thursday13
Thursday13
The BreedersNebula, The Entrance BandSkygreen Leopards
Saturday15
Harvey DangerLuceroNobunnyCharles RumbackSilk Flowers
Sunday16
Lucero
Monday17
Otto, Nomo
Tuesday18
Dr. Manhattan
NEBULA, THE ENTRANCE BAND Heavy Psych (Tee Pee) is NEBULA‘s first proper release since 2006’s Apollo and the first without founding drummer Ruben Romano, who’s been with singer-guitarist Eddie Glass since their Fu Manchu days—he’s been replaced by Rob Oswald, formerly of Karma to Burn and Mondo Generator. (At least they’ve stopped playing musical chairs with bassists—Tom Davies has been aboard since ’04.) What difference does it make in the definitive stoner-rock trio’s sound? Not much. The inspiration they obviously don’t care to waste on their album titles gets channeled instead into period-perfect early-70s lazy-pothead comfy-chair boogie and ecstatic explosions of flanged-out guitar designed to turn your skull inside out through your headphones. Glass’s wailing vocals (think Geddy Lee on ludes) add a touch of nervous energy to this bubbly brew, and there are even a few sly jokes—you’ll never convince me that isn’t a winking Isaac Hayes rip-off in “The Dagger” or a Zeppelin parody in the intro to “Dream Submarine.” Heavy Psych isn’t gonna raise any eyebrows, but it’s expertly engineered to hit certain tried-and-true pleasure centers—it’s probably as close as you can get to soaking your brain stem in a hot tub. —Monica Kendrick
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A few years ago a bunch of scruffy Los Angelenos, apparently irritated by their city’s image as the Land of the Heavily Tanned Douche, started growing their hair out, writing fuzzy, druggy folk-rock, and generally doing everything they could to remind people of Laurel Canyon’s hippie heyday. Among the more distinguished groups to arise from this collective impulse is THE ENTRANCE BAND, originally the solo project of guitarist and singer Guy Blakeslee (at which time it was usually just called “Entrance”) but now a steady trio with former Zwan bassist Paz Lenchantin and onetime Chicagoan Derek James on drums. On their new self-titled album for Ecstatic Peace, they leave behind Blakeslee’s old Dylan-by-way-of-Doctor-Strange astral folk in favor of a sound that combines psychedelic voyaging with burly but catchy guitar rock and comes out sounding something like an alternate-universe jam between Buffalo Springfield and the Doors. —Miles Raymer
saturday15
SILK FLOWERS Silk Flowers are the last band you’d expect to rise from the ruins of the delightful Soiled Mattress & the Springs. Soiled Mattress sounded like renegades from a high school’s concert jazz band, like they could nose-dive into a rickety bit of Brubeck at any second. But though Silk Flowers share two-thirds of their lineup with that trio—vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Avi Cohen and keyboardist Peter Schuette—their self-titled debut for Post Present Medium is a self-consciously twerpy riff on Joy Division. Cohen sings in a voice so unnaturally low and flat it’d be annoying if it weren’t so funny; his faux Ian Curtis sounds like a kid trying to imitate his dad. The band’s minimalist and kinda fardled synthetic pop has two moods: one is at the upbeat end of plodding and the other is “goth party rock,” assuming such a thing exists. It’s a strange mess, and that’s what makes it winning and special—if you want your goth disco served straight up, go see Interpol. Halflings and Anatomy of Habit open. Silk Flowers also play a free in-store at 1 PM at Golden Age, 1744 W. 18th. 7 PM, Empty Bottle, 1035 N. Western, 773-276-3600 or 866-468-3401, $5. —Jessica Hopper
