Ball of Wax is a quarterly music anthology that combines local and international talent on one overloaded CD. The paltry entry fee for tonight's release party buys you one copy of Ball of Wax, volume 12, and gets you into a show featuring BoW contributors Kate Tucker & the Sons of Sweden, a band that evokes the shimmery vocals and guitar pop of '90s bands like Belly and Mazzy Star, and the grimy reinvention of big-band country by up-and-comers the Crying Shame. (Sunset Tavern, 5433 Ballard Ave NW, 784-4880. 9 pm, $6, 21+.)