Trouble in the Streets (single & music video release), Viben & the Submersibles, Casual T [control room]

Friday’s gig serves as a single launch for “Can I Breathe,” and you can already imagine how the crowd will go off when Trouble in the Streets detonates that song onstage. A balance of tranquility and explosiveness, it begins with Nnedi Agbaroji plaintively repeating the titular question, then crescendos into a volcanic electro-rap section where she breathlessly rhymes over bass drops and intense synth stabs from multi-instrumentalist Andy Leonard. It’s an in-your-face compliment to November’s “Dreaming of Forever,” a sprightly electronic pop song urging people to see past their differences and relate, and both lead into the electronic/hip-hop/R&B/rock trio’s forthcoming debut LP on Spaceflight Records. Prime yourself with the sleek, fresh funk of Viben & the Submersibles, and bass music maestro Casual T. – Kevin Curtin