A HELLUVA POST-METAL RIFF-FEST
It's going to be a no-holds-barred riff-fest tonight, with local rock commanders Serial Hawk launching an attack of searing guitar hellscapes on unsuspecting cochleas. As if their doom-infused sludge rock weren't heavy enough, the onslaught continues with Seattle duo He Whose Ox Is Gored's relentless post-doom metal-gaze. The night gets maybe even darker and louder with San Diego's Deep Sea Thunder Beast, who steer their rock helm with Moby Dick–sized riffs, while Portland's Sól deliver moody metallics and crashing quiet/loud dynamics to earn their place in the Northwest post-metal pantheon. Black Lodge, 9 pm.
WIMPS, BIG CRUX, ACAPULCO LIPS
It's always the right time to party with Wimps, the Seattle garage-punk trio who won pop-starved hearts with songs of napping, not having fun, and quitting crappy jobs with their awesome debut LP, Repeat (End of Time Records). The recently dropped Couches EP continues their prankish local basement legacy of catchy, three-minute poppy-punk blasts. Big Crux's D. Boon–blessed herky-jerky funk-punk songs are the closest you will get to seeing Minutemen in Seattle in 2014, so I recommend just closing your eyes and freely flailing for this one. With Acapulco Lips' summer-friendly (WAH-wah) garage-pop sweetness. Hollow Earth Radio, 8 pm, $5 suggested donation.
HEARTFELT PUNK CHAMELEON BOB MOULD
While he may be best known for writing heartfelt anthems for the seminal punk band Hüsker Dü, Bob Mould has had a long and diverse career: forming short-lived-but-excellent power-pop band Sugar, releasing several cross-genre solo albums, and in more recent years abandoning rock altogether for electronic music. Now, at age 53, Mould has re-embraced the legacy of his Hüsker Dü–era works to deliver another round of introspective jangle punk at its finest. Beauty & Ruin, his latest solo effort, sounds like a natural re-evolution from the decidedly Dü-y Silver Age, and sees Mould's rediscovery of his deep pop sensibilities and driving rock roots. While Beauty is not a new day rising (*wink*) for Mould, his musical chameleon-ism doesn't betray what he does best: smart, honest punk songs. Neptune, 8 pm, $23.50 adv/$25 DOS. 
