John Vanderslice, Thursday, September 17: Among that certain cadre of orchestral-pop troubadours -- Leonard Cohen descendants like Rufus Wainwright, Tom Waits, DeVotchKa's Nick Urata, sometimes Billy Bragg -- John Vanderslice stands out for sounding the most like all the others combined. In these Depression 2.0 times, that may seem like a bargain -- it's like hearing a half-dozen singer-songwriters for the price of one! -- but let's not be quite so cynical. Vanderslice isn't a pop composite as much as he is a musical Zelig, having rubbed shoulders in recording studios and on stages with the likes of Death Cab, Spoon, Okkervil River, The Mountain Goats and Sufjan Stevens. The fact that he remains relatively under the radar means that the lush arrangements and striking lyrics off his latest album, Romanian Names, can be enjoyed in a more intimate setting alongside fans who, like you, are in it for the music. With Pink Mountaintops and Mimicking Birds. Crocodile, 2200 Second Ave. 441-5611. 8 p.m. $14 adv. Note by ROSE MARTELLI

Pacific Pride, Thursday, September 17: Denver indie combo Pacific Pride have a deep and wide river of influences that's fed by everyone from Pavement to Pollard ... okay, maybe that river's not all that deep after all. Nonetheless, the vocals of Paul Garcia do a lot to separate the band's sound from other noise-pop outfits; his lolling, dry singing style is half disinterested observer, half emotional wreck. Combined with the band's tendency to write songs that refract their more obvious American tastes through a prism of odd-pop icons like the Kinks and the Clean, the result is a sound that channels the clattering and energetic velocity of classic indie rock with a touch of cerebral catchiness that warrants more than a second glance. With Broken Chairs, Jaguar Paw, Hair Vest. Funhouse, 206 Fifth Ave. N. 374-8400. 9:30 p.m., $5. Note by JASON FERGUSON

McCoy Tyner at Kongsberg Jazz festival 1973

Dirty Three, Friday, September 18: Instrumental trio the Dirty Three aE“ guitarist Mick Turner, violinist Warren Ellis, and drummer Jim White aE“ make a distinctive racket that merges ancient folk melodies and textures with moody noir-rock, free jazz, and noise, although sometimes they allow their tunes to breathe quiet and gentle, too. Its Australian-born members are plenty notable for other pursuits: Ellis has played with Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds for well over a decade (heaE™s also in CaveaE™s spinoff band, Grinderman); Turner and White have been in numerous Aussie punk bands and have recorded and toured with the likes of PJ Harvey, Cat Power, Will Oldham and Smog. Occasionally youaE™ll hear bits reminiscent of those artists in Dirty ThreeaE™s compositions, which only serves to illustrate the crucial role these three play in the architecture of that other music. And when the trio comes together in this band, the result is somehow greater than the sum of its already impressive parts. With Chris Brokaw. Crocodile, 2200 Second Ave. 441-5611.8 p.m. $15 adv. Note by MICHAEL ALAN GOLDBERG

The Love Language, Friday, Sept. 18: The fact that Stuart McLamb plays one-man-band on the Love LanguageaE™s self-titled debut proves his multi-tasking prowess. The fact that heaE™s assembled a seven-piece for touring, meanwhile, conveys the albumaE™s bold breadth. Each of the nine songs is ultra-catchy and a bit like the Arcade Fire taking flight with a wounded wing: shambling and erratic, yet swooping ever skyward. McLamb floods everything with reverb and has fun with lyrics, addressing female characters by name early on and then singing with equally frazzled feeling about the Chesapeake Bay and Providence. ThereaE™s a seedy coolness to the funk guitar of aEœSparxxxaE that carries over into aEœNight Dogs,aE which cites aEœwine flights and cheap champagneaE with relish. While itaE™s miraculous what the Chapel Hill-based McLamb can do on his own, the touring edition of the Love Language should be even more stunning. Just one question: exactly why arenaE™t they signed to Merge? With Slow Skate, the Moore Brothers, Moneybrother. Sunset Tavern, 5433 Ballard Ave. NW, 784-4880. 9 p.m. $8. Note by DOUG WALLEN

