(Showbox at the Market) Little Dragon began as a classily louche, luxuriously low-key electro-lounge act, with singer Yukimi Nagano's breathy voice cooing sweet anythings over retro-futurist triphop beats. They've since started to explore a more diverse range of influences, with 2011's Ritual Union embracing bleep techno and abstracted exotica, as Nagano stepped aside for long stretches and let the swirling soundscape speak for itself. Though I've yet to hear the group's most recent album, Nabuma Rubberband, reports indicate it’s even more sonically out-there and all-encompassing, which bodes well for the longevity of Little Dragon beyond their blog-hyped peers. Pop music's like a shark: It needs to keep moving to stay alive. With Dam-Funk. KYLE FLECK
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(Barboza) There are four great reasons to attend this show: 1) NighTrain are a badass rock foursome who sing songs about how being a girl band and not giving a fuck what you think. 2) Austin’s Tele Novella play slinky and cool ’60s-inspired psych pop that Quentin Tarantino should probably use in his next film. 3) Pony Time are a buzzy garage-rock duo with a sonic love letter to Kathleen Hanna. But the reason that has me most excited is because 4) Lisa Prank, the one-woman new-wave pop-punk dance party, is opening. If someone handed me Prank’s Crush on the World cassette and whispered, “This is Belinda Carlisle's first Go-Go’s demo, shhhhh!” I’d believe them and then wonder how the fuck the lo-fi pop jam “Why Can’t We (Just Dance)” was never turned into a gold-selling single. I want to write Lisa Prank’s name on my binder and doodle hearts and paisley all around it. MEGAN SELING
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You probably know Avey Tare (aka Dave Portner) as a key member of Animal Collective, who have taken their wonder-struck electronic-pop eccentricity to a shockingly popular level. His latest side project, Avey Tare’s Slasher Flicks (featuring ex-Dirty Projectors guitarist Angel Deradoorian and former Ponytail drummer Jeremy Hyman), shares some of the frantic, maximalist tendencies as Animal Collective’s last album, Centipede Hz, but it’s a more razzle-dazzle and playful take on that style. The band name is deceptive: Instead of provoking horror, the music on their recent Enter the Slasher House has a cartoonish, DayGlo sheen that will either charm all your clothes off or induce diabetes. Listen for yourself at entertheslasherhouse.com. With Raleigh Moncrief and DJ Explorateur. Neumos, 8 pm, $15 adv, all ages. DAVE SEGAL
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(Black Lodge) Though they're often lumped in with other good-time garage-rock party bands, together PANGEA's new record Badillac has little in common with their fun-loving SoCal contemporaries. The album is downright bleak. Frontman William Keegan howls hopeless lyrics about self-loathing and incurable angst over tight melodies that have more in common with Siamese Dream than anything in the Burger Records catalog. "My heart is lost/These things mean nothing to me/And my dick is soft" he confesses on "Sick Shit," a particularly dreary number that thrashes with menacing hopelessness. These are tight songs about the sloppy party aftermath, when beer goggles stop hiding imperfections and excitement gives way to exhaustion. Joining together PANGEA's well-crafted bummer punk are Oakland tourmates Meat Market, who create catchy, surfy rock 'n' roll songs about barbecue and not surfing and Seattle party punks Ubu Roi, who also coincidentally have a tune denouncing their own surf abilities. ROBIN EDWARDS
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Los Angeles trio Ssleaze push a strident strain of synth punk, aggro vocals and all. They seem to play with a perpetual sneer on their mugs and probably find Throbbing Gristle to be too genteel. It’s as if Ssleaze are channeling the disdainful attitude of the cast of Liquid Sky into their craggy, cranky songs. They sound like particularly nasty dominatrices who’ll leave welts on your ears. Fellow LA peeps Egrets on Ergot play uptight, frantic new-wave rock that has similarities to early-’80s groups like Pylon and the Lines—and it’s damned danceable. Seattle’s Ononos make for an ideal opener. What’s curious about these glamorous minimal-synth malcontents is that they only have two songs online and no official releases. Five years deep into their existence, one would think, Ononos should have a sizable discography. But this just makes their club appearances all the more special. They’re one of this city’s most riveting live acts. This extra-raunchy edition of Jimi Jaxon’s Disco Droppings night also includes Jaxon DJing witsh Dorsia, DJ Guano, and Mascara. Kremwerk, 8 pm, $5, 21+. DAVE SEGAL
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And here's all our recommended music events—tonight, tomorrow, this weekend, and beyond!