Rock Picks: The Kills, Lady Sovereign, Fischerspooner, the Dears

Kenneth Capello

The Kills channel Elton John & Bernie Taupin, Fri.

Doug Coombe

Nomo bring their favorite toys to show & tell, Sat.

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More About

• Staples Center
• Annie Clark
• Alison Mosshart
• The Kills (Band)
• Justin Townes Earle

FRIDAY, MAY 22

THE KILLS, THE HORRORS AT HENRY FONDA THEATER
The Kills’ 2008 album, Midnight Boom, was another fascinating collision of art-punk riffs, juiced trash-blues scraps, percussive schoolyard chants and forebodingly sentimental anti-gentrification electro-funk, but one song in particular really stood out, in part because it was so disarmingly sweet and purely pop amid all of that genre-crunching chaos. “Let the weather have its way with you,” Alison Mosshart cooed ruefully as she said her enigmatic goodbye to a “Black Balloon,” a bewitchingly haunting ballad that we described in this space as “the sad-beautiful song of the year.” Apparently, someone else agrees, since it was just re-released as the title track of the Kills’ new EP, Black Balloon (Domino), which also includes a murkily rusty romp through Howlin’ Wolf’s “44” and a previously unreleased original, “Weedkiller,” where Mosshart seethes over her and Jaime Hince’s torturous twists of garage-noise guitars. The British-born Hince and Florida native Mosshart are well versed in the art of torturous twists and fascinating collisions, much like the Horrors, who’ve moved beyond their punky Damned beginnings into spacier Damned territory on their new CD, Primary Colours. The London band maintain just enough punk-rock drive to bolt down a wispy eight-minute psychedelic ramble like “Sea Within a Sea” into a fairly mesmerizing groove. (Falling James)

MODERAT AT THE HOLLYWOOD PALLADIUM
Newer isn’t always better, I’m sure you’ve heard, but even in the case of cutting-edge music, it doesn’t always translate to “shiny and new.” Sometimes brand new, as is the case with Moderat’s eponymous release for BPitch Control, means even more beat up, prematurely decayed and instantly classic. The trio, despite the freshness of their self-titled debut album, isn’t a new act, as it was over before it even started, when they called it quits after the Auf Kosten der Gesundheit (that’s At the Cost of Health for you non-Krauts) EP. After a random reunion at a public swimming pool, the loner Sascha Ring (a.k.a. Apparat) and the duo Gernot Bronsert and Sebastian Szary (a.k.a. Modeselektor) agreed to give it another go, and bass heads and electro freaks the world over will be thankful they did. Striving to create something timeless, they checked into the all-analog-tape Hansa “By the Wall” Studios, where David Bowie saw those overhead guns while recording “Heroes.” Pfadfinderei, a VJ outfit that can turn watching paint dry into cinema, will provide the visuals for the evening. (Daniel Siwek)

CHAIN & THE GANG AT THE SMELL
Ian F. Svenonius (Nation of Ulysses, the Make-Up) recently returned to pal Calvin Johnson’s basement in Olympia, Washington, to produce a set of pared-down, essential grooves that would accompany his wanderings into pop theory (he’s promoting his new book, The Psychic Soviet, on this tour). The writings are murky and scattered, exploring vampirism’s racial dimensions and the exploitative cultural significance of drinking coffee. Fortunately, Svenonius’ Chain & the Gang soundtrack Down With Liberty . . . Up With Chains! is center-stage on this tour, to kill the burn of the wanna-be-droll-but-mostly-sardonic book. The barest of dance punk’s bones can be found stomping and strutting in Chain & the Gang’s two-minute triumphs. Stones-esque structures and rudimentary backbeats drive in a straightforward fashion, making lots of room for Svenonius’ Beat-poetry framework. Meanwhile, his “choir of the disenfranchised” — made up of K-Records kids Fred Thomas (Saturday Looks Good to Me), Aaron Hartman (Old Time Relijun), Veronica Ortuño (Finally Punk) and others — forms the jailbird chorus. (Wendy Gilmartin)

Also playing Friday:

LEON RUSSELL at Galaxy Theatre; VERY BE CAREFUL at Bootleg Theatre; PAUL ROBERTS at the Knitting Factory; JON BRION at Largo; THE MEATMEN at Relax Bar; KILLOLA, KRISTEEN YOUNG, THE 1921a at the Roxy; VAN HUNT at Zanzibar; KENNY LATTIMORE & CHANTE MOORE at the Conga Room; TAYLOR SWIFT at Staples Center.

SATURDAY, MAY 23

NOMO AT SPACELAND
When Nomo’s pan-dimensional party transport arrives, take your freshly baked funk muffins out of the oven before you board. Enjoy them in all their bootiliciousness while you visit imaginary “Invisible Cities” and marvel at percussives made of discarded lumber and scrap metal. Groove to the languid righteousness of “Book of Right On.” Fall in lust during the Congotronic kalimba pluck & buzz of “Rings.” Seek the imminent epiphany of “New Song.” Hail the fallen-comrade noize-jazz lament of “Elijah.” Honor the late Joe Zawinul when you visit “Fourth Ward.” Smile at Tom Zé when his “Ma” struts in. Name-check spirit peers Budos Band, Toubab Krewe, Antibalas and Either/Orchestra. Soak in the sax-y vanguard skronk of “My Dear” while you give the drummer some, but don’t wait for the singer to show. Leave your Afrobeat purity-index calculations at the door. You won’t need them. And, whatever you do, never say no mas to NOMO. (Tom Cheyney)