The Dead Science
w/Casiotone for the Painfully Alone, the Papercuts, Parenthetical Girls
Fri Nov 5, Vera Project, 7:30 pm, $8 ($7 w/club card).

What force keeps the Dead Science singer Sam Mickens rooted to terra firma? Is it the weight of his guitar? A muse gently pushing down on his shoulders? Perhaps a tailor has sewn fishing weights into his slacks.

The minute the slender vocalist for the Seattle trio opens his mouth, he arches heavenward. "Ossuary," the opening cut of the new Bird Bones in the Bughouse EP (Absolutely Kosher), lays its foundation with martial drum fills from Korum Bischoff and a lurching bass line by his brother, Jherek Bischoff. But when Mickens releases his mesmerizing voice, a layer of vapor rises up, cool mist wafting across the titular burial ground.

Since this moody trio emerged in 2000, Mickens has been likened frequently to Chet Baker, a comparison seemingly based from his quiet delivery, good looks, and slicked-back hair. Honestly, the former's voice is more versatile than the jazz pinup's; he navigates the hiccupping rhythms of "Gamma Knife" effortlessly, even as a creeping piano swells to clattering intensity behind him.

Bird Bones has grounded moments, too. With its driving kick drum and funky bass, "Cuz She's One" might pass for the latest offering from NYC hipster label DFA--except Mickens croons where the Rapture would bark. And on "Sign Your Name," he teases out the chorus with aching grace over a harp-like guitar part, giving a performance so sublime, it takes a minute to realize it's gracing a Terence Trent D'Arby cover. Catch the Dead Science before they disappear in a sonic smoke.

kurt@thestranger.com