WEDNESDAY, APRIL 24 Ben Ottewell The husky-voiced Gomez singer’s lone solo

By Edited by Andrew Gospe • April 18, 2013 4:52 pm
Crystal Castles plays the Moore on Tuesday night.
Crystal Castles plays the Moore on Tuesday night.

Wednesday, April 24

Ben Ottewell The husky-voiced Gomez singer’s lone solo output, 2011’s Shapes & Shadows, is a collection of Nick Drake–esque open-tuned guitar ruminations. With Buddy. Tractor Tavern, 5231 Ballard Ave. N.W., 789-3599, tractortavern.com. 9 p.m. $13 adv./$15 DOS.

Kurly Something Most of the time (especially in hyperbole-prone ReverbNation band bios), a group describing itself as an “audio experience” is worthy of derision. But this local duo’s live shows reportedly live up to that tag, augmenting their weirdo space-prog jams with a cast of papier-mache-costumed performers. With the Resets, Abductee. Rendezvous, 2322 Second Ave., 441-5823, jewelboxtheater.com. 10:30 p.m. $5.

Purity Ring When indie artists cover hip-hop, there are justified accusations of appropriation—and the idea that mainstream music can only be taken seriously when it’s reimagined in a different aesthetic. Purity Ring’s production style is heavily indebted to hip-hop (especially Southern rap), which is what makes their version of Soulja Boy’s “Grammy” so interesting. Aside from Megan James’ pixie-ish vocals, it’s a refreshingly straight-up take on a hip-hop song, a relative rarity in a world of YouTube ukulele covers. With Blue Hawaii. The Neptune, 1303 N.E. 45th St., 784-4849, stgpresents.org. 7 p.m. $21.50. All ages.

Thursday, April 25

Constant Lovers signed in February with the well-curated heavy-rock label Good to Die, a perfect fit for their hard-charging sound. With Kithkin, Pleasure Boaters, Edie Sedgwick. Chop Suey, 1325 E. Madison St., 324-8005, chopsuey.com. 8 p.m. $8 adv. All ages.

Seacats have been writing hooky power-pop songs since 2009, and this year their music finally gets a formal release: they dropped the Burger 7” on Record Store Day, and a full-length is in the works for later this year. With Week of Wonders, Detective Agency. Columbia City Theater, 4918 Rainier Ave. S., 723-0088, columbiacitytheater.com. 8 p.m. $7 adv./$8 DOS.

Spaceships This Los Angeles duo’s garage-pop is lo-fi and fuzzed-out, though it stands to reason that their shows are higher-fidelity than their recordings. With Prism Tats. Comet Tavern, 922 E. Pike St., 322-9272, comettavern.com. 9 p.m.

The Thermals For their sixth LP, Desperate Ground, Portland’s punk elder statesmen teamed with former Dinosaur Jr. and Sonic Youth producer John Agnello, attempting to return to the rougher-edged sound of their early music. With Wimps, La Luz. Neumos, 925 E. Pike St., 709-9442, neumos.com. 8 p.m. $15 adv. All ages.

Friday, April 26

Chad Valley

Young Hunger, producer and vocalist Hugo Manuel’s debut as Chad Valley, is full of guest appearances (Glasser, El Perro Del Mar), but the most appropriate is Twin Shadow, as Manuel’s strain of retro-leaning electro-pop bears a significant, if not striking, resemblance to George Lewis Jr.’s work. 
With Ski Lodge, IG88. Barboza, 925 E. Pike St., 709-9951, thebarboza.com. 7 p.m. $10 adv.

Massenger This Southern California band is touring behind a self-titled cassette tape on the reliable punk label Burger Records. With Chastity Belt, the Memories, Street Gnar. Rendezvous. 10 p.m. $7.

Pretty Broken Things This folk quintet will release their debut full-length Let It Come & Let It Pass at this show. With the Comettes, Lonely Companion. Columbia City Theater. 9 p.m. $10 adv./$12 DOS.

