As the 21st century unfolds, along with its increasing parade of broadly influenced and accordingly eclectic young artists, it gets more and more difficult to trace the whereabouts of the bona fide rock bloodline. You can find newer acts who nod to it, but the purity of first- and second-generation rock keeps getting further diluted. Those who seek the actual source should investigate Buskers’ Blusterade, which carries an authority not frequently heard in today’s post-postmodern, genre-jumbled indie scene. While it does plenty of style-shuffling of its own, blending elements of roots-rock, blues, guitar-fueled classic rock, gritty singer/songwriter fare and alternative country, there’s nonetheless a coherent original identity contained on this debut disc from Skunky Rooster. Even the inside-joke-based band name is a clue to the longstanding history behind this effort: Skunky Rooster is comprised of guitarist/vocalist Scott Rath and drummer Seth Pappas, who began their partnership in the mid-’70s, playing country- and Southern-rock in the popular Boston-area band Zachariah before going their separate ways to professional careers—Pappas to progressive bluegrass, blues and R&B, Rath to L.A. and stints with high-powered names in rock and SoCal country before eventually landing in Nashville. The pair’s collective pedigree goes a long way toward explaining the well-oiled and weighty sound they create.

While there are many recognizable vintage ingredients in the mix, they’re well digested and often difficult to precisely pinpoint in these 13 originals, written mostly by Rath. Among the several tracks that, when combined, tell an apparently biographical hard-knocks story are the guitar-chunky “Signals Crossed” and “Damage Control,” the latter a sparse rocker wielding a Deep Purple-shaded riff and a dark, tom-tom-driven vibe. “The Lie,” with its even more penetrating lyric about dealing with downer days, is a straightforward yet cliche-free blues-rock outing with a moody, soaring lead break that brings to mind former Thin Lizzy axeman Gary Moore. “Somewhere Between Lost and Found,” which shrugs off songwriting conventions by taking its name from a sole line in the verse rather than a predictable chorus hook, treads ragged Americana territory a la Steve Earle, pitting a plaintive mandolin against plangent electric guitar.

While the sour subject matter could become burdensome in the hands of lesser writers, Rath’s lyrics avoid self-pity, surveying the wreckage in a clear-eyed manner that neither underplays nor overdramatizes the setbacks he sings about. This sober approach, coupled with Rath’s sometimes craggy vocals, occasionally suggests the work of the late Warren Zevon (an admitted songwriting influence with whom the guitarist briefly worked in the 1980s). Relief and redemption appear, though, on the romantic and grateful “Through My Veins” and the searing, never-say-die statement “Stand Strong,” its determined stance signified by guitars both potent and pungent, and further buttressed by propulsive bass guitar courtesy of rock veteran David Hull (whose credits include recent sub duties for ailing Aerosmith bassist Tom Hamilton).

While other guest musicians make tasteful contributions and Pappas’s drumming masterfully supports each of the diverse tracks here, it’s Rath’s taut, impassioned lead and slide work that most often steals the show, demonstrating impressive tone and control. The guitar-hungry will lick their lips over the instrumental title cut in particular, a snappy shuffle that would’ve sounded right at home on a Stevie Ray Vaughan album. As did the dearly departed Stevie Ray, Rath has fashioned a personal style by borrowing from greats like Jimi Hendrix, Jeff Beck and more traditional-leaning blues players. As the band’s frontman and main writer, Rath is more driven by raw artistic expression than by commercial inclinations, perhaps an acknowledgment that real-deal rock and blues currently have little hope of finding a mainstream outlet anyway. In any case, with Buskers’ Blusterade, Skunky Rooster has delivered a classic-styled yet fresh-sounding album of breadth and power that proves this funky fowl to be a uncommon bird.

(available through iTunes and CD Baby, and can be streamed on Spotify)