Music

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Wimps CD REVIEW: Wimps, Couches EP (out now, self-released, thesewimps.bandcamp.com) Despite what you’ve heard from us in the past, “punk rock is” [not] “bullshit,” and Wimps are living proof. The local slack-happy trio’s newest is full of odes to the supermoon, sitting around and feeling weird, and not wanting to brush your teeth (because it’s too hard). All of them are backed by some of the catchiest, no-bullshit punk riffs in town. Recorded on cassette for the band’s summer tour, the EP coats Wimps’ minimalist shred in a satisfying natural tape hiss that lends to the lo-fi vibe. It sounds especially great when the tape breaks up a little, like when the band shouts “Octopus! Snakes!” over and over two songs in. KS Neumos, 925 E. Pike St., Seattle, WA 98122 $15 Monday, September 22, 2014, 8pm

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Jenn Ghetto Jenn Ghetto decided to name her band S long before Internet searching had become the dominant means of information-gathering. By the time she realized the simple name she’d chosen could be troublesome, it was too late. She’d unintentionally selected an un-Googleable band name. “You can’t even put S into iTunes,” she says with a laugh.

But a lot has changed since the late ‘90s, and not just with the Internet. S, which started as a bedroom side project while Ghetto was fronting Seattle sadcore stalwarts Carissa’s Wierd, has become her main musical focus now that that group’s breakup is more than 10 years in the rearview. Cool Choices, out this week, is the first S record to feature a full band and the first to be produced outside her bedroom. Though the songwriting for the album began after a breakup, Ghetto decided she wanted to make a big record. She started playing with a drummer and began e-mailing her old friend Chris Walla (of Death Cab for Cutie) to produce it. “I think I was in a manic state for a while,” she explains, which sparked her enthusiasm to collaborate, especially with Walla, whom she deemed the ideal candidate to keep things intimate while increasing the scope. She was right.

Crisp, clear guitar tones provide the perfect foundation for Ghetto’s vocals on Choices, with the rest of the band given plenty of room to breathe. Despite its overall somberness, the album is beautiful. “Pacific”-just Ghetto and a piano-is the kind of delicate heartbreaker Cat Power does so well, while “Vampires” is a jangly rocker that makes her melancholy downright danceable. Ghetto, it seems, relishes such dichotomies, like with the title Cool Choices. “You can say it in any circumstance,” she offers, “Good or bad. ‘You’re making a lot of cool choices there, I see.’ Or it could be like, ‘Oh, cool choices!’ ” Out now via Hardly Art Records, hardlyart.com. DAVE LAKE Sonic Boom Records, 2209 NW Market St.Seattle, WA 98107 No Cover Tuesday, September 23, 2014, 6 – 7pm

Live Music After Queen Anne’s Farmer’s Market Every Thursday after the Farmer’s market. Live music performed by the talented Jacob McCaslin and Colin Malaska Robert Ramsay Cellars, 1629 Queen Anne Ave N. #102, Seattle, WA 98109 Free Thursday, September 25, 2014, 6 – 9pm

Old Crow Medicine Show All Ages. The Paramount, 911 Pine St, Seattle, WA 98101 $27.50 – $42.50 adv. Friday, September 26, 2014, 8 – 9pm

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Caspar Babypants CD REVIEW: Caspar Babypants, Rise and Shine (out now, Aurora Elephant Records, babypantsmusic.com) As a soon-to-be dad, I’ve been dreading having to suffer through endless cycles of banal kids’ songs. Fortunately, Chris Ballew’s cheeky sense of humor and clever lyrics result in music that I’ll happily put on repeat. After the rousing title track, we’re introduced to “The Littlest Worm,” “The Girl With the Squirrel in Her Hat,” “John Mousey” (a retelling of the John Henry tale), and a brave baby barnacle (“Hold Fast Baby Barnacle”). Repetition, call and response, and familiar melodies (“The Littlest Worm” borrows the melody from “Walk the Line”) encourage participation from both parents and children. Per usual, help from the likes of Rachel Flotard and Jen Wood (Postal Service) fill things out. (Sat. Sept. 27 & Sun. Sept. 28, 10:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m.) MICHAEL F. BERRY Town Hall Seattle, 1119 8th AvenueSeattle, WA 98101 Free-$5 Saturday, September 27, 2014, 10:30am

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The Gods Themselves CD REVIEW: The Gods Themselves, The Gods Themselves (Sept. 23, self-released, wearethegodsthemselves.com) When you share your band and record name with a novel by acclaimed science-fiction writer Isaac Asimov, certain adjectives jump to mind: trippy, unique, mysterious, whimsical, and dark, to name a few. The album is truly eclectic in a way that doesn’t stray from the band’s larger identity as a power/psych-pop outfit. From the Ramones-meets-B-52s opening track “Last Chance for Love” to the unbridled, sludgy bludgeoner “Thunderbird” to the gritty cover of the Ginuwine classic “Pony,” The Gods Themselves seem quite comfortable exploring the disparate realms of sonic possibility. CORBIN REIFF Lo-Fi Performance Gallery, 429 Eastlake Ave., Seattle, WA 98109 $10 Saturday, September 27, 2014, 9pm

Live Music After Queen Anne’s Farmer’s Market Every Thursday after the Farmer’s market. Live music performed by the talented Jacob McCaslin and Colin Malaska Robert Ramsay Cellars, 1629 Queen Anne Ave N. #102, Seattle, WA 98109 Free Thursday, October 2, 2014, 6 – 9pm

King Crimson All Ages. The Moore, 1932 Second Ave., Seattle, WA 98101 $37.50 – $149.50 adv. Monday, October 6, 2014, 7:30pm

Live Music After Queen Anne’s Farmer’s Market Every Thursday after the Farmer’s market. Live music performed by the talented Jacob McCaslin and Colin Malaska Robert Ramsay Cellars, 1629 Queen Anne Ave N. #102, Seattle, WA 98109 Free Thursday, October 9, 2014, 6 – 9pm