Thursday Sleepers
Fri., March 14, 2008
Amy Lavere
8pm, Antone's In 2007, Amy Lavere caused quite a stir with her second effort, the Jim Dickinson-produced Anchors & Anvils (Archer). The upright-bass-playing Memphis resident possesses a smoky, waiflike voice and the ability to charm country, blues, and gypsy jazz into a mesmerizing whole. (Also: Friday, March 14, 12mid @ Opal Divine's Freehouse.) – Jim Caligiuri
FM Belfast
8pm, Maggie Mae's Rooftop Before the Dirty Projectors re-envisioned Black Flag or Jeffrey Lewis had his way with Crass, this Icelandic electro-pop outfit applied postmodern irony to Rage Against the Machine's "Killing in the Name," turning the political battle cry into slick club anthem "Lotus." The Reykjavik-based collective, which at times features members of Terrordisco and Múm, has a forthcoming LP for Brooklyn's Thugfucker Recordings. – Austin Powell
Pyeng Threadgill
8:15pm, Elephant Room Daughter of famed jazz saxophonist/composer Henry Threadgill and choreographer/dancer Christina Jones, this NYC singer's two highly acclaimed albums, 2004's Sweet Home: The Music of Robert Johnson and 2005's Of the Air, earned her well-deserved accolades. She's been described as a cross between Cassandra Wilson and Jill Scott by way of Nina Simone. – Jay Trachtenberg
Squincy Jones
9pm, Karma Lounge Squincy Jones (born Shane Rector) shares more in common with the legendary producer than just the name riff. The unsigned DJ brings a new flavor to Houston, blending Baltimore club with electro beats and Cali hyph. Top that off with that classic H-Town drip. Look for the recently released collaboration with fellow DJ Witnes. – Chase Hoffberger
Wussy
9pm, Bourbon Rocks Cincinnati, Ohio's Wussy is Chuck Cleaver (ex-Ass Ponys) and Lisa Walker, who share songwriting and vocal duties. Their second disc, Left for Dead (Shake It), finds them moving further away from the despair of their initial outing into a place that's almost sunny. – Jim Caligiuri
Bodies of Water
9pm, Mohawk Patio Remember the first time you saw the Polyphonic Spree? L.A. quartet Bodies of Water retains that jubilation on its debut, Ears Will Pop & Eyes Will Blink (Thousand Tongues), distributed by Secretly Canadian. A pair of guys and gals sing in tandem, sometimes in round, always with alacrity, while experimenting with cadence and melody. – Darcie Stevens
Screamin' Cyn Cyn & the Pons
10pm, Molotov Lounge This Madison, Wisc., quartet oozes zany-brained, bop-happy irreverence that'll make your teeth hurt. Cyn Cyn and company's 2007 sophomore effort, Screamin' Target Heart Rate (Crustacean), takes dead aim at drunken steno-pool harridans in "Pedro's" before injecting a ridiculous, cheerleader-style flatware count-off in "Set the Table." – Greg Beets
Anathallo
10pm, Spiros Although their beautifully crafted orchestral pop has been inevitably, and justifiably, saddled with Sufjan Stevens comparisons, Anathallo's ambitious and intricately woven sound is its own unique wonder. Following a string of fine EPs, the Chicago-by-way-of-Michigan septet's 2006 debut LP, Floating World (Artist Friendship), reworks Japanese folktales through elaborate arrangements and Matt Joynt's vocal trills. – Doug Freeman
Glossary
10:15pm, Habana Calle 6 Patio 2007 was a banner year for Glossary. The Murfreesboro, Tenn., quintet self-released The Better Angels of Our Nature, a raw amalgam of indie attitude and Southern rock. They were also part of the This Is American Music tour with the Drams, Two Cow Garage, and Grand Champeen. 2008 finds them opening selected dates for the Drive-by Truckers. – Jim Caligiuri
Brooklyn
11pm, Maggie Mae's Rooftop At the front of the emerging French rock revolution is Brooklyn, Paris' fourpiece fueled by 1960s-style backing vocals and an allegiance to the almighty major chord. Their "Volcanology" single, out on the UK's Ctrl Alt Del label, punches good vibrations that suggest Brooklyn's just happy to be here. – Chase Hoffberger
