Michael Gira started out as a stentorian, horror-mongering frontman for his band Swans. In his Angels of Light and solo guises, he's gradually mellowed into a stark, end-times crooner somewhere between Leonard Cohen and Nick Drake. His pitiless lyrics and morose music put a death grip on your soul. Gira signed Larkin Grimm to his Young God label—her eccentric, intimate vocals; sexually frank lyrics; and weird-folk songcraft on the new Parplar prove her to be a worthy disciple. (Tractor Tavern, 5213 Ballard Ave NW, 789-3599. 9 pm, $15, 21+.)