Rock Picks: Winifred E. Eye, Stagecoach, Marianne Dissard, Thao

SUNDAY, APRIL 26

Ximena Sariñana

EMI TELEVISA MUSIC

ZOé

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More About

• DITTY BOPS McCabe
• Winifred Eye
• Ximena Sarinana
• Marianne Dissard
• Thao Nguyen

Eulogies, One A.M. Radio at the Echo

If there’s one thing L.A. powerhouse Dangerbird Records excels at, it’s indie pop that effuses easy dreaminess and cool melancholy in equal turns. Eulogies has that in spades, which should come as no surprise considering the band is helmed by one of the label’s founders, Peter Walker. In the tradition of California greats like Grandaddy and Nada Surf, Eulogies deals in effortless guitar tunes counterbalanced by moody but optimistic ruminations on death, disconnect and generalized drear, sent through the speakers on the back of a whispery croon. Walker’s group appears here in support of its just-released second LP, Here Anonymous, which was produced by labelmate Hrishikesh Hirway. Also known as the One AM Radio, Hirway, who opens with his recently assembled five-piece band, paints the Dangerbird vision in broad electronic swaths, typically composing lush, ambient soundscapes that seethe blue tones and incorporate a variety of hushed instruments. (Chris Martins)

Also playing Sunday:

EDDIE AND THE HOT RODS at the Knitting Factory; KID KOALA at the Gallery Nucleus; CHRISTOPHER GUEST, MICHAEL MCKEAN, HARRY SHEARER at the Wiltern; EULOGIES, THE ONE AM RADIO at the Echo (day show, 1 p.m.); MR. LIF at the Echo; THE FAINT, LADYTRON at the Henry Fonda Theatre; NITE JEWEL, GROUPER at the Smell; MARY MARY at House of Blues; THE MAE SHI, WIDOW BABIES at the Echo; THE DITTY BOPS at McCabe’s; LITTLE BIG TOWN at Club Nokia.

MONDAY, APRIL 27

Zoe at Amoeba Music

It’s no big secret that some of the best outer-space sounds are coming from Mexico City, and Zoé are among the D.F.’s bravest astronauts (and not just because they named a 2002 album Asteroide). There are a lot of electronic elements swirling around in their galactic soup, as well as strands of Britpop, shoegazer and low-key psychedelia. Such older songs as “Paula” and “Corazón Atómico” sound like David Bowie falling to Earth and landing in a field of Stone Roses. Their most recent album, with the slitheringly cool title Reptilectric (2008), is given added layers of atmospherics by producer Phil Vinall (Pulp, Placebo). Despite some occasional louder, stormier passages, Zoé generally keep their freakier moments on the subtle side, with León Larregui crooning soothingly over his bandmates’ glowing soundscapes. “Poli” is a highlight, as spaghetti Western horns collide with stellar echoes over a sleepy folk-rock groove. Starts at 7 p.m. (Falling James)

Marianne Dissard at Echo Curio

The Martian-red expanses of Arizona are not the first place one would expect to come across intimate, romantic chansons sung in French. The dry, unforgiving desert landscape is too harsh for delicate life forms and sensitive sentiments — not to mention that many of the state’s conservative residents don’t cotton to folks speaking Spanish, much less anything more “exotic.” And yet, Marianne Dissard, who was born in France, has found her own unique place in the Tucson scene, alongside such simpatico allies as Naïm Amor, Nick Luca and Giant Sand. On her debut CD, L’Entredeux, she confides her folkie love songs in a breathy whisper, concocting gentle spells even as co-songwriter Joey Burns (Calexico) surrounds her with washes of guitar, organ, mandolin and violins that evoke the grandeur of the Sonoran Desert. The combination of Old World tradition and Wild West expansiveness is weirdly enchanting, whether Dissard is wallowing in solemn ballads like “Cayenne” and “Le Lendemain” or kicking up her heels on occasional uptempo rambles like “Les Draps Sourds.” Her soft vocal delivery can get a bit repetitive, but it blends marvelously with the hints of distant Navajo thunder, momentous violins, Velvet Underground throb, bubblegum fuzz-guitar break and general Forever Changes–style trippiness that come together on the album’s best track, the six-minute epic “Merci de Rien du Tout.” Tonight, she and her touring band (which apparently doesn’t include Burns) alight in this tiny shop of curiosities on a bill with local country revisionists I See Hawks in L.A. (Falling James)

Also playing Monday:

KID KOALA at the Bordello; THE FAINT, LADYTRON at the Henry Fonda Theatre; THE HENRY CLAY PEOPLE, YOUNG LOVE, FLYING TOURBILLION ORCHESTRA, SWIM PARTY at Spaceland; FOOL’S GOLD, JOHN WEBSTER JOHNS, LEOPOLD AND HIS FICTION at the Echo.

TUESDAY, APRIL 28

Tinted Windows at the Troubadour

Wanna start an all-star power-pop band like Tinted Windows? Well, you’ve gotta have some power in that pop, so you have to get someone reliable and hard like Smashing Pumpkins guitarist James Iha. And you need a bassist who’s solid without being too flashy, like Fountain of Wayne’s Adam Schlesinger. And, yeah, it might be too much to hope for, but at least try to get a living legend, such as Cheap Trick’s Bun E. Carlos, to sit behind the drums. What’s that? You want a singer who sounds like Taylor Hanson, the dude from that sappy boy band Hanson? Oh, geez. Now why would you want to ruin a good idea like that? Such a combination could only be awful ... except the truth is that Taylor doesn’t sound half bad on Tinted Windows’ debut CD, Kind of a Girl (S-Curve Records). While Hanson may not be as technically dazzling as Robin Zander, his yearning vocals still have a certain tuneful appeal. The lyrics to Real Kids–influenced songs like “Messing With My Head” are simple and effective, albeit without the wit, ambition and depth of power-pop masters like the Kinks’ Ray Davies and the Quick’s Steven Hufsteter. If the supergroup ends up becoming massively popular — a distinct possibility — it could prove interesting to see if Mr. Bun has time for both Tinted Windows and the constantly touring Cheap Trick. (Falling James)