FRIDAY 5/2

LINEAR DOWNFALL, TJ MAX, DISPLAY

Those searching for extraterrestrial dance beats need search no further tonight. Beam up with Timm Mason and Jayson Kochan—both of Midday Veil and a slew of other projects (Master Musicians of Bukkake, Airport, Mood Organ)—who together make up the off-kilter electronic force TJ Max. To call their debut release, Wrong to Run, "danceable" would be an understatement. These songs—which fall somewhere between Blade Runner and the floor of la discothèque—are dance-requisite and demand a physical reaction. No other Seattle act is making galactic dark disco at its grimiest and get-the-fuck-down-est like this: I literally couldn't control my body's reaction to these cosmically pulsating grooves, and I simply don't want to meet the person who can. The night is also appropriately hazed by Nashville-based Linear Downfall's experimental psych flourishes. At times, they are reminiscent of 1960s psych-electronic pioneers the United States of America, with near-delirious Of Montreal–esque pop breakouts hovering over icy and weird electronics. Black Lodge, 9 pm.

SATURDAY 5/3

THE PAINS OF BEING PURE AT HEART, FEAR OF MEN, ABLEBODY

Back in 2009, the Pains of Being Pure at Heart stunned cardigan-wearing, cat-eye-donning indie-pop dweebs with a full-length on the legendary Slumberland Records that resuscitated 1980s UK jangle-pop for the average blog-trolling "millennial." A band so wistfully named might render eye rolls from some, but these sinuous, blurred pop songs are some of the purest and most heavenly being made right now. Their latest, Days of Abandon, is the follow-up to the still-very-good 2011 album Belong. The poppy, majestic songs on Abandon float more buoyantly into spring than freshly dispersed dandelion seeds, easily earning a place in the indie-pop pantheon. Despite suspicions that these sunshine-and-love-fed tunes may translate to a dull live experience, I've been impressed with the Pains' ability to remain interesting—hell, even heartwarming—in the flesh. Happiness scientifically makes you warmer (hey, it's science—google it!), and you'd be hard-pressed to walk out of Vera tonight without at least a slight heat wave in the tock of your ticker. Vera Project, 7:30 pm, $12 adv. recommended