Pretty & Nice, Friday, Sept. 18: Although they are best known for artists like the Moondoggies and the Duchess and the Duke, whose moody folk rock has garnered both bands national attention, Seattle label Hardly Art has a brighter, poppier side too. The Sub Pop stepchildaE™s date to the new wave, pop-punk prom are BostonaE™s Pretty & Nice. Made up of core duo Jeremy Mendicino and Holden Lewis, plus a rotating cast of colorful sidemen plucked from the Bean Town indie scene, Pretty & NiceaE™s sound is tight, crisp, and laden with heavy British influences. Their latest effort, Get Young, is a sonic street fight between the LaaE™s, the Jam and a pre-13 Blur that will have fans of roughed up, perky melodies jonesinaE™ for more. With the Get Up Kids, Youth Group. Neumos, 925 E. Pike St. 709-9467. 7 p.m., $21 adv. All ages. Note by MAaE™CHELL DUMA LAVASSAR

Beach House, Sunday, September 20: The sound of Beach House is the sound of someone else's memories; like a waking dream in which you find yourself moving through empty rooms, a phonograph humming somberly, always just behind the next door, the ghosts of half-forgotten histories serenading you. Much of that owes to Victoria Legrand's gauzy vocals. Hushed whispers layer on top of each other, creating a striking effect that is at once full and powerful, and wholly insubstantial, like a statue made out of tissue paper. Echoes are poured on liberally, so that everything she sings sounds as if it's coming from the far end of a curving tunnel, with Legrand herself always just out of sight, but always beckoning you to follow. Alex Scally wraps everything in a woozy swirl of organs, guitars, and tape loops. Though the eddies and swells tug at the edges and occasionally wash over the vocals, they never threaten to submerge Legrand, instead working to usher her voice gently to shore, washing up like so much driftwood on the dunes of a seaside retreat that hasn't been occupied in years, yet still bears the ineradicable mark of lives and loves that yearn for a voice. Beach House gives them that. With Avi Buffalo. Neumos, 925 E. Pike St. 709-9467. 8 p.m. $12 adv. Note by NICHOLAS HALL

Team Dresch, Sunday, September 20: There are certain records one can throw on for virgin listeners and know with unequivocal certainty that the music is going to change their lives for the better. Neutral Milk HotelaE™s In the Aeroplane Over the Sea comes to mind, as does Led Zeppelin II and FugaziaE™s Red Medicine. The 1994 debut by Portland-based band Team Dresch belongs in that same category. Personal Best clocked in at a mere 24 minutes, but it single-handedly raised the bar sky high for not only the then-burgeoning Riot Grrl and Queercore movements, but for punk rock in general. As incisively melodic and wise as it was blisteringly heavy and innovative, those 10 songs remain as powerful today as they were 15 years ago, and the fact that Donna Dresch, Kaia Wilson, Jody Bleyle and Melissa York still show up on Northwest stages periodically is a rare and precious gift. Go to this show with someone who loves the Clash and PJ Harvey as much as you do and youaE™re guaranteed to have a magical evening. With Erase Errata, Telepathic Liberation Army, DJ Dewey Decimal. Vera Project, 305 Harrison St. 374-8372. 7:30 p.m. $12. All ages. Note by HANNAH LEVIN

Manic Street Preachers, Monday, September 21: In early 1995 aE“ a few months after his Welsh band released its third and best (to that point) album The Holy Bible aE“ Manic Street Preachers guitarist Richey Edwards disappeared; his car was found abandoned near a bridge notorious as a suicide spot. The Manics continued on as a trio with singer-guitarist James Dean Bradford and bassist Nicky Wire at the helm, and steadily moved away from the searing glam-rock and post-punk that characterized their earliest recordings, falling in with the Oasis-led Brit-pop scene as their music went from acerbic to anthemic. Last year, Edwards was officially declared dead, and the trio finally felt okay about using a batch of lyrics their vanished mate had left behind for their new album, Journal for Plague Lovers. Fittingly, the music they wrapped around his words sounds as urgent, raw, and emotionally roiling as Richey-era Manics. For the band, the experience may have provided some closure; for fans, it opens an exhilarating new chapter in the bandaE™s sonic history. Neumos, 925 E. Pike St. 709-9467. 8 p.m., $19 adv. Note by MICHAEL ALAN GOLDBERG