RECOMMENDED Anyone on the search for asyncopatic, atonal, atypical noise music knows to turn their ears to Japan for the real deal. “Sensuous,” the fifth album from Cornelius (aka Keigo Oyamada), is indicative of what would happen if Philip Glass developed a Moog fetish—bleeps and beeps, bells and whirrs, all situated in stop-motion ambience. Live shows are typically theatrical—with elaborate costumes and staging—and spontaneous, with wind chimes being played willy nilly throughout. Those unfamiliar with Cornelius will no doubt recognize his remix skills—he’s fiddled the knobs for Bloc Party, Beck, Blur, Moby and Coldplay—and that experience crops up on “Sensuous” with the funked-out perversion of standards. Delaware’s relentlessly saccharine The Spinto Band opens with throwback indie-pop that just begs for a packed dance floor. They’ve been known to hand out kazoos before shows, so brace yourself for the possibility of massively annoying crowd accompaniment. (K. Tighe) Wednesday, January 23 at Metro
Still Shining On Brightly: A Preview of Procol Harum at City Winery For more than a decade now, the band—as ever, led by Gary Brooker—has enjoyed a consistent lineup, and has toured widely. And in 2017, the almost-unthinkable happened: Procol Harum roared back with a new album.
Diversity Initiative: A Preview of Jimmy Herring at Park West On his most recent solo release—last year's “Live in San Francisco”—Herring and his band reach dizzying heights that combine instrumental pyrotechnics with a song-based aesthetic that balances the best characteristics of jazz, fusion and jam-based music.
Let's Make Some Noise: A Preview of The Tubes at the Arcada Theatre The Tubes ushered the theatricality of Alice Cooper, the musical adventurism of progressive rock and the titillating shock value of cabaret into an intriguing and sometimes messy whole. Many decades later, core members of the group continue, with a mix of satire now leavened with a bit of nostalgia.
