Imaad Wasif

Imaad Wasif terms himself “a straight-edged hermit with shamelessly self-inflicted heart wounds and a completely obvious covetous inclination toward rock stardom.” That last part has thus far proved somewhat elusive for the Vancouver-born musician who’s spent years on the indie-rock fringes as a member of Alaska!, Lowercase, and Lou Barlow’s New Folk Implosion, and who’s also the answer to the question, “Hey, who was that guy in the back there playing guitar with the Yeah Yeah Yeahs on that 2006 tour?” But Wasif may start to make some serious noise with the serious noise found on his new solo disc, Strange Hexes, a psych-and-acid-rock monster recorded with his backing band, Two Part Beast. Much of it sounds like Neil Young & Crazy Horse cranking out a particularly blistering, epic version of “Cortez the Killer,” tinged with Zeppelin/Mars Volta mysticism, while Wasif—with a voice like a slightly less histrionic Jeff Buckley—explores his emotional turbulence in mysterious and captivating ways. With Bill Horist and Cat Among Pigeons. Sunset Tavern, 5433 Ballard Ave. N.W., 784-4880. 9 p.m. $7. MICHAEL ALAN GOLDBERG
Thu., April 3, 9 p.m., 2008