. All together, it was a 1960s garage-rock setup delivering 1970s scuzz-rock lyrics with 1980s arena-rock vocal ambition. It was cheap and brassy. It was a cold slap. It went by in a blur.