Rock Picks: Peanut Butter Wolf, Serj Tankian, Conor Oberst

Also playing Monday:

STEELY DAN at the Honda Center; CARRIE RODRIGUEZ at the Hotel Café; JUICEBOXXX, THE MONOLATORS at Mr. T’s Bowl; DAVE GLEASON at Redwood Bar & Grill.

Puppy love: Conor Oberst

Steve Hall

Ax reflections: Oliver Mtukudzi.

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• Alejandro Escovedo
• Serj Tankian
• Peanut Butter Wolf
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TUESDAY, AUGUST 5

 Conor Oberst at the Troubadour

Having some kind of definitive identity is challenging for American singer-songwriters. In a glutted market, where man-with-guitar is the most accessible kind of musicianship to market and tour, singer-songwriters also happen to often sound alike, and appear on MySpace and on Pitchfork in quick succession. Yet, we do know the not-quite-30-year-old Omaha, Nebraska, native Conor Oberst (and his beloved wounded-puppy/pasty-goth visage), who first emerged in versatility-proving bands the Faint, Commander Venus, Desaparecidos and, most famously, Bright Eyes. He’s primarily established himself as a commanding solo guy, very much at home alone with his shabbily artful songs. His new self-titled record, out soon on Merge, is his first solo effort in more than a decade, and what helpfully distinguishes Oberst from the fleet is his ballsy dramatics, channeled into any number of genres that he deals in, a truly unusual ability. Out-rocking Ryan Adams and out-cooling John Mayer, Oberst is a rare-bird artist. (Kate Carraway)

Also playing Tuesday:

THE HUSH SOUND at El Rey Theatre; HUMAN LEAGUE, BELINDA CARLISLE, ABC, DEAD OR ALIVE at Gibson Amphitheatre; GARY WILSON at the Echo; KRISTIAN HOFFMAN, 17th PYGMY, IO PERRY at Spaceland; JOHN TRUDELL & BAD DOG at Temple Bar; PEANUT BUTTER WOLF at Cinespace; HECUBA at the Silent Movie Theatre.

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 6

 Playing Wednesday:

THE TING TINGS at El Rey Theatre; STEVE MILLER BAND, JOE COCKER at Nokia Theatre.

THURSDAY, AUGUST 7

The Faint, Jaguar Love, Shy Child at Henry Fonda Theater

Here’s a solid triple bill that shouldn’t be missed by anyone wondering if the indie-rock underground has outgrown its love affair with danceable post-punk. The Faint, from Omaha, have a new album out this week called Fasciinatiion, and though it’s the first record the band are releasing on their own (until now they’ve been part of the sprawling Saddle Creek family), the CD doesn’t reveal any big departure from the electro-goth jams they kicked out on Danse Macabre and Wet From Birth. Jaguar Love are a kicky new Portland-based outfit featuring members of Pretty Girls Make Graves and Blood Brothers, both of whom recently called it quits; on their Matador debut, Take Me to the Sea (due on August 19), the Jaguars dial down the basement-show fury of their previous acts and bump up the off-kilter tune sense. New York’s Shy Child play a sort of American version of the nü-rave stuff being churned out by British bands like Klaxons and Does It Offend You, Yeah? Also Fri., Aug. 8. (Mikael Wood)

Oliver Mtukudzi, Rocky Dawuni at the Santa Monica Pier

Why does the Western media focus on the bad news from Africa? In some cases, though, no news may mean good news, even though the lack of coverage remains a sore point. Oliver “Tuku” Mtukudzi’s Zimbabwe has been in the headlines as a continental basket case, largely because of the policies of hold-on-to-power-at-all-costs leader Robert Mugabe. For years, Tuku’s subtly intoxicating southern African home brew has offered Zimbabweans a way to unwind and reflect, his gruff-voiced morality tales commenting on personal choices and societal ills. Yet, L.A. resident Rocky Dawuni’s homeland, Ghana, rarely gets any ink or photons, even though it’s a working democracy with a free press, and — despite endemic poverty and problematic corruption — is generally regarded as an African beacon. No stranger to global music fans here, the peripatetic Dawuni has been working with the likes of UNICEF, gigging back home and elsewhere, as well as finishing his long-awaited follow-up to 2005’s Afro-synergistic Book of Changes. Get ready for some good news with this double-thrill bill, which starts at 7 p.m. (Tom Cheyney)

Also playing Thursday:

AIRBORNE TOXIC EVENT, RADARS TO THE SKY at El Rey Theatre; BIC RUNGA at Largo; ROLLING BLACKOUTS at Silverlake Lounge; TARA JANE O’NEIL, BOBB BRUNO at the Smell; DARKER MY LOVE, TWEAK BIRD at the Troubadour; PEANUT BUTTER WOLF at Little Temple.