Tuesday, May 13
• The Epochs are at the Rock and Roll Hotel tonight. Started by brothers (and lead singers) Ryan and Hays Holladay, the band has a sound that’s a mash-up of simple guitars riffs and percussive beats with more elaborate orchestrations.

Thursday, May 15
• We’re always weary of bands that sound or come across as too precious, so when electropop band Cut Copy described its latest song “Lights & Music” as a “trans-galactic voyage,” we were ready to move on. Lucky for us, we didn’t. Though no cosmic voyage, the track’s good enough to have you guiltlessly shaking your head. Opening Cut Copy’s show at the Black Cat is the much-hyped band Black Kids.

Friday, May 16
• Devotchka’s “Along the Way” had us hooked right away. What can we say? We’re suckers for any song that prominently features horns (Spoon’s “The Underdog” comes to mind). The use of horns, however, seems downright conventional compared to the other instruments this Denver quartet plays during a show: There’s a theremin and a bouzouki, both played by singer Nick Urata. Devotchka plays at the 9:30 Club, with Basia Bulat as opening act.

• UK band Los Campesinos! is less experimental than it is fun, and it’s not a bad thing. Imagine the soundtrack to a weekend of joyous, unrestricted self-indulgence. Now raise that exponentially and you might start to come close to the rush the band delivers with its songs. Tracks like “You! Me! Dancing!” are so perfect that they seem other-wordly. Check it out at the Black Cat.

Monday, May 19
• Wye Oak, formed by Andy Stacks and Jenn Wasner, may seem like Baltimore’s answer to Georgie James, but, if lush atmospheric songs like “Warning” are any indication, the band merits attention on its own terms. Wye Oaks plays the Black Cat alongside Seattle’s The Dead Science.

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