Sophistication isnt a word youd normally associate with a group of 20-year-old boys, but the second record from Chicagos Smith Westerns, last months Dye It Blonde, proves that polishing and glamorizing garage rock is possibleand fruitful. The aristocratic Dye It Blonde is one of the years most breathtaking releases. On standouts like Weekend and All Die Young, Max Kakaceks guitar rips and wails with a stately quality that complements frontman Cullen Omaris youthfully sincere vocalsbecause of his tender age, he can sing things like Love and lusthow come that is such a must? and still sound winsome and genuine. Lush and lulling atmospherics, bold guitars that riff grandeur and aplomb, bleeding lyrics about the best years of young livessomewhere, the ghost of Marc Bolan must be smiling. With Unknown Mortal Orchestra, The Pharmacy. ERIN K. THOMPSON
Thu., Feb. 17, 8 p.m., 2011