Sometimes a band can be enjoyable with simple intentions. Chicago-based Canasta hasn’t engaged in a massive fusion of genres, hasn’t tinkered so much in the studio that its songs are impossible to reproduce live, and hasn’t replaced guitar solos with experimental looped tracks. The orchestra-pop sextet sprinkles its influences subtly, crafting easily digestible, sunny tunes. The band’s newest record, “The Fakeout, The Tease, And The Breather” is packed with comfortable R&B, ranging from breezy, horn-driven strut-rock (“Reading The Map Upside Down”) to pensive bluesy ballads (“I Don’t Know Where I Was Going With This”). Frontman Matt Priest has a palatable voice that anchors the sextet’s straight-up approach, ignoring the multitude of tools at its disposal and instead insisting on a simple equation of quick riffs mixed with hummable melodies. (Andy Seifert)
May 8 at Schubas, 3159 N. Southport, (773)525-2508, at 7pm & 10:30pm. $14.
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