Super Pick

BERMUDA TRIANGLE, BELLS ATLAS
(Aladdin Theater, 3017 SE Milwaukie) How does a trio that’s been together less than a year and only released two songs online wind up selling out the Aladdin Theater on their first visit to Portland? In the case of Bermuda Triangle, it helps that one of the group’s three members is Brittany Howard, the leader of blues-rock dynamos Alabama Shakes. Initially, this project was supposed to be a one-off affair, with Howard and Nashville stalwarts Becca Mancari and Jesse Lafser playing a single show at a She Shreds magazine event in Nashville last summer. But when you’re having fun with your friends, why would you want to stop that train a-rollin’? Not that you could really describe Bermuda Triangle’s music as fun, despite their predilection for Hawaiian shirts and playful onstage banter. The three women set their sharp harmonies on a journey between folk and blues, the Scylla and Charybdis of modern popular music. Lafser and Mancari recently released acclaimed solo albums, with the latter getting an endorsement from the members of Paramore. The trio’s collective history clearly indicates they have the skill to quickly write some powerful songs, as proven by the tracks they’ve officially released and others you can spy on YouTube. My favorite of the bunch is “Rosey,” a luminous ramble, where Lafser says a tender yet almost brusque goodbye to a former lover. “Lay your weary head in the arms of someone else instead,” they sing, in tightly wound unison. “Rosey, rest your weary head/While I’m lying here in someone else’s bed.” A kiss-off never sounded so sweet. ROBERT HAM

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WEDNESDAY 2/7

MISS RAYON, PLANET DAMN, COOL FLOWERS
(Mississippi Studios, 3939 N Mississippi) Read our story on Planet Damn.

BOINK, TOOTHBONE, SURFER ROSIE
(Doug Fir, 830 E Burnside) Tonight the Doug Fir is hosting a joint release show to celebrate Boink’s new EP and Toothbone’s new self-titled LP. Recorded with Riley Geare of Unknown Mortal Orchestra, Toothbone’s got a few good songs (“Hand in My Shoe,” the instrumental “Untitled”) and one great one: the album centerpiece “Shy Joker,” which undergoes several psychedelic mutations throughout six and a half minutes. First it’s a whispered, meditative folk song that gradually builds and warps into a stoner rock anthem about sleeping all day and prowling around all night. Then lead singer Daniel Rossi warns, “This is the last you’ll see of me,” and the guitar playing wanders off course into jam band territory, eventually settling back into the folksy groove of its intro. “Shy Joker” feels mystical and epic, like a long, strange trip on a circular racetrack. Toothbone’s Facebook page unhelpfully lists their genre as “California burritos”—I don’t know what those sound like (unless they’re talking about the Flying Burrito Bros.), but I can tell you that the Portland three-piece’s new record is worth a listen. CIARA DOLAN

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THURSDAY 2/8

KIMBRA, ARC IRIS

(Wonder Ballroom, 128 NE Russell) Gotye’s 2012 megahit “Somebody That I Used to Know” gave the xylophone—my least favorite instrument—an international platform, and for that, I despise it. But it does have one redeeming quality: It features New Zealand singer Kimbra, whose R&B-infused electro-pop and gossamer voice calls to mind the Haim sisters, Santigold, and Caroline Polachek of Chairlift. The single “Top of the World” (from her brand-new LP Primal Heart) is her best yet—it’s got earth-shaking bass and empowering lyrics, two elements of a lasting pop hit of Kimbra’s own. CD

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FRIDAY 2/9

HURRY UP, CONDITIONER, BRAILLE STARS, CREATURE TO CREATURE
(American Legion Local 134, 2104 NE Alberta) Hurry Up is the unholy trinity of Maggie Vail (bass), Kathy Foster (drums), and Westin Glass (guitar). It’s also kind of a super-group: Vail fronted the now-defunct Bangs, she and Foster represent two-thirds of the Strange Babes DJs, and Foster and Glass play in the Thermals. On their debut self-titled EP, Hurry Up sounds fluent in the lo-fi punk tradition of Dead Moon—all three sing (and scream) over big, razor-edged guitar riffs and drum attacks more intimidating than a charging rhinoceros. CD

BERMUDA TRIANGLE, BELLS ATLAS
(Aladdin Theater, 3017 SE Milwaukie) See our Bermuda Triangle super pick.

