King Tuff

The eponymous album released by Kyle Thomas as King Tuff on Sub Pop Records this past May is already making appearances on early Best of 2012 lists. Its appeal isn’t difficult to understand: King Tuff is equal parts ridiculous rock-and-roll humor (see: the skull-faced bat holding a magic wand on the album’s cover; the image evoked in self-deprecating lyrics like “When I play my Stratocaster/Shooting these circles of sound/When I’m looking in the mirror/A creature so ugly and wild”) and genuinely quality, potent garage-rock tunes. The stomping rollick of “Baby, Just Break” is a highlight; so is the amped-up howler of a single, “Bad Thing,” the album’s best showcase of Thomas’ brilliantly whimpering wail of a voice. With White Fang, Dancer and Prancer. ERIN K. THOMPSON

Thu., Dec. 6, 8 p.m., 2012