Wednesday, June 25

As far as West Coast black metal goes, Arcata, Calif.’s Ash Bo

rer is right there at the cream of the crust-covered crop. Ever since its early demos in 2009 and its now-legendary self-titled split LP with fellow metal band Fell Voices, Ash Borer has relentlessly pummeled listeners with a uniquely raw take on the genre that instills a more visceral, scrappy feel than many of its counterparts—largely due to the lo-fi tape recording quality and the decision to eschew extensive post-production, which have become trademarks of the group’s sound. Relentless cymbals wash with warm tape hiss atop soaring, windswept melodies that summon images of cloaked heroes charging up mountains before plunging into the utter darkness of the caverns below. The band’s first proper album, Ash Borer, is a modern classic of the form, alternately atmospheric and brutally kinetic with riffs that stick in your head through all the grit and terror layered atop it—a feat the group pulled off with a slightly icier feel than in its latest, Bloodlands. As for terror, nobody invokes a sense of impending doom better than the show’s main support, Hell, whose sludgy, eardrum-bursting funeral music will make you want to crawl into your grave to hide from the encroaching demons. With Bell Witch. Highline, 210 Broadway, 328-7837, highline
seattle.com. 9 p.m. $10. 21 and up. KELTON SEARS

Don’t expect to “whip it good” at this Devo show. Instead, be prepared to hear a collection of the New Wave legends’ earliest tracks: basement demos circa 1974–77 that were released on 1990’s Hardcore Devo: Volume One. In memory of former guitarist Bob Casale, who died suddenly in February, a portion of all tour proceeds will go to his family. The Neptune, 1303 N.E. 45th St., 682-1414, stgpresents.org/neptune. 8 p.m. SOLD OUT. 21 and over. AZARIA C. PODPLESKY

King Khan & The Shrines is all about the experience. Sure, the music is lively and ornate, but it’s only a device that fuels the band for its manic and spastic performances. Frontman Arish “King” Khan himself embodies the bold persona of a soul singer, and his shimmering outfits and bellowing voice give him command over a crowd, which he is known to jump into headlong. Listening to the band’s records home alone—like the recent digital reissue of What Is? and the latest, Idle No More—can be fun enough, but dancing with sweaty strangers while marveling at the soul-titan that is Khan is the best way to understand what the band’s all about. With Red Mass, Night Beats. Neumos, 925 E. Pike St., 709-9467, neumos.com. 8 p.m. $15 adv. 21 and over. DUSTY HENRY

There are only eight songs on Mary Gauthier’s latest, Trouble & Love, but the 52-year-old songwriter packs in enough emotion to fill a double LP. No Depression called it “the breakup album to end all breakup albums” and it finds Gauthier trying to make sense of the wreckage of a tumultuous relationship. Though the songs are intensely personal, they were a collaborative effort, with Gauthier inviting a handful of her Nashville songwriting friends to help her grieve by listening to her story and then trying to capture it musically. If all this sounds a bit unorthodox, well, that’s the norm for Gauthier, who didn’t write her first song until age 35 after quitting a successful career as a chef and restaurateur. She works outside the Nashville mainstream, but also manages to infiltrate it on her own terms; she releases her own albums, but has had her songs recorded by Blake Shelton and Tim McGraw and featured on ABC’s country-music drama Nashville. She also teaches three-day songwriting workshops for almost $1,000 a pop, but for a lot less you can get a lesson of sorts at one of her two Seattle-area shows—just make sure you bring a hankie for the songs from the new record. (She’s also appearing at the Treehouse Cafe on Bainbridge Island tomorrow.) With Lynn Miles, Eliza Gilkyson. The Triple Door, 216 Union St., 838-4333, thetripledoor.net. 7:30 p.m. $22 adv./$25 DOS. DAVE LAKE

Thursday, June 26

Having spent most of his career as the voice behind some of the most swoon-worthy R&B songs, Brian McKnight surprised fans and critics alike with plans for an “adult mixtape” in 2012. But backlash over somewhat crude lyrics cut those plans short, and the “Back at One” crooner returned to his romantic roots, releasing More Than Words last year. Jazz Alley, 2033 Sixth Ave., 441-9729, jazzalley.com. 7:30 & 9:30 p.m. through Sunday. $54. All ages. ACP

