Jain
Wed. 15, the Gatsby, 8:30pmParis-based Jain could’ve been another sensitive singer-songwriter. Instead, she started playing around with drum loops. 2015 debut Zanaka drew from rhythms she absorbed while growing up in the Congo and United Arab Emirates. “Makeba” honors Miriam Makeba with an irresistible fusion of Afro-pop and roller boogie.
Slow Steve
Wed. 15, Speakeasy Kabaret, 11pmFrench expat and Fenster vet Rémi Letournelle leads his Berlin-based project on a breezy analog synth journey through sci-fi dreams populated by sloths and giant spider crabs. Mellow pop melodics on 2016’s Adventures ring vivid but opaque.
Sleigh Bells
Wed. 15, Banger’s, 12midVeteran hardcore multi-instrumentalist meets teen pop alumnae and the rest is history. With all the subtlety of a Fox News stinger, this Brooklyn duo’s distorted take on electro-pop musses up high-end cacophony with hypercaffeinated allusions to a cleanup hitter’s at-bat music. Their latest, Jessica Rabbit, smooths the gnarled edges somewhat.
The New Pornographers
Wed. 15, Stubb’s, 12:20amVenerable Vancouver power-pop juggernaut unveils its synth-heavy seventh LP, Whiteout Conditions, on the band-owned Collected Works label next month. Head Pornographer A.C. Newman likens the new disc to a Krautrockers 5th Dimension. That brilliantly ridiculous notion shimmers through on “High Ticket Attractions” even without the obtuse Jimmy Webb imagery.
Mama
Wed. 15, Hotel Vegas, 1amThis boot-stomping bubble-glam quartet out of Chicago plies action-packed hard rock streaked with dishwater strains of power-pop. It’s as if the Sweet were reborn as 21st century Midwesterners. 2016’s Eye in the Sky EP brims with hooks, but the guitar solos and lurid subject matter snag the no-goodnik older brother demographic.
Gabriella Cohen
Thu. 16, Central Presbyterian Church, 9pmHailing from Melbourne, Australia, Cohen cut her teeth fronting Brisbane-based garage combo the Furrs before recording 2016’s Full Closure and No Details. Her auspicious debut chronicles the end of a relationship with fuzz, grit, and slurred speech. Imagine Nancy Sinatra cutting sides with the Seeds after a Laurel Canyon séance gone wrong.
Delicate Steve
Thu. 16, Elysium, 10pm; Fri. 17, Hotel Vegas Patio, 10:15pmChuck Klosterman’s joke bio aside, New Jersey guitarist Steve Marion packs his instrumentals with a remarkable amount of musical depth, human warmth, and yes, humor. New album This Is Steve spools forth like a travelogue. The “Mrs. Robinson” verse nicked in “Winning” presaged Marion’s recent collaboration with Paul Simon.
Khruangbin
Thu. 16, Barracuda, 12:05amHailing from Houston by way of Bangkok, Khruangbin bangs out heady homages to the fleeting Seventies Thai funk movement. The legacy of Miami-based TK Records runs deep, but flanges and warbles take the trio to a new place on 2015 debut LP The Universe Smiles Upon You.
Sad13
Thu. 16, the Main, 1amSpeedy Ortiz vocalist/guitarist Sadie Dupuis’ solo pseudonym couches gender politics in cut-and-paste electro-pop on her debut LP, Slugger. The spray-on sheen of effervescence that drives “Get a Yes” almost belies its underlying theme of consent, while the fuzzed-out “Hype” upbraids shrinkwrapped female media narratives.
Birthday Club
Sat. 18, Javelina, 8pmDrawing upon swatches of psychedelia and New Wave, Houston’s Birthday Club crafts eclectic pop tunes awash in faint allusions to L.A.’s mid-Eighties Paisley Underground. Guitarist/vocalist Stephen Wells cuts a commanding centerstage persona on souped-up summer blasts like “Having Too Much Fun” from last year’s Lighten Up EP.
The Chamanas
Sat. 18, Palm Door on Sixth, 9:20pmHailing from the El Paso/Juárez borderplex, the Chamanas embody cultural crossroads with a fresh fusion of ranchera, bossa nova, and electronic indie-pop. The versatile vocal presence of Paulina Reza ties it together. Once Once, the quintet’s 2015 full-length debut, earned them a Latin Grammy nomination for Best New Artist.
This article appears in March 17 • 2017.
