New work by local musician Michael Lyons (Clyde Federal), Violins’ “Pink Water” offers gentle, guitar-driven indie rock, Lyons’ voice Malkmus-esque in its laziness and indifferent drawl. Opener “Deify, Defy, Defile” could’ve easily been a Pavement song off of “Brighten the Corners,” and the throwback from Lyons is welcomed. That songs leads into the much-poppier and bouncy “Trans,” which features Lyons’ at his lyrical best, shooting off rapid-fire, complicated vocal lines, backed with a clean, incessant electric guitar. The record hits a high mark with “The Two Simonas,” a sort of acoustic ballad with playful, obscure lyrics and a melodic nostalgia that’s tough to pull off. “Pink Water”’s best attribute is its consistency—no song really outdoes another, everything keeps to a certain level of indie slack, poetic ramblings and all. Opening for the always entertaining, funk-pop lords Baby Teeth. (Tom Lynch)
Violins plays August 10 at Beat Kitchen, 2100 West Belmont, (773)281-4444, at 9pm. $10.
Cooling It: A Preview of Colleen Green at Cole’s Bar When Green strums power chords or chiming notes on top of her backing track, you might think you’re at Ramones karaoke night and Madonna is taking her turn.
Brutal Finesse: A Preview of King Crimson at Ravinia There have been few new compositions from King Crimson these past two decades, but the live arrangements of songs from its catalog are often strikingly different than the recorded versions.
