THE MEAN JEANS, MORONS, THE LONESOME BILLIES, KEPI GHOULIE
(White Owl Social Club, 1305 SE 8th) See My, What a Busy Week!

DEERHOOF, BUSDRIVER, GO DARK
(Doug Fir, 830 E Burnside) On La Isla Bonita, the 12th album from long-running experimental rock quartet Deerhoof, the band waste no time in diving into their unique and edgy blend of off-kilter pop on the opening track, "Paradise Girls." The song sees the group paying tribute to some of their favorite women rockers. While the Madonna reference in the album title is evident, drummer Greg Saunier cites other heros like Joan Jett, Janet Jackson, Kim Gordon, and Kathleen Hanna as inspirations behind the song. It shouldn't be forgotten that Deerhoof's own bassist/vocalist Satomi Matsuzaki could easily be included in that list of legendary shredders and singers. Along with Saunier, Matsuzaki has pushed the limit on how many ways a band can reinvent itself in the modern era. Unsurprisingly, La Isla Bonita is excellent. It's also one of the group's most vibrant releases in their two-decade-long career. CHIPP TERWILLIGER

J MASCIS, LULUC, PETE INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT
(Dante's, 350 W Burnside) I interviewed J Mascis a few years back, and if you've ever watched a video of the Dinosaur Jr. frontman getting questioned, then you have a pretty good idea how well it went. Often when you're interviewing someone, you can leave a few seconds of silence at the end of a question that the interviewee will end up filling, usually with a more interesting quote than the one he or she had just given you. Not so with Mascis. He's gonna sound like he just woke up, and he's not offering much more than two words per question. But here's what I did manage to pull out of him: He prefers playing drums, and he'd rather play with a band than solo. So it's probably a safe bet that putting out a second solo acoustic-guitar record wasn't his favorite thing. Unluckily for him, Tied to a Star is proof that he's pretty damn good at it. MATTHEW W. SULLIVAN

SUZUKI JUNZO, SPECTRUM CONTROL, MEMORY METAL
(Mothership Music, 3611 NE MLK) Japan seems to instill in its underground artists a sense of restlessness, consciously or unconsciously urging them to be as prolific and versatile as possible. Suzuki Junzo has certainly heeded the call over the course of his career. The guitarist is a member of at least four bands and has recorded with fellow eager spirits like Acid Mothers Temple leader Kawabata Makoto. Great as all that work is, I prefer it when Junzo's on his own, improvising cosmic psych-blues that feels akin to the wandering spirit of local hero Michael Hurley. Junzo arrives in town on the heels of a new album, simply titled 7, which finds him scraping and petting the strings of his guitar to coax out sounds both soothing and jarring. ROBERT HAM

DAVID BAZAN, PASSENGER, DAVID DONDERO
(Aladdin Theater, 3017 SE Milwaukie) In 1999, David Bazan played an after-school concert at my small-town high school north of Seattle under the name Pedro the Lion. That band's first album, It's Hard to Find a Friend, had just been out for a matter of months, but the hype around it—at least in the Seattle area—was unavoidable. While the guy playing painfully slow songs from the edge of the stage sounded little like the "band" on the album, the power of the bleak narratives was undeniable. On his latest release, David Bazan + Passenger String Quartet, Bazan collaborates with a Seattle chamber group to give new life to some old songs. The narratives are lyrically just as bleak as they've always been, but the Bazan who's singing them sounds very different. His voice no longer wallows in the dreariness of his tales, but approaches the songs with a passion and excitement he couldn't express 15 years ago. JOSHUA JAMES AMBERSON

MODERN KIN, THE GHOST EASE, KITHKIN
(Mississippi Studios, 3939 N Mississippi) It's been a journey for Drew Grow, to say the least. After several years of folk-based project the Pastors' Wives, a severe car crash, and thousands of dollars of hospital bills, Grow and two of the Pastors' Wives—Kris Doty and Jeremiah Hayden—reformed sonically and started Modern Kin. In roughly a year's time, it's taken impressive shape. Their catchiest number, "Abandon," somehow maintains an overarching cataclysmic tone with the underbelly of a straightforward vocal hook. What really puts it over the top is Grow's pure force. It's not just vocals coming from his diaphragm, but something cathartic, with a near gospel flair—remnants of the Pastors' Wives, perhaps. It's a release that has to be witnessed, and you can do just that at Mississippi Studios tonight. ROBIN BACIOR

SWIM SWAM SWUM, MONTHS, DOWN GOWN
(The Know, 2026 NE Alberta) Portland pop-rock trio Swim Swam Swum play a style of guitar-driven indie-rock that sounds like it was ripped straight from the basements of Chapel Hill in the early '90s. Echoing the spirit of great, early Merge Records acts like Superchunk and Butterglory, it serves as a hearty dose of comfort food for the mind and soul, while also providing a straight-up adrenalin shot to the heart. Swim Swam Swum's only album, 2009's Circumpolar Westerlies, is comprised of a dozen tuneful tracks that spill over with a heightened sense of youthful energy. Tonight marks the band's first show in over a year, and while they've got nothing else lined up at the moment, here's hoping they continue to warm bars and venues with their unbridled joy and vigor for the rest of the winter months. CHIPP TERWILLIGER

JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE
(Moda Center, 1 Center Ct) See My, What a Busy Week!, and read our article on Justin Timberlake.