PUBLIC SERVICE BROADCASTING, DOUBLEPLUSGOOD
(Doug Fir, 830 E Burnside) British duo Public Service Broadcasting use found sounds, samples, and esoterica to make involving instrumental music that actually tells a story. Their latest, The Race for Space, uses audio clips supplied by the British Film Institute to provide a brilliant aural document of the American/Russian space race of the '50s and '60s. NED LANNAMANN


AT THE GATES, CONVERGE, PALLBEARER, VALLENFYRE, HAIL THE ARCHITECT
(Roseland, 8 NW 6th) The annual Decibel magazine tour rolls through town again, and this time the metal mag's annual coast-to-coast jaunt features a pretty eclectic mix. Headlining are At the Gates, hot off the heels of At War with Reality, the band's first album in 19 years and the follow-up to the high-water mark of Swedish death metal, Slaughter of the Soul. Converge are responsible for legions of Hot Topic metalcore bands, but don't hold that against them. Pallbearer plays melodic doom metal, while Vallenfyre champions old-school death metal, featuring guitarist and vocalist Greg Mackintosh of goth-metal icons Paradise Lost. MATTHEW W. SULLIVAN


COOL GHOULS, MOPE GROOVES, DOGHEART

(The Know, 2026 NE Alberta) ICYMI, as the kids say, psychedelic garage-pop-rock—heavy with reverb and oh-so-'60s—is kind of a thing right now, thanks to Ty Segall and Burger Records and lots of other folks, too. Cool Ghouls are not the best-known band doing said thing, but they're on the rise, and they deserve to be. The San Francisco quartet's 2014 album A Swirling Fire Burning Through the Rye is a wonderful document of the West Coast's modern garage movement, flush with woozy jangle and chill vibes. What Cool Ghouls do better than most, though, is pile on glorious Byrds-ian harmonies and then give them space to shine. The lo-fi aesthetic is fine, but too many of these bands let their melodies get lost in the muck. Wall-to-wall, A Swirling Fire is proof Cool Ghouls have a quiver full of great tunes and they want you to actually hear 'em. BEN SALMON


J.S. BACH'S ST. JOHN PASSION: PORTLAND BAROQUE ORCHESTRA, TRINITY CHOIR, NILS NEUBERT
(Trinity Episcopal Cathedral, 147 NW 19th) German-born Nils Neubert is one of the many fine singers populating the smaller theaters of the world, his stirring, lucid tenor having been used to great effect in performances for the Opera Company of Brooklyn, Geneva Light Opera, and Pocket Opera New York. So while his profile isn’t as big as it could be, he’s certainly keeping busy. This year, his concentration has been on the work of Johann Sebastian Bach, mainly as featured soloist for a season-long look at the composer’s work at Holy Trinity Lutheran Church in Manhattan. And when he visits our own Trinity Episcopal Church this spring, Neubert will continue to explore Bach’s work, singing the role of Evangelist in Portland Baroque Orchestra’s performance of St. John Passion, a beautiful narrative taken from the Gospel of John. ROBERT HAM