Swedish dance/pop darling Robyn—of recent hits “Dancing on My Own” and “Call Your Girlfriend” fame—shares the stage with Norwegian electronic duo Royksopp on a world tour promoting their recent collaborative five-track mini-album, Do It Again. The trio joined forces in 2009 on Royksopp’s “The Girl and the Robot,” a remix of which received a Grammy nod, and again in 2010 on Robyn’s “None of Dem” on her 2010 Body Talk Pt. 1. Tour performances feature sets from the artists separately and combined. With Zhala. Marymoor Park, 6046 W. Lake Sammamish Pkwy., 205-3661, marymoorconcerts.com. 7 p.m. $39.50 adv. All ages. JESSIE MCKENNA

A recent article on HotNewHipHop.com credited Asher Roth with pioneering “weirdo rap” in the wake of his 2009 debut, Asleep in the Bread Aisle. “Weirdo rap” indicates that rap has a center to be left of, and this has not been true since its origins. It also seems to stigmatize experimentation and diversity, which Roth’s long-awaited second studio album, RetroHash (an anagram of his name), has in droves. Roth continues to distance himself from his “I Love College” days, trying to find his voice on an album that’s eclectic almost to a fault, but more laid-back than previous releases. With Chuck Inglish, Brothers From Another, Irukandji Physics of Fusion. Neumos. 8 p.m. $15 ($35 meet and greet). MICHAEL F. BERRY

Friday, June 27

Since releasing their sophomore album, More Than Just a Dream, last year, soul-fueled pop sextet Fitz and the Tantrums has ruled the airwaves. For good reason, too; the band has substance to back up its style. Singles “Out of My League” and “The Walker” boast shout-out-loud choruses, spunky vocalists Michael Fitzpatrick and Noelle Scaggs, groovy bass lines, and a heavy dose of saxophone. With Max Frost and HOLYCHILD. Showbox SoDo, 1700 First Ave. S., 652-0444, showboxpresents.com. 
9 p.m. $29.99 adv./$35 DOS. All ages. ACP

In 1988, the Industrial Revolution of rock & roll brought forth the “Satanic” and sexploding act My Life With the Thrill Kill Kult (TKK for short), a group that began as a film project and soon turned into an experimental dance/rock outfit. (It just as quickly made the infamous Parents Music Resource Center’s list, deemed “dangerous” and “obscene” for young audiences.) Spooky Tricks, the band’s 13th studio release, hit the shelves in May, but the band promises to bring classic TKK tracks to the stage. “Sex on Wheelz,” anyone? With DJ Toxic Rainbow, Murder Weapons, This Soil Is Diseased, Pill Brigade. Studio Seven, 110 S. Horton St., 286-1312, studio
seven.us. 8 p.m. $15 adv./$17 DOS. 21 and over. JM

Saturday, June 28

Jansport Sessions That company that’s made every backpack you’ve ever owned since elementary school is coming to Seattle to showcase two of our glossiest indie acts alongside U.S./New Zealand’s Unknown Mortal Orchestra. First off is La Luz, Hardly Art’s surf-rock darlings who have hung ten into the hearts of the nation thanks to their eerie, Quentin Tarantino’d take on the typically sunshiny genre—which makes sense given that Washington is a very cloudy place to be surfing in the first place. It’s Alive, the group’s latest record, pairs ooh-ahh Shangri-La harmonies with Link Wray’s reverbed-out greaser-gang menace. On the other end of the bill are part-time Seattleites Craft Spells. Casting woozy, romantic magic with their shimmering guitars, the band is somewhere between the chillwave of the 2000s and the lovey-dovey sheen of 1986, like the soundtrack to a John Hughes film that was never made. This is sad prom music, for swaying your puffy-dress/turquoise-tux-wearing date forlornly to and fro as your bangs gently bob up and down. Nausea, the group’s new LP, is even more languid, a slightly jauntier take on The Cure’s pop gloom. Hilliard’s Brewery, 1550 N.W. 49th St., 257-4486, 
hilliardsbeer.com. 6 p.m. Free with RSVP to jansport
bonfiresessions.noisey.com. 21 and up. KS

