The Stranger

This is maybe the second or third time we've suggested the Pica Beats in this space (first for 2009!), so go and see them already. Bandleader Ryan Barrett is one of Seattle's finest (and most under-rated) emergent songwriters, and his band's sophomore album, Beating Back the Claws of the Cold, was among last year's best local releases, full of persistent melodies, endearing instrumental arrangements, and lyrics that are sensually vivid yet narratively vague. With brainy, heart-on-sleeve guitar shredders X-Ray Press and San Francisco's Sleepy Sun. (Sunset Tavern, 5433 Ballard Ave, 784-4880. 9 pm, $7, 21+.) by Eric Grandy

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