Workin’, the latest album from Leigh Evin McCullough and the Low Downs, throbs out of the speakers in a burst of power. McCullough’s voice is raw and honest, like her lyrics. “He said ‘I want a girl who fucks like a whore,’ ” she growls in one fearless tribute to the power of well-placed profanity.

Don’t get me wrong: her voice doesn’t have the shaggy cigarette feel of a Joplin or a Holiday. McCullough is more of a Dylan, with a wandering warble that keeps threatening to rebel against the tune without ever quite doing so. Backed by guitars both electric and acoustic, an occasional piano and a motley assortment of rhythm-makers ranging from drums to cowbells to a vibraslap, McCullough and the Low Downs (Chuck Sansone, Jeff Sielk, J.R. Wydra) provide a satisfying dose of rock that’ll rough up your ears any day of the week.

Favorite Track: “Mind Over Matter”