For all her gripes about being alone, Juliana Hatfield's really good at it. And she's never done it better than "Oh," on Made in China (Ye Olde Records). Playing every instrument, she fights through the fuzz and finds her inner rock goddess. Strutting suits her. As a quick, cheap reaction to her previous album, the well-behaved In Exile Deo, Made in China is deliberately sloppy and proudly raw. Now that she's running her own label instead of answering to AAA bosses, Hatfield's ditched the keyboards and violins in favor of more guitar solos, and she even manages to find a groove, if only briefly. She's no stranger to getting the blues, but she's never gotten this close to playing the blues. It's best not to wallow too long, though: The pop petulance of "Going Blonde" is a highlight at 79 seconds, while the God-baiting "Send Money," at nearly five minutes, gets old quick. There's still a lot of griping — even "Digital Penetration," Hatfield's approximation of a lust song, sounds like a wish unfulfilled — but for now she seems to accept that being alone means calling the shots. Good for her. Good for us.

Wed., Aug. 17, 8 p.m., $13, with Illinois and Bad News Bats, North Star Bar, 27th and Poplar sts., 215-684-0808, www.northstarbar.com.