LAND OF PINES, SPECIAL EXPLOSION, IJI, PEEPING TOMBOYS

On their new single, Past/Future, youthful Eastside band Special Explosion float into candied atmospheres and whirling pop distortion without abandoning their sharp, crunchy guitar and catchy hooks. The band blends Northwest indie rock into a fogged bliss, and it levitates over its listener with daunting earnestness, sort of like if Built to Spill were more like My Bloody Valentine in 1991 (or now). Local headliners Land of Pines paint a sweeping, pastoral kind of rock that alternates male/female vocals, has its mathy moments, and shares more than a few feelings. Tonight is the release show for their new EP, which promises even more aching indie rock to drip off your sleeves. Also watch out for Land of Pines this summer at Capitol Hill Block Party! With Peeping Tomboys, a new trio of ladies playing rock 'n' roll with a vaguely '60s vibe, and dogs-on-skateboards pop from iji. Vera Project, 7:30 pm, $9.

JAD FAIR, KIMYA DAWSON, YOUR HEART BREAKS, IJI, SLASHED TIRES

As half of the quasi-legendary outsider-punk duo Half Japanese, Jad Fair helped dishevel ideas of music for the betterment (or bereavement) of humankind. Like a mad-scientist version of the Shaggs, brothers Jad and David Fair formed the band in the mid-'70s, with frizzy hair, big glasses, and no musical training, at the birth of punk's do-it-yourself aesthetic. Having once said, "The only chord I know is the one that goes from the guitar to the amplifier," and that all Half Japanese songs were either "monster songs or love songs," the demented songwriter profoundly, twistedly influenced fans of anti-music, noise, and punk over the decades. Fair has also maintained an extensive solo career since the '80s; he's written an album of monster songs for children, and he might even write you a song about squirrels or ask out your prom date for 50 bucks. Iji (Zach Burba and friends) seem to be dominating the Seattle Center scene this week with their sunshiny, lo-fi keyboard pop, also with the help tonight of Slashed Tires' subtly funkified grooves, Olympia's folk goddess Kimya Dawson, and punk fuzz-pop from Your Heart Breaks. Vera Project, 7:30 pm, $9.