THE RUBY DOE
Always with Wings
(Loveless Records)
****

The Ruby Doe are Seattle's seamless, modest math rockers. After recording two CDs (for defunct labels or self-released), in their decade-plus together, the trio have locked into their strongest collection of songs yet. Always with Wings is an impressive indication of what years of dedication to the alchemy of sonic arithmetic will earn you--calculated twists and turns from the rhythm section, gradated shifts in guitar tones, and vocal abandon configured within an inch of losing control.

Produced by John Goodmanson, Wings simply sears, keeping the simmer control on slow-burning melodies that break sweats with rallying-call choruses. The standout "Red Letters"--a live set and KEXP favorite--is here, as is newer material that occasionally flirts with prog accents ("The Rising River"). Tracks like "Cutting Ties" and "Euphobia" recall, as did Ruby Doe's earlier releases, a harder-edged Heatmiser and strains of D.C. punk. Overall, though, this is a no-frills, straight-shots-at-the-jugular rock band, as the menacing "That's Not Love" makes all too clear. The Ruby Doe's urgency is infectious, and here their fever is quickly spreading. JENNIFER MAERZ

The Ruby Doe's CD release show w/Akimbo and New Fangs is Sat Jan 22, Crocodile Cafe, 9 pm, $7.

KINGS OF LEON
Aha Shake Heartbreak
(RCA Records)

****

"Rise and shine all you gold-diggin' mothers. Are you too good to tango with the poor, poor boys?" Caleb Followill sings on "Slow Night, So Long," kicking off the terrific Aha Shake Heartbreak with that subtle blend of swagger and sentimentality Kings of Leon have perfected.

The answer to that opening question, by the way, is hell no. Who could be too good to dance with these poor boys? By now the foursome's backstory of being brothers and cousins, all named Followill and raised on the Bible, has made journalists--especially the British--wet themselves. But focusing solely on family history misses the mark a bit. Yes, they are a sexy, shaggy bunch teethed on the Allman Brothers, Creedence Clearwater Revival, and Lynyrd Skynyrd. But the Kings run their influences through their idiosyncratic lives, coming up with a sound that's complex and independent of its sources.

With Aha Shake Heartbreak the Kings have developed into newer, stranger territory. On "Milk" Caleb sounds like Vic Chesnutt with a firmer grasp of pitch backed by an understated juke-joint band patiently waiting for the rain to pass. The arrangements are more complex and the playing more raggedly cool than before. There are thrift-store disco drums, sloppy Motown bass lines, moody synth stabs, and plenty of boogie guitar, but it's all gloriously applied and mixed up. If you haven't discovered the joy that is Kings of Leon this record is a great place to get on board and imbibe. NATE LIPPENS

Kings of Leon perform Tues Jan 25, Neumo's, 9 pm, $14 adv./$15 DOS, all ages.

HUMAN TELEVISION
All Songs Written By: Human Television
(Gigantic Music)
***

It's only healthy to be skeptical of a band that everyone starts talking about at once. Fortunately, in the case of Florida band Human Television, all the talk is in the service of a fantastic EP of gentle, catchy, new wave-like tunes that pull off the neat trick of having strong influences while maintaining the essential naiveté of great pop. Specifically, Human Television pledges allegiance to the early '80s British-pop model. The music is smart, sweet, and lively, with a lo-fi hush and the lyrics are confident enough to skip being clever.

The first song, with its chorus of "Saw you walking by just the other day. I said, 'Hey-ay, hey-hey-hey-hey,'" is awesome, and weirdly romantic. It takes a real knack to know when something so plain is going to express something real and true. And it takes a really good band to make an EP as refreshing and swoony and promising as this one. It's the kind of record that, years down the line, the band will probably disavow, saying they didn't know what they were doing back then. But hardcore fans will cherish it forever. SEAN NELSON

EYVIND KANG AND TUCKER MARTINE
Orchestra Dim Bridges
(Conduit)
***

Violinist Eyvind Kang and multi-instrumentalist Tucker Martine are a match made in studio heaven. Among the most in-demand players and producers working in Seattle's fertile avant/underground music scene, the two also played together on Kang's Virginal Coordinates (2004, Ipecac), a live document of processional East Asian court music, gentle gamelan jams, and minimalist, orchestral art songs--all executed with delicate grace.

Orchestra Dim Bridges, by contrast, is a less-coherent affair. Kang and Martine let themselves engage in whatever whimsies they desire. Luckily, those indulgent tendencies result in much worthwhile sonic excavating. Bridges bestows masterly orchestral rock ballads that won't rot your ears with sentimentality; mysterious soundscapes David Lynch would gladly use to increase suspense; blissful downer rock (not a contradiction); and a couple of electronic experiments that sound like Oval remixing Tortoise circa 1996 and a devious digital deconstruction of a stately orchestral piece. Self-indulgence rarely sounds this fascinating. DAVE SEGAL

25 SUAVES
I Want It Loud
(Bastard Sun/Bulb Records)
***

The only arena for a band at 25 Suaves' cult level is the one in guitarist Pete Larson's head; this duo is better set for buckling dive-bar sound systems and forcing neighbors at basement shows to put the police on speed dial than tackling the Tacoma Dome. But no matter if the stadium seating is stuck in his gray matter, Larson plays to the nosebleeds and unfurls fightin' words on every new Suaves record, and I Want It Loud couldn't reaffirm that fact any plainer. Partnered with his wife/drummer Fumie Kawasaki and guest bassist Dave Sahijdak (ex-Melvins), Larson is like the Motörhead fan in a noise-aficionado frame who pours the sludge on thick, moving through monolithic rhythms on "Born Dead" and pummeling the album title through your skull on "Turn Up the Music." The Michigan owner of Bulb Records (home to early releases from Wolf Eyes, Andrew W.K., and Oneida) breaks the volume control on the instruments and yells with a huskiness that lands his delivery somewhere between wind-tunnel feedback and death-metal rattle. And with lyrics this straightforward--"My life is making rock from underground/ I pray my life to have time to have this sound/Loud I want it loud"--the only thing you need your head for is banging. JENNIFER MAERZ

**** Chewels
*** Bubble Yum
** Hubba Bubba
* Chicklets