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SATURDAY 2/10

G PERICO
(Hawthorne Theatre, 1507 SE César E. Chávez) Read our story on G Perico.

GLOBAL BASED: ASTRONOMAR, TONY QUATTRO, TOLLEFSON
(The Whiskey Bar, 31 NW 1st) Read our story on Global Based.

TURN! TURN! TURN!’S 4TH BIRTHDAY PARTY: MÁSCARAS, ARTERIES, GUILLOTINE BOYS
(Turn! Turn! Turn!, 8 NE Killingsworth) Having a safe space for everyone to enjoy records, vintage tchotchkes, and performances from some of the area’s best indie, punk, and experimental bands isn’t a new concept, but it didn’t fully come to fruition until the Radio Room transformed into Turn! Turn! Turn! four years ago. Celebrate the venue’s birthday with psychedelic-surf trio Máscaras, punk band Arteries, and the trip-pop of the Guillotine Boys. Happy birthday, Turn! Turn! Turn!—your existence is much appreciated. CERVANTE POPE

LUKÁŠ VONDRÁČEK
(Lincoln Hall at PSU, 1620 SW Park) This weekend, the good folks at Portland Piano International welcome globetrotting musician Lukáš Vondráček to Rip City for a pair of solo performances on a captivatingly intimate stage. While the bulk of Sunday’s program is dedicated to German romantic sonatas, the fascinating setlist for Saturday features a trio of composers from Vondráek’s native Czechoslovakia, guaranteeing a chance to witness some truly rare works infrequently played in this country. Along with this trio of classical B-sides, the keyboard will spring to life with Robert Schumann’s totes delightful Carnaval and the incomparably delicate Transcendental Etude No. 9 in A-flat Major from piano god Franz Liszt. If you’re game for some serious chills and trills, grab a ticket and prepare to be utterly transported through the unfiltered, unplugged power of 10 masterful fingers and 88 magnificent keys. BRIAN HORAY

MARRIAGE + CANCER, MAXIMUM MAD, HAIR PULLER
(Tonic Lounge, 3100 NE Sandy) It’s strange to think Marriage + Cancer are just now releasing their first full-length record. It’s probably because they’ve focused much of their energy on playing pummeling live performances pretty much anywhere with a PA. Tonight the band celebrates the release of their self-titled debut via Austin, Texas, label Self Sabotage Records. Throughout, Marriage + Cancer’s moody, driving noise is anchored by the paper-shredder vox of Robert Comitz (formerly of K Records band Nucular Aminals), and rounded out by a cascade of full-throttle, angular heaviness owing much to the likes of Drive Like Jehu and Jesus Lizard. The sludgy spirit of the latter is present on the fantastically despondent rocker “Command + Comply,” which summons a furrowed-brow rhythmic explosion from bassist Christian Carmine and drummer Chase Hall. The LP’s first single, “God Is Tan,” plays like a Moore-Ranaldo fever nightmare you don’t really want to end. RYAN J. PRADO

DENT MAY, MOON KING
(Bunk Bar, 1028 SE Water) Dent May always felt a little bit out of place. The well-dressed baroque-pop crooner is from Mississippi, a state that’s home to many musical styles, but best known for its muddy Delta blues. And for years, he recorded for the Paw Tracks label, home to skewed-pop weirdos like Animal Collective, Ariel Pink, and Prince Rama. May makes pop music, but he’s not so weird, choosing instead a stately aesthetic to go with his Beach Boys-indebted sound. But May is now based in Los Angeles, where his polished sound won’t stick out like a sunburned thumb. With a fresh start and a clear head, he released a new album, Across the Multiverse, last summer. It’s lush, warm, tuneful, cosmic, and funky in places, like a long, deep breath of clean air beneath a starry night sky after a thrilling evening spent with someone special. It sounds like Dent May found a spot that suits him. BEN SALMON

