If you aren’t familiar with Sonny Smith and his band, then plug into their oeuvre fast. Each of their past albums sounds completely different from the one before it, yet they’re all irresistibly playful—encompassing a range from garage rock to sock hop, and lately a delightful detour into funk and new wave. Sonny keeps it cool in the band’s infectious and danceable new album, “Moods Baby Moods,”which has a wide cache of sonic influences, including faint psychedelic interludes between tracks (or sometimes smack dab in the middle of them). Smith’s penchant for funk diatribes and trippy, meandering melodies shines here with the helpful hand of producer Merrill Garbus of tUnE-yArDs. This is a band to groove to—a summertime band whose wave you’re advised to catch when they surf into town. Also on the bill: Skip Church. (Jose Luis Benavides)
July 7 at 9pm, The Empty Bottle, 1035 North Western, (773)276-3600, $10.
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