Deftones’ vocalist Chino Moreno is an unsung genre-bender in the world of heavier-weight music. He’s covered Sade’s “No Ordinary Love,” recorded with indie princess Mary Timony, and referenced Natalie Portman and Edgar Allan Poe in songs by his side-project Team Sleep. My best guess for their continued underground status is that the music is too polished for indie fans and too earnest for shoegazers. Moreno’s intelligent talent is worthy of an arena spotlight, but his music shines dimly and seductively, like a gothic chandelier. With Sonny (From First to Last), Monster in the Machine, and Strata. With Sonny, Monster in the Machine and Strata.

Listen to a sample of Team Sleep’s “Foreign Flag.”

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Sat., Dec. 1, 7 p.m., 2007