After spending most of last year playing with the stomping, “doom-wop,” Sub Pop-signed indie supergroup Mister Heavenly, the chameleonic Nick Thorburn quieted things down with a new Islands record, the first since 2009’s much raved-about Vapours. Thorburn has described A Sleep & A Forgetting, released last month, as a white Canadian man’s version of soul music; the record chronicles a devastating Valentine’s Day split with a long-time lover last year. The result is the most touching and starkly emotional collection of songs Thorburn’s written yet. It’s impossible not to feel his pain on standouts like the stripped-down

“This Is Not a Song” and “Can’t Feel My Face,” which deceptively plays as an upbeat pop number but mourns, “I miss my wife/I miss my best friend/Every night.” With Idiot Glee. ERIN K. THOMPSON

Sat., March 10, 7:30 p.m., 2012