Seattle’s Exohxo does chamber pop with a special emphasis on “chamber.” It’s becoming relatively more common for groups to include strings or pianos in their lineup, throwing in a violin flourish here and there for texture. Exohxo takes this a step further with finely crafted arrangements that feel as important as its jangly guitars and earnest vocals. It’s a sanguine mashup of classical and indie pop without pandering to either demographic. Every moving part feels intentional and complementary, rather than being placed for novelty’s sake. With Teach Me Equals, Redrumsey. El Corazon, 109 Eastlake Ave. E., 381-3094, elcorazonseattle.com. 7:30 p.m. $6 adv./$8 DOS. 21 and over. DUSTY HENRY
After a recent move to L.A., Jherek Bischoff returns home, at least for an evening, to show us why he was voted Seattle Weekly’s 2014 Best Collaborator. The composer, who has worked with the likes of the Kronos Quartet, Xiu Xiu, and Amanda Palmer, has a penchant for leading large ensembles, creating sweeping, moody arrangements that explore the distance between pop and classical music. This is best heard on his 2012 album Composed, which featured contributions from David Byrne and Zac Pennington of Parenthetical Girls. For this show he’ll be joined by an intimate group that includes Pennington, violinist Paris Hurley (of Seattle-based group Kultur Shock, among others), local jazzhead Beth Fleenor on clarinet, and a handful more performing all-new arrangements of his music, which he promises will be a “once-in-a-lifetime show.” With just one night to prove it, it shouldn’t be anything less. The Moore, 1932 Second Ave., 682-1414, stgpresents.org/moore. 8 p.m. $22.50. GWENDOLYN ELLIOTT
There’s nothing graceful about Swans, the experimental rock group that emerged from the New York no-wave movement in the early ’80s, but that’s the point. The band, led by Michael Gira, offered repetitive riffing, plodding rhythms, and monotonous vocals for a uniquely brutal effect that dispelled any notion of what a band could sound like. They called it quits in 1997, but reformed in 2010 with a renewed dedication to their mission. Pitchfork said their latest album, To Be Kind, “perfected a new means of transforming grotesquerie into grandeur and vice versa.” There’s no band quite like Swans, and you may never be the same after seeing them play. With Carla Bozulich. Showbox, 1426 First Ave., 628-3151, showboxpresents.com. 9 p.m. $25 adv./$28 DOS. DAVE LAKE