White Rabbits ~ Monday, June 22
It's not unfair to say that White Rabbits' 2007 debut, Fort Nightly, sounds a bit like their pals and fellow New York transplants the Walkmen. The Missouri-formed band's slashing guitars and sloshing rhythms are blotted with reverb, and there's even an equivalent to the Walkmen's "The Rat" in the punchy "The Plot." But last month's follow-up, It's Frightening, takes more cues from Spoon, and not just because Britt Daniel produced it. The crowded six-piece has slowed its bruising urgency with more focus on pounding keys, stop-start jerkiness, and an overall deconstruction of moody indie rock. These aren't faults, exactly. There are layers upon gauzy layers to tease the ears, and Stephen Patterson's grinding voice still sums up rock-star cool with enough panache to recall Kurt Cobain more than once. Plus, the opening track and lead single "Percussion Gun" sets up a seasick bed of drumming on which the rest of the song can assemble itself bit by bit. It's a collar-yanking moment made all the more so by the subtler, spooky tracks that lie ahead. With the Subjects. The Crocodile, 2200 Second Ave., 441-7416. 8 p.m. $10. DOUG WALLEN
Alexandra Sarkozy
Martin Bisi: urban cowboy.
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Cursive ~ Tuesday, June 23
Listening to Cursive's newest release, Mama, I'm Swollen, it's hard to remember what the Omaha-based band sounded like a decade ago. Back then, Cursive was a near-emocore band: Singer Tim Kasher would occasionally break into screams over guitar breakdowns while drums slowly pounded in the background. A few years later, the band added a cellist to its lineup, and 2003's The Ugly Organ was a symphonic pop album. It still retained all the self-directed anger of Kasher's lyrics ("Cut it out/Your self-afflicted pain/Is getting too routine/The crowds are catching on/To the self-afflicted song" on "Art Is Hard"), but the music was moving toward a different sound. But at some point in the past few years, Cursive changed directions yet again. Sure, some things about the band never change, like the members' commitment to indie label Saddle Creek. And Kasher is always a consistent presence: On Mama, I'm Swollen he still speaks more than he sings (he sometimes sounds as if he's reading poetry), and his lyrics play on the same theme of artistic confusion ("Every record I've written has left me spinning," he sings on "Mama, I'm Satan"). But the instrumentals are all over the map: In just four minutes, "Mama, I'm Satan" ranges from soft ballad to prog rock. Cursive has redefined itself, choosing to eschew genres for pure inspiration. With Mt. St. Helens Vietnam Band, Box Elders. Neumos, 925 E. Pike St., 709-9467. 8 p.m. $15 adv. All ages. PAIGE RICHMOND
