Rock Picks: Ray Davies, Beth Orton, Justice

New Model Army at the Knitting Factory

The war on terror has been surprisingly effective, at least when it comes to protecting this country from the dangers of foreign rock & roll musicians. The U.S. government’s increasingly strict and seemingly subjective standards for issuing visas has led to the cancellation or postponement of American tours by the Saints, Hugh Cornwell, Balkan Beat Box and many others in the past year. British band New Model Army were supposed to visit L.A. last fall, but they’ve managed to sneak in this time for another rude attempt at undermining national security and weakening our admittedly tenuous moral resolve via their pesky folk-punk brainwashing. It’s easy to see why La Migra would want to keep out musicians who have released such great, rabble-rousing anthems as “Here Comes the War,” “Christian Militia” and a classic version of “51st State,” but singer-guitarist Justin Sullivan has always balanced his fierce principles with the saving grace of tunefulness. The keyboard-pumped “Bloodsports,” from their 2007 CD, High, is prodded along by Sullivan’s urgent vocals, and “Dawn” is marked by churning acoustic guitars and the band’s trademark epic grandeur. (Falling James)

Tim Soter

In the Justice system: DJ Diplo

Katerina Kuzmina

Boys sing: Auktyon

Hillary Walsh

Through the looking glass: A Fine Frenzy

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More About

• Ray Davies
• Tony Allen
• A Fine Frenzy
• Hip-Hop and Rap
• Knitting

Also playing Tuesday:

THE BLACK KEYS with JAY REATARD at the Wiltern LG; LILI HAYDN at the Silent Movie Theatre.

 WEDNESDAY, APRIL 2

THE GUTTER TWINS, GREAT NORTHERN at Avalon; DON CARLOS at the Echoplex; THE NIGHTWATCHMAN at the Hotel Café; SARA LOV, ANA EGGE, LIZ PAPPADEMAS at Tangier; JUCIFER at the Knitting Factory; THE VERONICAS at the Roxy.

THURSDAY, APRIL 3

A Fine Frenzy at the Roxy

Alison Sudol had a broken heart. Instead of climbing back into bed with a gallon of chocolate ice cream like the rest of us, she channeled her loneliness and pain into a series of cathartic breakup songs, such as “Near to You” and “Ashes and Wine,” on her 2007 debut CD, One Cell in the Sea (Virgin). Armed with a major-label deal and a large supporting cast of sympathetically low-key, if slick studio musicians, Sudol reinvented herself as A Fine Frenzy (from William Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream), turning her heartbreak into the stuff of grand melodrama. The album’s piano ballads have a rueful, stately presence, and Sudol coos with a breathy delivery that is often languidly pretty. However, Lukas Burton and Hal Cragin’s strings-laden production is wearingly sticky sweet at times, and the occasionally playful but twee lyrics are made soggier by the repetition of lazy banalities like “thick as thieves” and “all I can say/is you blow me away.” Let’s hope that more of the fantastical whimsy of her hero Lewis Carroll finds its way into the future work of this talented singer. (Falling James)

Pitbull, Baby Bash at the Vault 350

Hillary Walsh

(Click to enlarge)

Through the looking glass: A Fine Frenzy

One of Pitbull’s stickiest new verses goes, “I’m too Latin for hip-hop and too hip-hop for Latin — y’all figure it out,” which nicely sums up the Miami MC’s dilemma. Like his previous release, El Mariel, the similarly overstuffed Boatlift sees him doling out crunk, reggaeton, syrupy ballads and other styles. But for all its 18 cameo-studded tracks, the record feels thin, probably because he’s never sinking his teeth into any compelling subject matter, such as the Cuban diaspora the CD’s title hints at. To see what this “li’l chico” can really do, pick up Pit’s debut, M.I.A.M.I., the odds-and-sods/remix album Money Is Still a Major Issue or any of the “Unleashed” series of mixtapes with DJ Ideal. Pit’s only 27, and his best work is still ahead of him, so twist off a Red Stripe and drink to his future. Also check for Baby Bash, who rocks it rico-suave smooth over Latin R&B bounce. (Andrew Lentz)

 Also playing Thursday:

MYSTIK JOURNEYMEN, AWOL ONE at the Knitting Factory; THE KRIS SPECIAL at Mr. T’s Bowl.