Saturday, April 27

Ghost B.C. Notoriously secretive Swedish metal band Ghost (the “B.C.” is a stateside addition) recently participated in a Reddit “Ask Me Anything” session that focused on how the anonymous band members protect their identities in a privacy-averse digital age. Live, five of the six don robes and hoods, while the frontman wears a skull mask and a pope costume. With Ides of Gemini, Lord Dying. Showbox at the Market, 1426 First Ave., 628-3151, showboxonline.com. 8 p.m. $20 adv./$23 DOS. All ages.

Nomeansno Built around the prodigious technical chops of brothers Rob and John Wright (bass and drums, respectfully), Nomeansno’s scorched-earth tunes are as instrumentally complex as punk can get before it becomes metal. With Ford Pier, Trash Fire. The Crocodile, 2200 Second Ave., 441-7416, the
crocodile.com. 8 p.m. $15. All ages.

Prezident Brown This reggae bandleader and dancehall DJ is touring behind last year’s I Sound Is From Creation. With the Reggae Angels, Crucialites, ZJ Redman. Nectar Lounge, 412 N. 36th St., 632-2020, nectarlounge.com. 8 p.m. $15 adv./$20 DOS.

Transit plays a sweetly melodic brand of emo (think Relient K rather than The Used) on Young New England, their fourth record. With Seahaven, Young Statues. Vera Project, 305 Harrison St., 956-8372, theveraproject.org. 7 p.m. $12 adv./$14 DOS. All ages.

Sunday, April 28

Samothrace This local doom-metal act has gotten national music-mag recognition for its lengthy, ambience-laced compositions. They kick off a monthlong European tour after this show. With Bell Witch, Braeg Noefa. Comet Tavern. 9 p.m. $8.

Sarah Elizabeth Charles Quartet This is the first West Coast performance by the acclaimed New York City jazz vocalist and composer, whose elastic voice provides a unique focal point for jazz standards. Triple Door, 216 Union St., 838-4333, thetripledoor.net. 7:30 p.m. $20 adv./$25. All ages.

Monday, April 29

Alex Clare Diplo produced Alex Clare’s The Lateness of the Hour, a move that’s proved a boon to Clare’s career, differentiating him from myriad other dudes with golden voices. The apex of their collaboration? “Too Close,” the dubstep/sensitive-pop-singer mashup that graced those ubiquitous Internet Explorer 9 ads. With the Knocks. Showbox at the Market. 7 p.m. $18.50 adv./$20 DOS. All ages.

Local Natives On January’s Hummingbird, Local Natives continues to carve a niche for itself among other NPR-wave indie groups: prominent tenor vocal harmonies; rich production from The National’s Aaron Dessner; multilayered percussion paired with chiming guitars. It’s professional, straight-laced folk rock for a world without Fleet Foxes. With Superhumanoids. The Neptune. 8 p.m. $20.50 adv./$23.50 DOS. All ages.

Tuesday, April 30

Crystal Castles Alice Glass and Ethan Kath are on tour following their third album, (III), their darkest collection of dystopian electronica. With Pictureplane. Moore Theatre, 1931 Second Ave., 467-5510, stg
presents.com. 6:30 p.m. $32.50. All ages.

K’s Choice These ’90s folk-rock heroes, best known outside their native Belgium for “Not an Addict,” will play acoustic at this show. With A Fragile Tomorrow. Triple Door. 7:30 p.m. $20. All ages.

Nataly Dawn Pomplamoose, Dawn’s original band, was best known for parlaying twee YouTube covers of mainstream pop songs into even twee-er appearances in Hyundai Christmas commercials played ad nauseam in 2010. Fortunately, Dawn’s solo material doesn’t need gimmicks: It’s smart, surprisingly restrained folk-pop that doesn’t suffer from Pomplamoose’s cloying cuteness. With Ryan Lerman.Tractor Tavern. 8 p.m. $10 adv./$12 DOS.