The singer from famed nineties noise group The Scissor Girls already has a handful of solo records under her belt, all driven by her wide-ranging, inviting voice. From a deep and warm bass the Chicago songstress can reach a pretty, vulnerably brittle falsetto, and she’s always backed by her expressive piano playing. On “How Will You?” her new record on Drag City, Azita enlists the help of Chicago musicians Matt Lux, John Herndon and Emmett Kelly, and it feels like a Chicago record should feel, especially during these harmfully cold months. Not to say it’s all gloom and doom, there are “upbeat” numbers, but with a voice like this it’s hard not to reflect and have another whiskey. Pretty tame stuff compared to the work from earlier in her career, but no less impressive, and, in its own way, just as daring. (Tom Lynch)
March 2 at Empty Bottle, 1035 N. Western, (773)276-3600. Free.
Last Punks Standing: A Preview of Mekons at Hideout Mekons have endured by refusing to adhere to anyone's ideas regarding what is and isn't punk rock (which is in and of itself a defiantly punk attitude).
