When The Scientists made their local debut last year — four decades after forming in Perth, Australia — demand was so great that they sold out two shows at Zebulon. Following those two electrifying nights, singer Kim Salmon, guitarist Tony Thewlis, drummer Leanne Cowie and bassist Boris Sujdovic move up to a bigger venue for their return. Set lists from the current tour indicate they are still focusing on classic songs from their mid-1980s heyday, including the unsettling garage-rock dread of “Set It on Fire” and the fuzzed-out menace of “Swampland,” which sounds like an Outback marriage of The Cramps and The Gun Club. “When Fate Deals Its Mortal Blow” exudes more of a seedy Suicide pallor. “If you want to be sad, do it somewhere else,” Salmon advises with a deadpan Aussie drawl on “This Is My Happy Hour.” With Meatbodies and Lars Finberg.

The Teragram Ballroom, 1234 W. Seventh St., downtown; Wed., April 24, 8 p.m.; $25. teragramballroom.com.

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