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SUNDAY 2/11

DAN AUERBACH AND THE EASY EYE SOUND REVUE, SHANNON AND THE CLAMS
(Crystal Ballroom, 1332 W Burnside) See Okay, I know Dan Auerbach is headlining this show and that he’s a Black Key or whatever, but what you really need to know is that the incomparable Shannon Shaw is singing with his backing band, the Easy Eye Sound Revue. Shaw’s voice is a national treasure, and her own band, Shannon and the Clams, makes doo-wop punk that sounds like it’s inspired by John Waters movies, used bubblegum, and greasy-faced teenagers slow dancing at prom. Auerbach produced their new album, Onion, which comes out later this month (the singles “The Boy” and “Did You Love Me” are fantastic). CD

LUKÁŠ VONDRÁEK
(Lincoln Hall at PSU, 1620 SW Park) See Saturday’s preview.

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MONDAY 2/12

DIET CIG, GREAT GRANDPA, THE SPOOK SCHOOL
(Aladdin Theater, 3017 SE Milwaukie) Swear I’m Good at This, the debut LP of New York indie duo Diet Cig, explores the ambiguous, uncomfortable space between adolescence and adulthood. “I’m only 21 years old/And now I’m drinking alone,” Alex Luciano sings on the track “Barf Day,” but, as if to counteract her own cynicism, later belts, “I just wanna have ice cream on my birthday/Blow the candles out and wish all of my pain away.” Luciano pivots easily from a powerful punk croon to a whimper in a single song. She met drummer Noah Bowman at a show in New Paltz, New York, where she interrupted his set to ask for a lighter. It’s the kind of quirky, bold origin story you’d expect from a band that’s both sincere and self-effacing. ISABEL LYNDON 

MAJID JORDAN, STWO
(Roseland, 8 NW 6th) If you’re going to introduce yourself to the world, there are worse ways to do so than by co-writing and -producing one of the world’s biggest hit-maker’s biggest hits. That’s exactly what Toronto-based R&B duo Majid Jordan did with Drake’s 2013 mega-hit “Hold On, We’re Going Home.” A year later, Majid Jordan—AKA Majid Al Maskati and Jordan Ullman—released the EP A Place Like This through Drake’s label, OVO Sound, followed by a self-titled debut LP in 2016, and a follow-up, The Space Between, late last year. Both showcase the icy, luxurious synth-pop and melodic R&B that no doubt caught Drake’s ear, and plenty more ears since; both albums peaked in the top 10 of Billboard’s R&B chart. Also on tonight’s bill is another fresh face from OVO, French producer Stwo, who got his first-ever production credit on Drake’s 2016 album Views. BS

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TUESDAY 2/13

CLAP YOUR HANDS SAY YEAH, STEADY HOLIDAY
(Mississippi Studios, 3939 N Mississippi) Clap Your Hands Say Yeah saw a resurgence in 2017 with the 10-year anniversary of their misunderstood sophomore album Some Loud Thunder, and also the release of their fifth studio album, The Tourist. The band, helmed by multi-instrumentalist Alec Ounsworth, enjoyed huge accolades at the beginning of its run, landing big-time appearances at major festivals like Lollapalooza and Treasure Island. A brief hiatus following Some Loud Thunder led to an artistic rebound on 2011’s sparklingly weird Hysterical. For whatever fickle reason, though, the band never quite climbed back into the earholes of tastemaker bloggers the way bands like Vampire Weekend or the Strokes did. Which is a shame, because The Tourist finds Ounsworth’s skepticisms in full froth, notably on peppy, moody cuts like “Down (Is Where I Want to Be)” and the equally somber power-pop romp of “The Vanity of Trying.” Get ready to party like it’s 2005. RJP