Falling James

“Dead radio if all we know is all we know,” Jennifer Charles warns solemnly against Oren Bloedow’s momentous guitar arpeggios, which toll like doom-laden bells, on “Karen 25,” from Elysian Fields’ latest album, Pink Air. The Brooklyn duo invent their own form of radio on the new record, which ranges from delicate pop (“Philistine Jackknife”) and candied balladry (“Start in Light”) to heavier passages driven by Bloedow’s barely restrained, darkly lurking guitar chords (“Tidal Wave,” “Storm Cellar”)....

On her latest album, Holes in the Sky, pianist Lara Downes surrounds herself with an impressive lineup of special guests who help her cover music from across a variety of genres by such disparate women composers as Janis Ian, Clara Schumann, Georgia Stitt, Eve Beglarian, Joni Mitchell and Paola Prestini. At Comunity, vocalist Hila Plitmann joins the pianist for a celebration of the new album — and of the spirit of women musicians — that includes performers from the Colburn School....

When sibling trio Michael (guitarist), Peter (drummer) and Margo Timmins (vocalist) joined with bassist Alan Anton to form Cowboy Junkies in Toronto in 1985, they stood out from most groups of the era. In a time when hair metal and hardcore bands were blustering and raging, and pop acts were largely peppy and dance-oriented, the Canadian folk-country group deliberately slowed things down and lowered the volume to let their songs and covers breathe in tranquil, lulling spaces....

Polartropica play shiny, shimmering synthpop that’s pumped up with the kind of ebullient beats that will make you feel like a sparkle of light swimming among the disco-ball reflections on the dance floor. Capyac put a similarly glamorous and flashy twist on disco, funk and hip-hop with their tight dance-music workouts....

It’s rare that a band like The Damned would confine their uncontrollable punk chaos and occasionally majestic goth fantasies to a small club like Alex’s Bar, but here they come with two nights of performances re-creating their brilliant 1979 opus, Machine Gun Etiquette. That masterwork captured the best impulses of The Damned — rabid punk bursts of incendiary romance (“Love Song”), sacrilegious daring (“Anti-Pope”) and apocalyptic despair (“I Just Can’t Be Happy Today”) mixed with unexpected gracefully melodic interludes, such as “Smash It Up (Part One).”...

If Honeychain ever make it big — a not unlikely possibility considering how catchy their pop-punk songs are — critics will inevitably describe their...

Sleater Kinney's Corin Tucker makes a welcome return to the spotlight with Filthy Friends, her project with R.E.M. guitarist Peter Buck. The duo have worked together with varying lineups over the past few years, and their latest album, Emerald Valley, is an often appealing showcase for Tucker....