Roman Holiday/Wednesday, May 25
Roger Deckker
Your prostitute: Lykke Li.
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Taking a more family-friendly approach, Seattle's own Roman Holiday trades the "sex, drugs, and rock 'n' roll" stereotype for guilt-free leather jackets and punchy, radio-ready pop-rock. Comprising guitarist and lead vocalist Shane Lance, drummer Emerson Shotwell, lead guitarist Daniel Collins, and bassist Nick Howard, the quartet boasts an impressive togetherness that builds on soft, pounding crescendos and soaring vocals akin to those of Kings of Leon frontman Caleb Followill, had he been raised in the Northwest. Formed in September 2008, Roman Holiday's streamlined, MTV-ready sound and persona is complemented by the fact that it's still indie—something that will allow the band to grow and flourish until music executives nationwide catch a whiff and jump to sign them. The days of Roman Holiday's playing local clubs might be limited. With Subways on the Sun, Munro. Chop Suey, 1325 E. Madison St., 324-8000. 8 p.m. $6. JOE WILLIAMS
Lykke Li/Thursday, May 26
Lykke Li is kind of the Angelina Jolie of Swedish pop stars—dark, moody, sexy in a dangerously, devilishly badass way. (Reference Li's recent "Sadness Is a Blessing" music video, in which she pounds shots and drunkenly prances around a restaurant full of uncomfortable diners, or the most infamous line of her sophomore album, Wounded Rhymes—"I'm your prostitute/You gon' get some.") And, like Jolie, she's universally popular (fans include Kanye West, Kings of Leon, the Glee camp, and a good chunk of Seattle—tonight's show is already sold out), and intrinsically talented in the art of high drama. On Wounded Rhymes, set against a backdrop of shadowy, musky synths and reverb, Li's vocal delivery smolders; each song is run through with a charged electric wire of heat and sensuality. She's a vamping diva, making music that even the gloomiest people can dance to. With Grimes. Showbox at the Market, 1426 First Ave., 628-3151. 8 p.m. Sold out. All ages. ERIN K. THOMPSON
Anomie Belle/Thursday, May 26
Piecing her name together from words meaning social unrest and a beautiful and charming woman, Seattle trip-hopper Anomie Belle has lofty aims that echo her view of music as a more powerful vehicle for education and enlightenment than classroom teachings. She's not one to sit still either; after beginning her musical training as a violinist in Portland, the woman born Toby Campbell traveled throughout the U.S., Europe, and South America before returning to the Pacific Northwest to focus on her down-tempo persona. Meshing sultry vocals and moody instrumental programming, with a healthy amount of layering added to both, Anomie Belle tackles spectacle and alienation both lyrically and sonically. Following the selection of her song "How Can I Be Sure" for the Xbox video game Alan Wake and the HBO dramedy United States of Tara, Belle is celebrating the release of an EP of the same name—set to be quickly followed by her sophomore full-length The Crush this summer. With Cars and Trains, Hi-Life Soundsystem. Chop Suey, 1325 E. Madison St., 324-8000. 8 p.m. $8 adv./$10 DOS. NICK FELDMAN
Tedeschi Trucks Band/Thursday, May 26
They've toured together, appeared on each other's albums, and made babies together for a decade, but June 7's Revelator will mark the first time Grammy-winning slide guitarist Derek Trucks and his Grammy-nominated, blues-singing wife, Susan Tedeschi, could get their label/lawyer situation worked out to make a proper record together. Sadly, rather than bring Tedeschi's voice to the experimental, jam-oriented jazz/rock that Trucks is a master of, Revelator sways far into the adult-friendly territory Tedeschi is known to work in. The album's full of the kind of timid blues tempered with safe funk that's standard-issue at municipal summer barbecues. It feels calculated and self-aware, and sounds almost unrecognizable alongside memories of the days when the pair would turn a small-market bar and a Curtis Mayfield cover into a tent revival. Moore Theatre, 1932 Second Ave., 467-5510. 7:30 p.m. $29–$58. All ages. CHRIS KORNELIS
4 Generations of Miles/Thursday, May 26–Sunday, May 29
It's a great idea, a musical freak show, or both: a band composed of members from four wildly different eras of Miles Davis' career. There's Jimmy Cobb, the drummer from the legendary 1959 Kind of Blue lineup; bassist Buster Williams, who played with Miles in the mid-'60s; Sonny Fortune, a saxophonist on several 1970s fusion sessions; and Mike Stern, a guitarist from Miles' final period, his Jheri-curled, Cyndi Lauper– covering 1980s. Money may be a motivation here—anything with Miles' name on it guarantees attention—but there's no dishonor in that. Musicians have to get paid like everyone else. And with the restless spirit of their leader scowling over them, these old hands will hopefully offer something surprising and beautiful rather than nostalgic and tasteful. Dimitriou's Jazz Alley, 2033 Sixth Ave., 441-9729. 7:30 p.m. Thurs. & Sun., 7:30 & 9:30 p.m. Fri.–Sat. DAVID STOESZ
Slow Skate/Friday, May 27
Add Seattle band Slow Skate to the lineage of hazy, glacially moving, female-led bands that includes Mazzy Star, Cowboy Junkies, and, more recently, the Sub Pop–signed duo Beach House. That last band especially comes to mind listening to Slow Skate's latest Soundcloud offerings, "Silver Screen" and "When Sugar Was King." Singer Caitlin Sherman has a clean, Valium-calm voice that unfolds with surprising range and emotion—warm and heavy one moment, ghostly light the next. The band's songs are appropriately unhurried, reverb-treated, and vintage-sounding, all grainy, time-keeping drums, wavering and twangy guitars, and piano or harpsichord accents. This is stretch-out-and-wait sort of stuff, not for the ADD-inclined, but it doesn't plod so much as make a virtue of slowness, with Sherman's lingering syllables perfectly enacting the aching and longing hinted at in her lyrics. With Alameda, The Northern Key. Sunset Tavern, 5433 Ballard Ave. N.W., 784-4880. 10 p.m. $8. ERIC GRANDY
