EAR CANDY: THE FOURTH WALL, SMALL SKIES, NEIGHBOR WAVE
(Mississippi Studios, 3939 N Mississippi) End-of-year music discovery has become something of a holiday pastime for me. Extra free time to dig into some of the bands that I've haphazardly followed on Bandcamp throughout the year often leads to some great finds. Local quartet the Fourth Wall's Lovely Violence is a perfect example of this year's excavation: The second album by the Hawaii transplants, Lovely Violence is an aptly named collection of dense and delicately crafted pop-rock tunes that run through a gentle melodic vein. Frontman Stephen Agustin's lyrics are clear and earnest, and although the songs encounter plenty of stormy, noise-driven flourishes along the way, the album's strong and appealing framework never feels in danger of unraveling. It's well worth checking out, and tonight you can catch the band's live show for free as part of the Mercury's ongoing Ear Candy showcase at Mississippi Studios. CT Also see My, What a Busy Week!
CRYSTAL BALLROOM'S 101ST BIRTHDAY FREE-FOR-ALL: YOU WHO, COOPER AND THE JAM, & MORE
(Crystal Ballroom, 1332 W Burnside) See My, What a Busy Week!
DR. FRANK, BEACH PARTY, FASTER HOUSECAT
(Sandy Hut, 1430 NE Sandy) Adolescence is a goofy and anxious time, and '90s pop-punk mainstays the Mr. T Experience were the perfect teen-angst soundtrack for teens who maybe didn't have much to be angsty about. Their charm endures even from the grizzled perch of adulthood: I dare you to resist those manic Lookout! Records hooks, that obsessively clever wordplay, that self-awareness flirting with self-consciousness. (Sample lyric: "Even Hitler had a girlfriend/so why can't I?") In 2007, MTX's frontman and driving creative force, Frank Portman (Dr. Frank), churned out an astute, wryly hilarious YA novel of adolescent misfittery, King Dork. The foray into fiction came as no surprise to any MTX fan who'd ever run out of breath trying to sing along with Portman's hyper-articulate lyrics, but only the most diehard would've predicted just how fun and funny his debut novel would be. Eight years later, Doctor Frank has finally unveiled the sequel: Tonight's show celebrates the long-awaited release of King Dork Approximately. Expect some deep cuts from the MTX catalogue. ALISON HALLETT
THE KNOW'S 10-YEAR ANNIVERSARY: SUN ANGLE, MARRIAGE + CANCER, HURRY UP
(The Know, 2026 NE Alberta) And on the third day, the gods bequeathed upon the Know a triptych of disparate, experimental art-rock projects to help ring in the still fledgling year. If you've made it this far into the Know's scorching succession of 10th-anniversary celebration shows, you're to be rewarded with the prog-funk-punk fusion of Sun Angle, anchored by percussionist and multi-band maestro extraordinaire, Papi Fimbres. Sun Angle's brand of Minutemen-inspired mayhem coalesces in the live setting into feverish interplanetary mischief, uniting Fimbres' Latin-tinged rhythms with Charlie Salas Humara's nuanced guitar chops and bassist Marius Libman's understated low end. Similarly, Marriage + Cancer traverse an often trippy rivulet of crunchy noise-pop, reminiscent of early Sonic Youth if Lee Ranaldo were weaned on organ-swathed horror films. Strap on your rad caps, friends. RYAN J. PRADO
