At Nectar on Thursday, January 8, Orac Records cofounder Caro (aka Randy Jones) returns to live performance for the first time since his stellar Decibel 2008 slot in Havana's parking lot. His funky, Theo Parrish–like tech-house (bolstered by his own Cascadian soul-man vox) betokens tropical good times while also satisfying the geeks with vintage synth tonalities. The Sight Below—who has a recent European tour and a critically lauded album, Glider, on Ghostly International Records under his belt—should serve as the yin to Caro's yang, with his polar shoegazer-rock/minimal techno hybrids. They're brrrrrrilliant.

The next night at Re-bar, Bonkers! promoter Ian Scot Price lures Gel-Sol and Jerry Abstract out of their bunkers for some more opposites-attract action. Gel-Sol (Andrew Reichel) is our resident Orb-lovin', prog-rock fanatic, a skilled purveyor of psychedelic ambient/armchair techno that's like kaleidoscopes for the ears. May I suggest you check out his collage of Ween samples titled "Stallion 3000" at www.virb.com/gelsol? By contrast, Jerry Abstract creates the sort of steamrolling techno that makes bulls in china shops seem delicate. He's still got that Motor City mayhem in his music; let's hope he never loses it. And keep an ear or two cocked for the Naturebot's alternately demented and stately IDM (it's his CD release party and he'll fry if he wants to). Peep his album The Schnebly; it was "made in the remote canyon country of Northern Arizona over a four-year time span," and it sounds like it.

Finally, at Chop Suey on Wednesday, January 14, ndCv (Andy Seaver) will bust out a slew of new material for his headlining debut. He gave me 18 tracks' worth of sneak preview, and the result is some seriously beautiful downtempo funk swathed in lush, Boards of Canada–like tone miasma as well as stirring cinematic reveries (Seaver did soundtrack work for Robinson Devor/Charles Mudede's Police Beat). WD4D (who is Seattle rapper Gabriel Teodros's DJ and a producer who's laced several cuts for myriad West Coast MCs) warrants your scrutiny, too, with his serious jazz-informed, sampladelic funk.

If this week of engrossing beat science can't vanquish your January blahs, then you may need to try more conventional medical science. Hope your insurance covers it. recommended