The Soft Moon

Luis Vasquez turns his Bay Area-based Soft Moon project from rickety, guitar-driven post-punk to an even bleaker realm of zombified synth and grim percussion. In line with the "-wave" suffixes that circulated the Euro underground circa 1979, Deeper – his third LP – plunges into his most self-assured head space yet. Vasquez never beat around the bush, but it's particularly audacious to pen an album full of abject darkness and still be willing to hit the nail on the head with song titles including "Black," "Wasting," "Wrong," and "Try." Deeper is a dreary journey, but it's not exactly anti-social either. Hooks buoy the desolation, "Far" reaching a double-time, dance-floor chug, and "Being" glimmering early Cure. (Fri., 11pm, Elevation Amphitheater)