Even if Seattle minimalist psych-rock act the ((lowHUMS))’ distorted, eerie songs didn’t have titles like “Peyote Gunfight” or “Lost on the Trail,” the music would evoke stark desert landscapes, gunslinging cowpokes and violent scenes straight out of Deadwood. The throaty vocals, ominous cello and shrieking distortion make for a tense listening experience, but the psychedelic riffs balance out the creepy factor. It’s the sort of atmospheric music ideal for telling harrowing ghost stories around the embers of a campfire, and the dynamics of the music read like just such a story: there’s as much weight in the absences and little atmospheric accents (whistling, the wind blowing) as there is in the heavy guitars. With Whalebones, Hard Drugs. SARA BRICKNER

Wed., May 19, 8 p.m., 2010