PIERCED ARROWS, MEAN JEANS, THE EXACERBATORS
(Hawthorne Theatre, 1507 SE César E. Chávez) See My, What a Busy Week!


LEVON'S HELMET, THE ZAGS, NO MORE PARACHUTES, MR. BONES
(Sandy Hut, 1430 NE Sandy) Don't let anybody "introduce" you to Levon's Helmet—we've been singing their praises in these pages (and on our website) since they dropped their debut EP in November 2013. Now the duo of Gordon Keepers and Jason Oppat has a full-length album, and Have the Best Day is a triumphant thrill ride of pop-punk and power pop, with soaring guitars, firecracker drums, and holler-along melodies. "Condos" might be the Portland anthem of 2015—81 seconds of bilious rage about the current state of the city and the attendant noise complaints that have severely curtailed live music at bars like the Firkin Tavern. Here's how much the Mercury likes Levon's Helmet (and thinks you will, too): We've booked them for the 2015 Malt Ball (February 28 at the Wonder Ballroom, get your tickets) and our all-ages columnist Morgan Troper actually joined their ranks as bassist for live shows. NED LANNAMANN


VIJAY IYER TRIO
(Winningstad Theatre, 1111 SW Broadway) Despite my dearest hopes, Break Stuff, the latest album by award-winning jazz pianist Vijay Iyer and his trio, is not related to the Limp Bizkit song of the same name. The "break" in the title refers to drum breaks and break beats, the building blocks of modern electronic music and hiphop. Hence, a track like "Hood"—a tribute to Detroit techno producer Robert Hood—which sputters and cavorts, and the title track, which plays with the slow, sinister roll of a Schoolboy Q jam. The rest of the album sews that same 120 BPM pulsing heart inside the carapace of modern bop and chilly balladry. This is arguably the hottest ticket of this year's Portland Jazz Festival, and Iyer's reputation as an imposing improviser—along with the equally jaw-dropping work of his bandmates, drummer Marcus Gilmore and bassist Stephan Crump—should make this evening one of the most talked-about jazz events of 2015. ROBERT HAM


SLUTEVER, LISA PRANK
(Angelo's, 4620 SE Hawthorne) As bandmates and best friends for life, Nicole Snyder and Rachel Gagliardi trade off vocals, guitar, and drums as the scrappy punk duo Slutever. The pair have released a steady string of cassettes and 7-inches since forming in back in 2010, and last summer lashed out with "White Flag," a catchy, fuzzed-out rocker with lyrics that detail restlessness and a desperate search for inspiration. Cold East Coast winters in Philadelphia were taking a heavy toll, so the pair decided to relocate to the beaches and palm trees of Los Angeles. The move seems to have ignited a flame. Following up their fantastic split with tourmates Girlpool, Slutever recently put the finishing touches on a brand-new cassette, Almost Famous. The six-song EP offers up a vital dose of heartfelt grunge-punk that is guaranteed to rattle you to your very core. CHIPP TERWILLIGER


WAVER CLAMOR BELLOW, RYAN FRANCESCONI AND MIRABAI PEART
(Clinton Street Theater, 2522 SE Clinton) Portland's Waver Clamor Bellow make soothing washes of ethereal tones through viola (Ben Magaziner), harp (Sage Fisher), and guitar (Paul Schaefer). The trio's sonic technique allows for moments both plaintive and raw, disjointed and beautiful all at once. On Mare's Nest, their debut—which is being released tonight—cosmic reverberations of long-form, experimental tunes like "Find a New Face for My Empty Skull" sit alongside moments of hissing, digital-effects wizardry. RYAN J. PRADO


GORDON BOK, CAROL ROHL, SHANGHAIED ON THE WILLAMETTE
(St. David of Wales Episcopal Church, 2800 SE Harrison) Maine folksinger Gordon Bok possesses a deep baritone voice and a lively adeptness with the 12-string guitar, and he's carved a humble but integral career in the folk circuit with both his own material and in preserving folk songs and lore that might have otherwise been lost over the years. In 1975, Bok recorded his best-known work as one-third of an informal trio with Ann Mayo Muir and Ed Trickett; their Turning Toward the Morning remains a stunning recording all these years later, one of the best folk albums ever made. Bok's rendition of the traditional "Three Score and Ten" and his own compositions "Isle Au Haut Lullaby" and "Turning Toward the Morning" are the centerpieces, and they're sad and poetic, full of grace and labor. As familiar with a ship's rigging as he is with the neck of a guitar, Bok remains a living link to a bygone era, of shipyards and trawlers and schooners, of cold coastal winds and summer sun shining on the ocean. He's one of the greatest and most genuine folksingers alive. NL


SCOTT PEMBERTON
(Star Theater, 13 NW 6th) What's Scott Pemberton play? He plays Timber Rock. What's Timber Rock? It's what Scott Pemberton plays. Since that clears nothing up, know this: don't worry about it. Roll with it. Groove out. Pemberton is Portland's own guitar hero, a wildly inventive mind capable of dancing from stone-cold jazz to speed metal with a wink and a grin. Having muscled up his reputation with a couple of years of road work, he returns with his first studio record since 2012's Sugar Mama. The new one is called Timber Rock, because that's what he plays. RYAN WHITE


REAGAN YOUTH, 13 SCARS, RUM REBELLION, FAITHLESS SAINTS
(Tonic Lounge, 3100 NE Sandy) Reagan Youth's name was very much of a time and era, although their ideals have always been prescient. As far as I can tell from sifting through the names of current and former members—and there have been lots—guitarist Paul Bakija (AKA Paul Cripple) is the only remaining OG (original vocalist Dave Rubinstein and bassist Andy Bryan died in 1993 and 2002 respectively), but the band and its message lives on. The work of these New York hardcore punks shouldn't be diminished by the leanness of their output. Reagan Youth's only proper studio album, Youth Anthems for the New Order, is exactly what it sounds like—a true statement for the marginalized that has outlived the band's namesake, and will be here long after Reagan Youth leave this mortal coil. MARK LORE