Music Picks

Gotan Project, Zero 7, José Gonzáles at the Hollywood Bowl

The French-Argentine collaboration Gotan Project do love their tango. So much so that nothing less than Buenos Aires’ famed ION studios would suffice for the recording of the band’s latest material. Being so geographically literal-minded, the band were bound to stumble over a few clichés, and the jaunty strains of bandoneon are everywhere on Lunático. But even this doesn’t take away from Gotan’s magic-realist touch: dance-floor precision with no loss of Latin fire. It took several releases, but Brit duo Zero 7, thanks to an assist from Sia and other singers, have left the down-tempo ghetto for good. Like an all-expense-paid vacation for the ears, the unqualified slice of creamy pop heaven that is The Garden requires absolutely nothing of you. On the contrary, Swedish/Argentine crooner-picker José Gonzáles (who contributes to The Garden) is so spare, he’s barely there — a technique that demands you listen closely. (Andrew Lentz)

Susanna Hoffs and Matthew Sweet (at the Rickenbacker show, Sunday)

Frank Black, Tuesday (tiptoe through the train tracks...)

Radio Birdman, intensely

Related Content

• Music Picks: Rhye, Papa and Motörhead
  May 9, 2013
• The Five Best Concerts in L.A. This Week
  December 31, 2012
• The Best Concerts to See in Los Angeles This Week
  May 13, 2013
• Music Picks: No Doubt, Nikki Hill, Alice Cooper
  November 22, 2012
• Country Songs That Should Be Covered By Metal Bands
  February 12, 2013

More About

• Michael Berick
• Josie Cotton
• Radio Birdman
• Jonny Whiteside
• Punk Rock

The Tyde at the Echo

Since the late ’80s, Brent and Darren Rademaker have been a constant presence on the local music scene leading such bands as Shadowland, Further, the Beachwood Sparks (Brent only) and, currently, the Tyde. But the Tyde’s intoxicating new disc, Three’s Co. (their debut), might be the one to make them a national presence. Front man Darren has found the perfect balance for his many musical loves (beach music, noise pop, country, ’80s new wave, to name a few). “Country Line” is an irresistible Sweet–meets–Beach Boys hybrid. “Brock Landers” and “Too Many Kims” beautifully match bouncy beats with barbed lyrics, while “Aloha Breeze” shines as a lovely slow dance. The Tyde’s bubbly pop serves as a refreshing tonic for the end-of-the-summer blues. (Michael Berick)

Eric Burdon at Warner Center Park

If you missed the British Invasion — or were in too much of a stupor to remember it — you can still catch one of its rare survivors in concert when Eric Burdon and a new breed of Animals bring back psychedelic rock to the San Fernando Valley. The band launched in 1962, but it was Burdon’s singular gutsy-bluesy style that spearheaded the Haight-Ashbury music scene, mesmerizing fans the world over. Forty-plus years later, John Lennon’s Egg Man still hits those nasty notes with brick force and is sure to blow the top off the park’s shell with rip-roaring versions of “See See Rider,” “Sky Pilot” and “San Franciscan Nights.” After all, he’s been the ruin of many a poor boy (and girl) from those hazy daze of hippiedom. 6-8 p.m.; 5800 Topanga Canyon Blvd., Woodland Hills. (818) 704-1358. www.valleyculturalcenter.org. (Heidi Dvorak)

U Roy, Ken Boothe, Leroy Sibbles, Leonard Dillon, Stranger Cole at the Henry Fonda Theater

Another mind-bendingly-comprehensive roundup of Jamaican innovators, this features not only one of the biggest and most influential figures in reggae history — the mighty U Roy — it also boasts some of the rootsiest forces still able to hoist a mike: Stranger Cole, who shook things up with bangarang classics like “Rough & Tough” and “Run Joe”; plus, the first-ever local appearance by Leonard “the Ethiopian” Dillon, with whom legendary producer Coxsone Dodd cut some brilliant records, not to mention the Heptones’ Leroy Sibbles, and the achingly soulful pipes of Ken Boothe. But it’s U Roy who’s certain to dominate — he’s the toaster who first brought hardscrabble street-life truth to reggae and, with his 1975 album, Dread Inna Babylon, he set the spiritual and stylistic standard for the idiom as a whole. (Jonny Whiteside)

MONDAY, AUGUST 28

Jeremy Enigk at the Troubadour

Back before emo godfather Jeremy Enigk made the final Sunny Day Real Estate record, the singer supposedly suffered a breakdown, returning as born-again or something. It’s a neat anecdote, but musicians’ faith gets attention for the wrong reasons. A better attitude might be “Hey, whatever it takes.” That’s exactly how I felt when SDRE disbanded and Enigk formed the short-lived Fire Theft, an inconsistent project redeemed by ecstatic shoegazery crescendoes. Like his maiden solo outing, Return of the Frog King, the new World Waits also has grandiose elements (church carillon, mandolin and pipe organ), but they supplement instead of overshadow the good stuff: jangly guitars, crashing drums, swelling choruses, and Enigk’s blissed-out voice, swinging between falsetto and brittle baritone. Think of it as Enigk in his Sunny Day prime but without the drama. (Andrew Lentz)

TUESDAY, AUGUST 29

Radio Birdman, The BellRays at the Wiltern

In the mid-’70s, Radio Birdman and the Saints practically invented Australian punk rock. While the Saints slogged on over the years, Radio Birdman, in true punk style, broke up early — basically after one album. However, they left behind probably the greatest punk-surf tune ever, the Hawaii Five-O–inspired “Aloha Steve and Danno,” along with an influence that survives today in the current garage-rock boom. The band’s cornerstones are Deniz Tez, a Michigan-born guitarist reared on the Stooges and the MC5, and fierce vocalist Rob Younger. The two recently reconvened the group with original members Chris Masuak (guitar) and keyboardist Pip Hoyle to record a long-awaited new album. The result, Zeno Beach (Yep Roc), boasts an intensity that shatters any “oh, here’s another re-formed punk band” cynicism, and their recent live shows Down Under have drawn raves. They are kicking off their first-ever (yes, first-ever!) U.S. tour with this L.A. show. (Michael Berick)