No local album released this year has become more solidly lodged in
my heavy rotation than the Pica Beats’ dreamy sophomore effort,
Beating Back the Claws of the Cold. Singer-songwriter Ryan
Barrett spins plucky melodies and impressionistic yarns dotted
with lyrical details, and his band surrounds him with endearing,
wavering vocal harmonies and a ramshackle assortment of instruments
(including sitar and oboe). Their songs have the feeling of fragile
hope thawing out of low-lit autumnal melancholy. Seattle is lucky
to call the Pica Beats its own. (Comet, 922 E Pike St, 323-9853. 9
pm, $6, 21+.)