Rock Picks: Warped Tour, Pop Levi, Valient Thorr

THURSDAY, AUGUST 14

Gary Copeland

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Hammer of the gods: Valient Thorr

Selena Salfen

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Kentucky fried: Dead Child

Norman Seeff

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The thinker: Raphael Saadiq

 Juana Molina, Carmen Consoli, Samantha Crain at the Santa Monica Pier

This is a curiously great and relevant all-progressive-women-musicians lineup for Santa Monica’s annual Twilight Dance Series. Juana Molina is the Argentine singer-composer (also a former TV comedian) whose hybrid of mesmerizing acoustic folk-pop with beautifully quirky electronic strains has won her rightful acclaim. Her newly rhythm-heavy album, Un Día, recorded at her home in Buenos Aires, is set for October release. The Italian vocalist-songwriter Carmen Consoli brings both heavily rocking and Mediterranean-airy pop songs that boast heady lyrical concerns — AIDS, the suppression of women, Greek mythology and a controversially anti-religious tone — while conveying them in a rich, sensual contralto often wrapped in folkloric musical settings. Much of her award-winning new album, Eva Contro Eva, is graced with traditional instruments of southern Italy, such as fiddle, accordion and Sicilian shepherd’s flute. Choctaw storyteller Samantha Crain also appears; see separate pick for her Hotel Café show on Tuesday. (John Payne)

Also playing Thursday:

XIU XIU, CARLA BOZULICH at the Echo (see Music feature); PHENOMENAUTS, VIC RUGGIERO, KEPI GHOULIE at the Knitting Factory; LIZ PAPPADEMAS at Tangier.

FRIDAY, AUGUST 15

 Valient Thorr at the Troubadour

All we need is another ironic metal band — another outfit patently enamored of all things heavy and histrionic yet hedging their credibility bets by keeping tongues deep in cheeks. At least North Carolina’s Valient Thorr — despite their GWAR-ish faux bio, stint on the Warped Tour, stupid stage names, adolescent artwork and (admittedly genius) song titles like “Tackle the Walrus” and “Nomadic Sacrifice” — have the face-scrunching chops and sheer adrenalized velocity to transcend their copout shtick. Valient Thorr’s new album, Immortalizer — their fourth full-length in five years — fizzes with smart, organic pre-punk hard rock transparently indebted to AC/DC’s blue-collar boogie and flab-free arrangements, Thin Lizzy’s embroidered twin-lead-guitar odysseys, the proto-blast beats and scruff-of-the-neck street smarts of Motorhead (who will tour with V.T. next month); and Corrosion of Conformity’s backward-looking, backwoods escapism and high-plains yelp. Valient Thorr, my friends, are a bloody good, serious heavy rock band — now they just need the (big) balls to admit it. (Paul Rogers)

Pop Levi at the Echo

Pop Levi is a superstar from Liverpool, used to play bass in Ladytron, signed a solo deal with Ninja Tune, moved to L.A. and set up shop. In the last couple of years, he’s done two albums’ worth of sheer electric-rock genius, the likes of which you most likely have never heard, even remotely. Poppy’s newest is called Never Never Love, which was recorded at Quincy Jones’ old stomping grounds, Westlake Audio, where Thriller and Off the Wall were recorded. One would love to imagine Michael Jackson’s ghost casting long shadows over Levi as he assembled his awesome batch of high-gloss/lo-fi pop and rock ditties, which are futuristic and electro and retro and very glam and sexy. His songs are always way danceable, mind-bendingly freshly plotted (loads of expectation-dashing) and far more intelligent than about 99 percent of other roots-disco product. I’ve run out of space. Check out Pop’s plethora of absurdly inspired videos on YouTube, which will link you to faraway, mysterious, painterly, funny places where creativity has not died. (John Payne)

Dead Child at Relax Bar

Would anyone be paying attention to Dead Child if the Louisville-based throwback-metal band didn’t feature three guys who have done time in the seminal math-rock outfit Slint (including David Pajo, who’s also played in Tortoise and Zwan)? Probably not. Sorry, dudes: Though there’s a million solid reasons to leave behind the land of skinny jeans for the land of ripped jeans, the promise of a wide-open playing field is not one of them, since the Internet has created a metal scene every bit as oversaturated as the indie-rock scene. That said, I, for one, am stoked that Dead Child have a reason to stand out from the crowd, because their recent debut, Attack, is an unabashedly retro-minded pleasure I’d have regretted missing otherwise. These guys remember everything satisfying about early-’80s metal — crunchy riffs, lean grooves, vocals that ascend to womanly heights — without making a big deal about being defenders of a forgotten faith or anything. They rock, and that’s it. (Mikael Wood)

Also playing Friday:

IDINA MENZEL at the Wiltern; FABULOUS THUNDERBIRDS at the Canyon; KEVIN SECONDS at the Knitting Factory; LAUREL CANYON RAMBLERS at McCabe’s; THE MORMONS, NINJA ACADEMY, MIDWAY at Mr. T’s Bowl; LITTLE CAESAR at Paladino’s; STARLITE DESPERATION at the Redwood Bar & Grill; SPINDRIFT at Spaceland; MY RUIN, TARANTIST at the Whisky.  

SATURDAY, AUGUST 16

Natasha Shneider benefit at the Henry Fonda Theater