SYLVAN ESSO, NAYTRONIX
(Crystal Ballroom, 1332 W Burnside) See My, What a Busy Week!
JOSÉ GONZÁLEZ, ÓLÖF ARNALDS
(Roseland, 8 NW 6th) It's hard to believe that it's been a dozen years since José González bubbled to indie-rock's surface, thanks to a handful of wonderful EPs and the peak of music blogs' power. It's even harder to believe that it's been more than seven years since González blessed us with a solo album (2007's In Our Nature). Time flies, right? It does, but in González's world, not much changes. The Swedish singer/songwriter's new record, Vestiges & Claws, delivers more of what the man does brilliantly: ethereal, acoustic folk-pop songs played with percussive flair and sung with disarming intimacy. As he did in his earliest work, González sounds like he's living inside your headphones, personally delivering fingerpicked perfection to your ears. If you add in his work with his folk-rock band Junip—with whom he released albums in 2010 and 2013—González is building up a seriously impressive catalog. BEN SALMON
DEATH VALLEY GIRLS, GOOCH PALMS, SUMMER CANNIBALS, FIRE NUNS
(The Know, 2026 NE Alberta) While Burger Records has become synonymous with California teenage-beachgoer noise, Lolipop Records has steadily risen alongside, showcasing the diversity of the Los Angeles underground, both in musical themes and the number of women artists. Death Valley Girls (with releases on both labels) are a fiery bridge between fuzzy garage rock and slow-burning punk. Akin to angsty yet hedonistic '70s psychobilly bands like the Cramps and the Gun Club, Death Valley Girls provide fuel for a good time, but with their emotions still vulnerably worn on their leather sleeves. Their echoing, violent guitar riffs, matched with consistently warm power chords, drive their latest 7-inch, Electric High, but it's Bonnie Bloomgarden's pterodactyl screeches that really set them apart from the homogeneity of LA lo-fi. You may have even heard Bloomgarden's banshee-like yells backing King Tuff on Black Moon Spell. CAMERON CROWELL
STUMPFEST: YOB, INTRONAUT, AUTHOR AND PUNISHER, GRAVES AT SEA, MUSCLE AND MARROW
(Mississippi Studios, 3939 N Mississippi) Stumpfest rides again into its fourth year, with three nights of maximum rock ’n’ roll. Tonight you get Yob as your headliner, and the band is heavy on the road supporting last year’s fan-fucking-tastic Clearing the Path to Ascend. It’ll be so good and so loud, you might want to wear a diaper. Also tonight: Intronaut will bring their moody prog to the balance, and one-man doom scientist Author and Punisher will steamroll. Graves at Sea and Muscle and Marrow round out what is already a stacked lineup of three killer days of heavy rock. MARK LORE Also see My, What a Busy Week!
MIKAL CRONIN, OLD LIGHT
(Doug Fir, 830 E Burnside) Preeminent pop litterateur Mikal Cronin can do no wrong. His self-titled debut record, which seemingly came out of nowhere in 2011, remains one of those pop albums almost too good to be true. Opener and centerpiece "Is It Alright" begins, misleadingly, with a choir of harmonizing, overdubbed Cronins that sound lifted straight from a discarded Smile track, before launching into an immaculate slab of summery garage-pop that references the Kinks, Jay Reatard, the Troggs, and solo Lennon. On the Merge Records-issued follow-up, MCII (stylized à la Mortal Kombat), Cronin trades in some of that naïve vitality and stylistic indecision for a more structured sound, and while it never inspires the same level of pure pop glee as its predecessor, it's still a damn memorable record from front to back. If there were any doubt, latest single, "Made My Mind Up," promises the same level of quality from the songwriter's upcoming LP, predictably titled MCIII. MORGAN TROPER
SAUL WILLIAMS, SONS OF AN ILLUSTRIOUS FATHER
(Star Theater, 13 NW 6th) Since first earning national attention with his breakout role in the 1998 film Slam, Saul Williams has been something of a mercurial artist. Author, slam poet, Broadway actor, and recording artist, Williams has attempted a little bit of everything, to varying degrees of success. His music (Williams has been doing industrial hiphop long before Yeezus) is at times brilliant, most notably his Rick Rubin-produced debut, Amethyst Rock Star, and his second, self-titled album. His penchant for experimentation, however, can sometimes be confounding, as it was with his last two albums, including the Trent Reznor-produced oddity, The Inevitable Rise and Liberation of NiggyTardust! But Williams is not one to be discouraged from challenging his audience or himself, and the two released tracks from his upcoming album, Martyr Loser King, are as innovative and provocative as ever. SANTI ELIJAH HOLLEY
CELEBRATE ART SHOW: IJI, ABORIGINAL FLOWERS
(Cherry Sprout Produce, 722 N Sumner) Seattle's Iji sounds like a childhood of soft-rock radio, scrappy indie-pop records, and movie beach-party sequences, brilliantly remade in band form. The songwriting project Zach Burba started when he was 15 has now been going strong for 12 years, with seven full-length albums, innumerable tours, and over 40 members in and out of the troupe. Whatever Will Happen, Iji's upcoming album on Team Love, is full of overwhelmingly positive groove-heavy pop songs that were made to be heard while sitting in the grass outside of Cherry Sprout Grocery. Make sure to come early to catch new local project Aboriginal Flowers. The minimalist electro duo is made up of members of the Woolen Men and Half Shadow, and is unlike anything else happening in the Portland music scene right now. JOSHUA JAMES AMBERSON
SAM COOMES, MÁSCARAS, MALL CASTE
(Mothership Music, 3611 NE MLK) Mothership Music—the one-stop spot for musical instruments, records, and otherworldly (and all-ages) live shows—is celebrating one year in the biz. Former Eternal Tapestry guitarist and current Spectrum Control mastermind Dewey Mahood steers the good ship Mothership into its anniversary party with another eclectic night of music. Quasi's Sam Coomes heads the bill, which means he'll jump between guitar and keys for some noise-filled pop perfection. Instrumental basement dwellers Máscaras are set to release their first album, and are continually ironing out their psychedelic sounds and frisky live shows. Mall Caste rounds it out with some greasy, grimy rock 'n' roll, which pairs well with tallboys. MARK LORE