Trashies If you like your rock & roll covered in a thick layer of disgusting filth, the Rendezvous is the only dumpster you should be diving in tonight. That’s because both Trashies and Trash Fire share the bill, two of Seattle’s finest trashcore bands who proudly peddle their junk-punk to the lowest bidder. With about 80 percent of its discography clocking in at under 2 minutes a song, Trashies’ body of work is a veritable field guide to true-blue punk life. Songs about incest and bad ink decisions like “Taz Tattoo,” tunes about culinary fare like “Corndogs and Ranch,” “Chicken Sandwich,” or “I Ate the Trash,” and the aural middle finger of “I’m High So What” are a glance into what it’s really like sporting a rattail and not giving a rat’s ass on a day-to-day basis. Trash Fire (featuring Schoolyard Heroes’ Jonah Bergman) plays its own brand of punk, veering more toward the Ramones’ classic ’50s-infused doo-wop punk-pop, with choruses that will have everyone sloshing beer on one another’s leather jackets as they scream along about wasting time and living the trash life. With Bad Motivators, the Everymen. Rendezvous, 2322 Second Ave, 441-5823, jewelbox
theater.com. 10 p.m. $8. 21 and up. KS

Following 2011’s Ninth, former Bauhaus lead singer Peter Murphy is back with Lion. The album, Murphy’s 10th solo release, plays like a rock opera, with intense orchestral instruments pairing with arena-ready guitar riffs and thundering percussion while Murphy’s baritone weaves a tale that’s both romantic and deeply emotional. Think David Bowie’s performance in Labyrinth, only without the odd Jennifer Connelly plotline. With Ringo Deathstarr. The Showbox, 1426 First Ave., 628-3151, showbox
presents.com. 8 p.m. $22 adv./$25 DOS. 21 and over. ACP

Tuesday, July 1

Andrew Hung and Benjamin Power of Fuck Buttons don’t want you to be comfortable. This London-based duo creates hypnotic electronic soundscapes that explore the grislier side of things. From production to making their own knobs and instruments, the pair has a hand in every aspect of their albums, and each detail is intentional. Their most recent album, Slow Focus, throbs with dense compositions that balance beauty and brutality. In every song, harsh synthesizers build upon driving beats, crescendoing into a symphony of distorted bliss, moving with great dynamism. Arrangements evoke images of an expansive tundra, cold yet full of space and solace. As the album settles in, you start to relax in the discomfort; to hear the brilliant subtleties within every moment of feedback; to relish this different kind of harmony. Hung and Power don’t want you to be comfortable, and this is good. Like most things, there is no progress without moments of dissonance; excitement and exhilaration are often on the other side of the coin. With Total Life. The Crocodile, 2200 Second Ave., 441-4618, thecrocodile.com. 8 p.m. $18. All ages. STIRLING MYLES

Everything about Kraftwerk is exacting. Founded in 1970, the troupe included four players, then halved; Ralf Hutter and Florian Schneider continued to execute lean electronic music through 2008, when Schneider retired (presumably he needed an oil change) and the group halved again. Hutter enlisted a new trio of performers to flesh out the group again to four and fill out his electronic dream, complete with a new vision to render Kraftwerk’s eight albums (several early efforts have been disavowed) alongside 3-D projections. With a new album reportedly in the works—that’s nine total—expect that Hutter’s not quite done yet; he’ll likely produce a 10th, just to round it off. The Paramount, 911 Pine St., 902-5500, stgpresents.org/paramount. 7:30 p.m. $33.75–$65.75. DAVE CANTOR

Bon Iver’s S. CAREY is carving out a solid solo career for himself. His just-released sophomore album, Range of Light, is a follow-up to 2010’s All We Grow, and continues to demonstrate his skill with subtlety and layers. “Fire-scene” is a perfect example of what the S. Carey experience is like, with folk and jazz rhythms augmented by classical piano strains as he repeatedly, hypnotically, sings lines like “On and on/All I want is honesty.” Adding oomph to the song is its accompanying video, which plays like a vivid, chillingly beautiful call for tourists to come to the northeast in the dead of winter. Gorgeous stuff. With the Pines. The Triple Door. 7:30 p.m. $16. All ages. BRIAN PALMER