Scarves, Empty HousesOut June 20, self-released, scarvesmusic.bandcamp.com

Coming-of-age stories have become modern mythology (you know the gods: The Catcher in the Rye, The Perks of Being a Wallflower, John Hughes). With its debut full-length album Empty Houses,

Seattle indie-rock group Scarves adds to the lore. “Icarus With a Rattle Can” explores the idea of impulsively getting matching tattoos, one of Icarus and one of the sun—an apt summation of the epic, hyperemotional messiness that comes with youth (teenage years are a time of flying too close to the sun, you see). Vocalist/guitarist Nikolas Stathakopoulos plays up the gravitas with lines like, “Thou shalt not swim in man-made lakes/Thou shalt not eat on paper plates.” The riffs and wordplay are further enhanced by the perfectly muddy and chaotic rhythm section of bassist David Price and drummer Marcus Verdoes. The trio makes the precision of math rock rough and relatable. The opening of “A ‘Pop’ Song” showcases Stathakopoulos’ guitar virtuosity before pummeling with dissonant and harsh guitar chords; it’s indicative of those sleepless high-school nights and moments of serenity among the hijinks; of a teenage world in which everything is like the Smashing Pumpkins’ “1979” video. As Stathakopoulos bellows on the chorus, full of the uncertainty of tomorrow, “When they say be brave/They mean brace for impact.”

Next Performance:

Sat., June 21, The Vera Project