As the multitude of Democrat presidential candidates jostle for position and attention before next year’s election, supporters of Bernie Sanders are already raising money for his latest campaign with grassroots benefits such as this show at the Smell. L.A. trio Moaning top the bill with their convulsions of sound and color on such songs as “Misheard” and the surging, exhilarating passages of “Artificial.” Fellow local trio Traps PS’ songs are less dreamy and are powered instead by an urgency and frenetic drive on their recent album, New Chants. These dark and divisive times require more than the vague hopes and wispy escapism perpetrated by more lightweight groups, and Traps PS’ cutting, slashing and dour fusillades are fittingly heavy and serious state-of-the-union announcements that burn through the haze with a searing clarity. Plus, Kuromi, Prissy Whip, and The Chonks.

The Smell, 247 S. Main St., downtown L.A.; Sun., Aug. 11, 8 p.m.; $15. www.thesmell.org.

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