Robert Gomez
11pm, Spiros The latest Dentonite signed to UK imprint Bella Union, Robert Gomez began his musical career as a young classical Cuban guitar phenom before turning his efforts to lush indie rock with 2005's aptly titled debut, Etherville. Last year's Brand New Towns shimmered with the vibrant glow of Grandaddy's softer moments, while Gomez's hushed vocals and haunted lyrical style recalled Elliott Smith. – Doug Freeman
Pink Nasty
11pm, Habana Calle 6 Annex Austin's Sara Beck may be as nasty as she wants to be, but her quiet, plaintive songwriting is likely to impress more for its unadorned emotion. Recent CD Mold the Gold is louder and more forceful than previous outings but no less beautiful. – Marc Savlov
Magnet School
11pm, Light Bar Austin rockers Magnet School are what the Foo Fighters should sound like. The fourpiece plows through debut Tonight We Drink & Tomorrow We Battle the Evil at Hand (Arclight) with power beyond the Richter scale. Yet the School is more than bashing and blasting; they love structure, dynamics, and harmonics, piling them up on top of one another until the whole stack comes crashing down with glee. – Darcie Stevens
Simply Saucer
11pm, B.D. Riley's This Canadian export was once heralded "the single greatest 1970s band to have influenced absolutely no one." Well, Hamilton, Ontario, wasn't exactly a psych-rock hotbed in 1973, when vocalist Edgar Breau founded the group. Their only recorded output, the excellent Cyborgs Revisited, released posthumously in 1989, glimpses the quartet's blues/prog/garage kaleidoscope. – Audra Schroeder
Chatham County Line
11pm, Continental Club With their newly released and aptly titled fourth disc, IV (Yep Roc), Raleigh, N.C.'s Chatham County Line has veered into previously uncharted territory. While still an acoustic quartet, the band mixes blues and rock into its bluegrass sound for a heady new mix that's easily adapted to producer Chris Stamey's legendary style. – Jim Caligiuri
Ponytail
11pm, Emo's Lounge Two guitars, rumbling drums, and a girl versed in animal sounds. The Baltimore quartet began as an art-school experiment, but thanks to its 2006 debut, Kamehameha (Creative Capitalism), Ponytail's uncovered a melodic personality not found live. Expect the unexpected from singer Molly Siegel. (Also: Saturday, March 15, 10pm @ Mohawk Patio.) – Chase Hoffberger
Patty Hurst Shifter
11pm, Dirty Dog Bar Drawing in equal measures from Raleigh's alt.country and indie rock, Patty Hurst Shifter proves capable of guitar-driven bar-band anthems and open-road ballads. Recently releasing the second in a trilogy of EPs, Coma la Grava (Pants on Fire), the quartet gnarls gravel into J. Chris Smith's twanging whine and even scampers into a poppy lilt. – Doug Freeman
The Weakerthans
11pm, Cedar Street Courtyard The Weakerthans craft the kind of personal, self-consciously sentimental indie rock that endears itself to devoted fans, like Death Cab for Cutie if Ben Gibbard sang about missing pets, hockey, or lonely industrial machines. Four years after the exceptional Reconstruction Site, the Winnipeg, Manitoba, quartet finally returned with last fall's fourth, Reunion Tour (Epitaph/Anti-). – Doug Freeman
Mark Mallman
11pm, Wave Minneapolis' Mark Mallman was born about 30 years too late to be a visionary, so instead, he settles for being a revisionary. His Between the Devil and Middle C (Badman) would have been perfect 1970s AM radio fodder to sandwich between 10cc and Elton John. – Michael Bertin
Witnes
11pm, Karma Lounge A staple on the Houston party scene for the past decade, DJ Witnes is best known for running the Proletariat's Rock Box jam every Thursday night. Voted Best DJ of 2006 by the Houston Press, Witnes keeps feet moving with a steady rotation of classic hip-hop and booty-shakin' soul. – Chase Hoffberger
