After carefully researching Facebook for twenty minutes (okay, mindlessly procrastinating for three hours), I can safely conclude that for a sizable amount of the 16-25-year-old demographic, “indie” music consists solely of three albums: “Transatlanticism,” “Give Up” and “Plans” (which, evidently “changed the lives” of two of my Facebook friends). So kudos to Ben Gibbard, who somehow managed to sell mid-tempo crooning to the masses, but now he’s got competition to fend off; post-Death Cab acts, led by Tokyo Police Club, have targeted Gibbard’s throne with thoughts of regicide, armed with an overtly nasally vocal style (“quick, the lead singer has a cold, let’s lay down some tracks!”). “Elephant Shell,” TPC’s debut LP and follow-up to the buzz-producing “A Lesson in Crime” EP, saw the Canadian quartet toning down the post-rock skittishness of the EP in favor a more restrained, focused affair. The twenty-eight-minute, eleven-track effort doesn’t feel all that breezy or frenzied, just kind of short, definitely a tad disappointing for a thoroughly decent band. If anything, the LP’s bouncy basslines, sporadic hooks, cutesy handclaps and vaguely emotional lyrics bought them into a few extra Facebook profiles and a spot in line to the emo-pop throne. (Andy Seifert)
March 18 at Metro, 3730 N. Clark, (773)549-0203, at 9pm. $16-$18.
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.
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.
For “Want” of a Change: A Preview of Rufus Wainwright at Ravinia Park Rufus Wainwright isn’t the first singer-songwriter to reinterpret earlier work through an orchestral lens. And much of Wainwright’s third and fourth albums, “Want One” and “Want Two”—whose twentieth anniversaries are the prompt for this new tour—is fully scored. But when Wainwright hits the Pavilion stage at Ravinia tonight, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra will be behind him.
