SANDY CITY, PLACES WE SLEPT, L'ILE PICA

Find yourself in indie pop's big, sappy arms tonight, because Westport surf band Sandy City are playing their first show in a year. Sandy City's lo-fi surf punk is almost an advertisement for summer, with fun, ramshackle, turbo-fueled tunes about things like a "merry-go-round on the beachside." Omaha, Nebraska, tweemo act Places We Slept have a song called "Rocketship," and while it holds twee-subject merit on its own, a reference to the legendary Slumberland Records band of the same name is also unavoidable. That said, fans of Slumberland's boundlessly cute output will have much to revel in here. Places We Slept's fuzz-driven bedroom pop possesses a featherlight whimsy, but often broods with the #sadboy pop-punk feels, which may give you a certain smile or a certain sadness. Diversifying an otherwise pop-/sad-oriented lineup, L'ile Pica's experimental beats may also involve a rainbow-esque jump rope and something that looks like it doubles as a bubble machine. Time to break out those friendship bracelets! Heartland, 8:30 pm.

ZACHARY CALE, LE SANG SONG, CASE STUDIES

This excellently curated, loner-powered show kicks off with singer-songwriter Jesse Lortz (of Dutchess and the Duke sorta-fame) and a rotating cast of musicians known as Case Studies. Their latest LP, This Is Another Life (out in June on Sacred Bones), is a sweet 'n' dour treat leaving behind the uniquely turpentine aftertaste of drippy slide guitar and love lost. Although the generally morose vocal delivery/subject matter is indebted to the dark-poet flavor of Leonard Cohen, given the high propensity of overworked and flaccid Mumfords-y pop infiltrating folk these days, I'm not complaining. Seattle band Le Sang Song's scrappy, stripped-down garage is headed by Craig Chambers (also of LoVe TaN and Dreamsalon), whose deadpan delivery ghoulishly plods over a bare-boned punk shuffle. Brooklyn-by-way-of-Louisiana troubadour Zachary Cale headlines with his husked and dusty alt-country: the kind of soulful guitar picking designed to set deserts on fire. His ragged and bittersweet blues should make Cale unmissable for aspiring non-sucky songwriters. Heartland, 8 pm.