Tokyo Sex Destruction
11:20pm, Red Eyed Fly Operating on reckless tempos, Tokyo Sex Destruction is more than a clever name. The Barcelona fivepiece pushes hard-assed power soul on 2005's Black Noise Is the New Sound!, a mash of Sly & the Family Stone and MC5. Expect an LP this year. – Chase Hoffberger
Shout Out Out Out Out
11:30pm, Beauty Bar Backyard With four basses, two drummers, and a shitload of hyperactive beats, Edmonton, Alberta, dance-rockers Shout Out Out Out Out mix Canadian brethren Chromeo with Devo. 2006 debut LP, Not Saying/Just Saying (Nrmls Wlcm), shook it up, replete with jarring synth, vocoder, and lots of cowbell. – Darcie Stevens
Hot Springs
12mid, Maggie Mae's Giselle Webber has a voice as ferocious as it is precious, and on Montreal quartet Hot Springs' debut LP, Volcano (Quire), she lets loose. Less pickled than Grace Slick, Webber runs her intense vibrato hot and cold, and she's not afraid to freak out, crawl around, howl in the mic, and gyrate. The fury of "Headrush," with bass solo (!), is bound to break through stateside. – Darcie Stevens
Ungdomskulen
12mid, Maggie Mae's Rooftop Ungdomskulen roughly translates to "middle school," which doesn't really prepare you for the post-punk onslaught brought by this Bergen, Norway, trio. The band's 2007 debut, Cry-Baby, jumps into the rhythmic convulsions of At the Drive-In but with jazzier guitar lines. What's Norwegian for "Expressway to Yr Skull?" – Austin Powell
Northampton Wools
12mid, Hideout This should be a highlight for fans of Thurston Moore's improvisational guitar work. Northampton Wools is a freewheeling meeting of guitar masters, with Moore meeting his match in Bill Nace of Vampire Belt. The duo's sure to turn up the volume, and as dueling axes go, intensity is ensured. (Also: Friday, March 14, 8pm @ Mohawk.) – Dan Oko
Phonograph
12mid, Light Bar Arclight Records doesn't release a lot of out-of-town creations, but the local imprint brought Brooklyn's Phonograph into the fold last February, releasing the quintet's self-titled debut. An unusual mix of Americana with a touch of avant-garde, Phonograph is hard to pinpoint, exemplified on 2007 EP Hiawatha Talking Machine, which blends piano, pedal steel, monosynth, and strings. – Darcie Stevens
BoyS Noize
12:30m, Beauty Bar Backyard One-man remix angel Alexander Ridha, aka Boys Noize, has tackled mashy, meaty redos of everyone from the Kaiser Chiefs to Marilyn Manson, rendering the originals dishwater-dull by comparison. Debut CD Oi Oi Oi isn't likely to be endorsed by the National Front, but that doesn't mean you can't skank if you want to. – Marc Savlov
Yeasayer
1am, Emo's Lounge Yeasayer takes a patchwork approach to world music. The Brooklyn-based quartet's debut, All Hour Cymbals (We Are Free), layers everything from Middle Eastern guitar and droning sitars to 1960s psychedelia, Afrobeat rhythms, and space-age atmospherics atop an indie rock foundation. The result is surprisingly concise and ultramodern. Call it the new density. – Austin Powell
Skratch Bastid
1am, Karma Lounge Paul Murphy morphed into Skratch Bastid when he got himself a set of turntables as a teenager in Halifax, Canada. Now a DJ and producer, Bastid opened up 2005 with the release of Taking Care of Business (First Things First) and closed 2007 producing Buck 65's Situation. Now based in Montreal, the redhead's quick to mix James Brown, Three 6 Mafia, and U2. – Chase Hoffberger
Tita Lima
1am, Copa This São Paulo, Brazil, native and daughter of Os Mutantes bassist Arnolpho Lima Filho serves up a refreshing take on Brazilian samba and bossa nova, adding tasteful touches of electronica and hip-hop. Fans of Bebel Gilberto and Céu will love the global grooves of Lima's 2006 solo debut, 11:11 (Bélu Music). – Thomas Fawcett
