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Friday, November 21
FKA Twigs
THE REGENT THEATER
FKA Twigs’ three releases so far — EP1, EP2 and LP1 — might be blankly titled, but there is nothing plain about the music they contain. The British singer has a delicate yet pliable voice that already sets her apart from other R&B divas. But instead of settling for a mainstream-pop backing, the former Tahliah Barnett infuses her soundscapes with layers of ethereal electronica and trip-hop. This combination of soulful warmth and synthetic ice puts FKA Twigs in the same PBR&B universe as The Weeknd and Janelle Monáe, but her sinuously yearning vocals and the arty arrangements of tracks such as “Hours” move her closer to Kate Bush’s side of the galaxy. However you try to label her, FKA Twigs is an impressive new stylist, even if she’s getting more attention lately via rumors of marriage to her celebrity boyfriend, Twilight’s Robert Pattinson. Also Saturday, Nov. 22. — Falling James
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Purling Hiss
JEWEL'S CATCH ONE
On their newest album, Weirdon, Philadelphia’s Purling Hiss — the solo project–gone-band of guitarist Mike Polizze, also a member of the mighty Birds of Maya — go bouncing between the sounds of the weirder guitarists who’ve made their mark across American indie rock, from J Mascis to Joey Santiago back to progenitors like James Williamson or even Neil Young, all of whom figured out a way to turn gnarly into beautiful. The resulting album would’ve sounded right at home on labels such as SST or Homestead, and finds its own lively space between that final great Feelies LP and the uptempo, album-cut Camper Van Beethoven songs. “Airwaves” or “Where’s Sweetboy” are the fast ones, while “Another Silvermoon” or closer “Six Ways to Sunday” revel (rightly) in their own dissonance. As a wise man once shouted: Gimme indie rock! — Chris Ziegler
Marc Ribot
UCLA, ROYCE HALL
Guitarist-composer Marc Ribot is an inspired polymath whose bravely speckled pursuits, over a three-decade career, span just about everything from avant-jazz and no-wave punk noise to power-trio post-rock and Cuban dance sounds. And that’s not even mentioning his pop-shifting session work with the likes of Tom Waits, Robert Plant, Elvis Costello and others. Tonight’s program is a two-parter, the first half of which is a solo set based on Ribot’s 2010 album, Silent Movies, featuring original solo works and scores created for imaginary films. The second half is a big blowout with Los Cubanos Postizos, New York City’s “ultimate party band,” whose two critically hailed albums in collaboration with Ribot celebrate blazing Cuban son montuno. — John Payne
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Saturday, November 22
Macy Gray
CANYON CLUB
When it comes to Macy Gray, the fabulously idiosyncratic R&B wild woman who completely redefined the sound and look of the American soul diva, one must expect the unexpected. As talented as she is eccentric, Gray’s legacy of weirdness is as rich and infamous as her multiplatinum successes. Gray remains an artist of both formidable capability and unpredictability, and whether she’s operating as her funky alter ego Nemesis Jaxon (of “Slap a Bitch” renown) or back in the saddle as Macy Gray, it’s an always fascinating proposition. Her new album, The Way, delivers all the oddball delights one expects, and tonight’s rare personal appearance should be a satisfyingly freaky blast. — Jonny Whiteside
Peter Hook & the Light
THE FONDA THEATRE
Thirty-four years after Ian Curtis hanged himself on the eve of what would have been Joy Division’s first American tour, there continue to be two competing visions of the Manchester post-punk band’s legacy. Earlier this year, Bernard Sumner and drummer Stephen Morris brought to town the latest incarnation of New Order, the synth-pop group that emerged from Joy Division’s ashes. Now, former Joy Division/New Order bassist Peter Hook, who split from Sumner and Morris in 2007, stakes his claim with full-length performances of albums by both bands. At the Fonda, Peter Hook & the Light reprise two of New Order’s mid-’80s opuses, Low-Life and Brotherhood, along with various Joy Division songs. At the Glass House on Monday, Nov. 24, they conjure New Order’s first two albums, Movement and Power, Corruption & Lies, while at the Roxy on Tuesday, Nov. 25, Hook takes apart Joy Division’s Closer and Unknown Pleasures. — Falling James
Sunday, November 16
Phosphorescent
PARK PLAZA HOTEL
You don’t have to be a country bumpkin to whisper your pleasure for Phosphorescent. Matthew Houck (the man behind the moniker) has a sold-out banner across his Red Bull Sound Select date, proving those country-twang vocals and lovelorn lyrics have a heavy swoon factor when paired with Houck’s bedroom folk/country arrangements. Phosphorescent may be best known for “Song for Zula,” featured in The Amazing Spider-Man 2, but hopefully he’ll play his cover of Arthur Russell’s “You Can Make Me Feel Bad.” — Britt Witt
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