Rock/pop

Praising a rock duo for its supposed "full sound" is like praising a pony for doing a really good horse impression. People of earth: There's nothing wrong with a duo actually sounding like a duo. That's the secret lesson on the Moggs' long-awaited The White Belt is Not Enough (Absolutely Kosher). Sparse is OK. Raw is OK. There are no groovy basslines to make it all smooth and dancey, and that's OK too. Jangly guitarist Sir Plus and crashy drummer Miss Minor split (but hardly ever share) vocal duties and mostly eschew multitrack trickery. And the San Francisco-based kids are a couple of analog nerds to boot, so they actually recorded their paranoid/sensual songs at Abbey Road Studios in London and sought out vintage equipment. It's garagey and primal and minimalist, for better or worse. It's a pony. I dig a pony. Let it be.

Thu., Sept. 1, 9 p.m., $8, with Relay, Diagram and Mittens, The Khyber, 56 S. Second St., 215-238-5888, www.thekhyber.com.