On Market Street

Original punk chanteuse Penelope Houston must be of hardy stock: still touring with a revised version of her groundbreaking band Avengers some 30 years after their heyday, she also makes records of her own, having released roughly a dozen since 1988. Singer/songwriter aficionados may be reticent to trust the onetime punk queen to deliver the goods. To them, we say phhhht!. Named for the rough-and-tumble avenue that runs through her hometown of San Francisco, On Market Street replaces some of the folkier flavors of past records (and instruments like mandolin and accordion) with a more polished, radio-friendly sound. Delightful touches like B-3 organ, Wurlitzer piano, and Mellotron build ambiance alongside guitars and strings, and Houston’s voice is pretty and robust on the sultry and soulful “All the Way,” the lush, string-laden “Winter Coats,” and the Lucinda Williams–ish “Missouri Lounge.” Houston exorcises and soothes recent personal demons (like a painful divorce and a messy lawsuit) but manages several playful moments too. “USSA” and “Scrap,” which show an artist still clearly having fun.