SWERVEDRIVER, GATEWAY DRUGS
(Doug Fir, 830 E Burnside) With the progenitors of the '90s shoegaze movement reassembling to hefty ticket sales, it was only a matter of time before Swervedriver got into the mix. The Oxford-born band distinguished itself from its contemporaries on albums like 1991's Raise and 1993's Mezcal Head by fully embracing the muscular overdrive of US acts like Dinosaur Jr. and Sonic Youth. But when the group brought in lighter influences of psych-pop, folk, and dance beats, the music started to suffer and their commercial prospects dimmed, resulting in a long hiatus that started in 1998. Swervedriver has since reconvened for a few tours, but this current jaunt is their first in a long time meant to support new music—in this case, the album I Wasn't Born to Lose You. It's a fine record that balances out their softer side with agitated anthems like "Deep Wound" and "Autodidact." ROBERT HAM Also see My, What a Busy Week!

2:54, HONEYBLOOD
(Mississippi Studios, 3939 N Mississippi) 2:54 and Honeyblood are both from the British Isles—the former from London, the latter from Glasgow—and they each play guitar-driven pop-rock. Sisters Colette and Hannah Thurlow are 2:54, and they gained traction in 2012 with their self-titled debut, which combined moody alt-rock with hints of shoegaze, drawing lots of comparisons to the Cure. Their new album The Other I delivers more of the same. Honeyblood is primarily the vehicle of singer/songwriter Stina Tweeddale, whose 2014 self-titled debut is hookier and slightly punkier, like Best Coast meets the Breeders. Both bands are good, but still have some work to do to be more than that. BEN SALMON

ENSLAVED, YOB, ECSTATIC VISION, ATRIARCH
(Hawthorne Theatre, 1507 SE César E. Chávez) A full stream of Enslaved's new album In Times appeared on the internet Monday, and it's a doozy. The Norwegian black metal giants have for years been scaling back the shrieks and blast beats in favor of a more progressive, melodic direction, and In Times is the most compact and distilled document of this shift yet. Guitars still chug, drums still thunder, and Grutle Kjellson still snarls, but these six songs feature more than enough clean vocals and catchy melodies to expand Enslaved's appeal considerably. There are times it sounds a little like heavy, moody, new wave-ish prog-pop! Very few bands can juxtapose extreme music with easily likeable sounds as naturally as Enslaved, and In Times is the ultimate proof. They're joined by Oregon doom masters Yob, who made their own melodic move on last year's Clearing the Path to Ascend, probably the best heavy album of 2014. BS

MUTILATION RITES, MANTAR, DROUTH, URZEIT
(Rotture, 315 SE 3rd) Brooklyn blackened crusties Mutilation Rites are all about the subversive, which manifests in down-tuned riffs and lyrics that don't offer much hope. It's relentless, which effectively separates Mutilation Rites from many of their black-metal brethren. The real highlight of this bill, however, is Hamburg's Mantar, whose latest full-length, Death by Burning, was one of the best metal releases of 2014. The band drops the bass and ups the guitars, delivering memorable riffs and groovy passages that bands like Helmet and the Melvins lived for in the '90s. Lyrically Mantar is darker than those bands, which makes the riffs all the more gnarled. It's the stuff of nightmares. MARK LORE

BROODS, MIKKY EKKO
(Wonder Ballroom, 128 NE Russell) Broods is a New Zealand brother-sister duo that plays electronic pop, with smooth harmonies and catchy riffs. Their first full-length album, Evergreen, is surprisingly cohesive for a debut. Although the escalating strings and dark notes create an angsty, end-of-film feel, their poppy beats and melodies will get stuck in your head, and not in a "get out of there, Carly Rae" way. The duo is uncomfortably young, having signed with Capitol Records worldwide before either of them was old enough to enjoy a celebratory champagne in the US. But the depth of their vocal tones and song construction shows wisdom beyond their years. If you enjoy electro indie pop, this will be your new favorite band. ROSE FINN