To anyone who has prematurely declared rock dead — a ridiculous claim belied by the shortest trip outside the desert of the modern mainstream — here is your rejoinder. The self-titled debut from Portland and D.C.-based supergroup Wild Flag, composed of ex-members of ’90s indie alt-rock mainstays Sleater-Kinney, Helium and The Minders, is rock ‘n’ roll at its most elemental: It’s energetic, rebellious, sexual and a hell of a lot of fun.

It’s an album so in love with the genre that when vocalist Carrie Brownstein — a music writer and, more interestingly, co-star (with Fred Armisen) of the IFC sketch show Portlandia since Sleater-Kinney’s breakup — sings to a lover on opening track “Romance,” she doesn’t appear to be addressing a person so much as rock itself.

At the very least, the foundation of their relationship is musical (“We love the sound/ the sound is what found us/ the sound is the blood between me and you.”)

On the surface, the music seems like straightforward punk, but it includes inflections that nod in surprising directions. Yes, Brownstein sings like Joey Ramone, and those guitars are often as messy and stripped-down as anything heard in underground New York clubs in the ’70s, but they can also turn around and deliver a solo as spaced-out as anything played by The Edge at U2’s peak, and Janet Weiss’s drumming is as wild as Keith Moon’s.

“Endless Talk” begins with a blues-rock riff that could’ve been written by The Black Keys at their best, then flowers into a major-key, organ-backed romp. It’s a pop song as reinterpreted by The Ramones.

The epic, nearly seven minute “Racehorse” comes off as the band’s take on Led Zeppelin, both for its bluesy central riff that’s used almost as a punctuation mark for the increasingly freewheeling instrumentation layered on top of it and for fantastically unsubtle lyrics like “Pony up and ride” and “Put your love on me.”

The album, sure to be a fixture on year-end best-of lists, is every bit as wild as its name suggests. It’s loud, adrenaline-fueled and as purely, effortlessly entertaining as music gets. Punk isn’t dead — it just went to Oregon.

VERDICT: Wild Flag is the rare supergroup to meet — and even exceed — high expectations. The band’s self-titled debut is one of the best records of the year.

rgifford@umdbk.com