Madeleine Hayles
Contributor
Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks: September 21, 8 p.m. at the Phoenix, $22.50
Known for fronting California band Pavement, Stephen Malkmus makes rock music that is gratingly cacophonous. It maintains a wholesome, slightly off-kilter 90s rock vibe, with lots of sweet electric guitar riffs and exacting lyricism that is nonsensical and yet very familiar. He is promoting his new album on tour, Mirror Traffic, which was produced by Beck, the man with his finger in every production pie.
Japandroids: September 22, 9 p.m. at Sneaky Dee’s, $12
The Vancouver duo are just a lead guitarist and a drummer, but Japandroids manage to make a lot of noise. Their brand of rock is simple and distorted, full of broad chords and straight drum fills. Their music has the momentum of spastic punk, and their lyrics are unabashed as their songs, about living a youthful carefree life. In the true character of the band, the drummer once played a whole set with a broken hand.
Suuns: October 2, 8 p.m. at The Garrison, $12.50
Their music is glossy, moody, electronic progressive rock that achieves beauty in its eeriness, taking on a nighttime aura. With a lot of relatively sparse instrumentals broken up by short bursts of lyrics, it is detailed without being over the top, like most post-prog-rock material tends to be. It recalls a sexy atmosphere, and will take place at a suitable venue.
The Besnard Lakes: October 13, 8:30 p.m. at Lee’s Palace, $20
The music of Jace Lasek and his wife Olga Goreas is haunting and lovely. Lasek’s layers his falsetto voice over neat and tidy instrumentals, full of reverb. It begins as timid, bashful music, and later swells into a symphony. Lasek is a detail-oriented musician; each song has distinct melodies and has broad appeal. They are still touring their third and latest album, The Besnard Lakes are the Roaring Night, which came out last spring.
Neon Indian: October 18, 8 p.m. at Lee’s Palace, $15
The chillwave genre is layered electronics and good vibes, and Neon Indian encapsulates this. Their music is full of heavily processed vocals, multiple loops and sampling, and synthesizers, borrowing characteristics from 80s pop. It is hazy, sun-drenched summertime music. Their new album Era Extraña came out September 13: check out the single “Polish Girl”.
Chad VanGaalen: October 28, 7 p.m. at the Mod Club, $20
Chad VanGaalen’s folky, eerie sound has changed since his first album, Infiniheart. Now on his new album, Diaper Island, his music has gone from folky to experimental and rocky, somewhere between strummy grassland and abrasive avant-garde. Island is probably his most straightforward rock album yet, filled with crashing cymbals and post-punk guitar riffs. VanGaalen uses a lot of “Frankenstein” instruments, jury-rigged to make strange, special sounds.
