If the psych-pop Elephant 6 collective ever starts accepting applications for a satellite compound in Seattle, my vote goes toward Horace Pickett to serve as the founding fathers of said office. Falling somewhere between the abstract art-rock musings of Of Montreal and the strummy twang and jangle of Beulah (but adding a healthy dose of ramshackle vaudevillian travelin’ family band vibe), Horace Pickett writes songs that are immediately hummable but still manage to be challengingly poetic. While many groups have chartered the vagabond/gypsy band territory, Horace Pickett’s songs are masterfully crafted; even though Horace Pickett’s wheelhouse is fantastic, over the top stories, they still manage to convey humble and heartfelt universal truths. Live, the band pulls no performance punches, parading through joyfully loose sets that celebrate their imaginative songs as much as their wild-eyed circus sideshow eccentricities. With Ryan Purcell, Gunstreet Glory. GREGORY FRANKLIN

Sat., Nov. 27, 9 p.m., 2010