This week, our music critics recommend everything from a Kendrick Lamar-approved soul and funk crooner (Bilal), to one of Canada's best musical exports (Alvvays), to a rising singer-songwriter who will make you wish you had taken that gap year to make art (Soccer Mommy). Follow the links below for ticket links and music clips, and find even more shows on our music calendar.

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MONDAY

2017 Golden Ear Awards Party
Since 1990, Earshot Jazz's Golden Ear Awards have recognized the accomplishments of Seattle jazz artists during the previous year and inducted significant artists into Seattle's Jazz Hall of Fame. Legendary performers like Eugenie Jones have been showcased in the past. Tonight's event will begin with live music from the Delvon Lamar Organ Trio before the awards ceremony hosted by Jim Wilke.

Protest the Hero, Closure in Moscow, Thank You Scientist
Abbreviated history lesson: In 2008–09, progressive heavy metal hit a little subgenre renaissance with records like Mastodon’s Crack the Skye, Meshuggah’s Obzen, and a little Canadian band called Protest the Hero’s sophomore LP, Fortress. Fortress’s guitars snarl with near-infinite arpeggiation, its bass coils fluid and expansive, its drums thunder like, to quote their opening song, “where gallop meets the earth.” Does it make any sense? After a solid decade of listening to the damn thing, I still can’t say for sure. The lyrics are all about goddess worship and Genghis Khan… or something. But the whole lyrics-making-sense thing hasn’t been necessary since Emerson Lake & Palmer. This much is sure: Protest the Hero haven’t been the same since, and they are playing Fortress in its totality for its 10th birthday. JOSEPH SCHAFER

TUESDAY

The Darkness, Diarrhea Planet
Best known for their early '00s chart-topping hit "I Believe in A Thing Called Love," glam rock group the Darkness will share their infectious energy on their Tour De Prance with guest Diarrhea Planet.

Durand Jones & the Indications
Well, GOD DAMN, looks like this Tuesday night “in the basement” is gonna get turned into SOUL night! Soul boys Durand Jones & the Indicators will be gracing the stage with their top-class, groovy, contemporary take on deep soul (y’all low-riders oughta take note). Their jams are all meat, too; Jones has some 1960s-style powerhouse vocals, so don’t expect any contemporary-pop-vocal acrobatics, and the Indicators’ music’s deepness is peppered with a dancer or two steeped in just enough funk for the beatheads who wanna get down. MIKE NIPPER

Omara Portuondo
Eighty-seven-year-old Omara Portuondo is one of the five surviving members—and the only original vocalist—of the world-famous Cuban ensemble Buena Vista Social Club. As a mellifluous singer and dancer of melded Spanish genres such as son cubano and bolero music, Portuondo rose to prominence with the troupe in the late 1990s after their self-titled debut and then sunsetted the legendary act with the other original members in 2015 on their final tour. Now the window to see any of the original members is slowly closing—this is an opportunity you’re not going to want to sleep on. ZACH FRIMMEL

WEDNESDAY

Chromeo, Phantoms
Nostalgia ain't going nowhere—might as well have skilled artisans reviving shit, right? And that's what this bill offers: one of the top pasticheurs in North America. Montreal duo Chromeo sleaze up electro and disco with utmost skill and oleaginousness. DAVE SEGAL

Fujiya & Miyagi, Bill Baird
For about the last 18 years, Fujiya & Miyagi’s sound hasn’t changed much—stealthy danceable rhythms driven by fat bass lines, and cheeky and sometimes absurd lyrics—though the lineup has expanded from two to four members. The group’s most distinctive feature—David Best’s breathy, accented tenor vocals that never really vary in volume, in an unabashed homage to Can’s Damo Suzuki—remains as charming as ever. This krautrocking UK electro outfit has put out six LPs’ worth of material, with last year’s self-titled effort fueling their current tour. LEILANI POLK

HAIM
HAIM is the trio of Este, Danielle, and Alana Haim, or the coolest set of sisters in music right now. Fresh off of the release of their second record, Something to Tell You, HAIM are masters of rhythm and seamlessly intertwining many genres. What other band gets personal advice from Stevie Nicks, has an A$AP Ferg feature on one of their tracks, and opens for Taylor Swift? ANNA KAPLAN

John Davis & the Cicadas, Wiscon, Robert Millis
John Davis was a member of the Folk Implosion with Lou Barlow. As a leader, Davis seems to favor space. Spacey spacey space, with guitars and vocals whisked off immediately on strum/utterance to one vast void. I am not sure if the lyrics are profound. They may be, it’s just hard to tell with all that whisking. Even the drums don’t sound loud, and you can’t say that about much rock-based music. Recommended if you like enigmas... and vast voids. ANDREW HAMLIN

Jungle
At the Showbox, the hook-laden British dance-pop duo Jungle will bless their dedicated fan base with more exotic-hypnotic soul than this city is used to. The smooth and lean athleticism of their enjoyable 2014 eponymous debut combines Massive Attack’s warped perceptions, D’Angelo’s seduction, and Hot Chip’s dance-floor charm to keep your heart full and legs limber to jogger-friendly tempos. The common thread is a retro-UK-groove that keeps the songs moving to motivational, ecstatic heights, while inlayed textures and stylistic treatments keep them interesting and moving forward. Catch the fever. TRAVIS RITTER

Soccer Mommy, Madeline Kenney
Just after graduating high school in 2015, songwriter Sophie Allison started recording herself on a four-track and putting the results on Bandcamp under the name Soccer Mommy. Her full-band studio debut, Clean, released earlier this month, is more poised and polished, but it retains a similar focus—young love, summer days, teenage angst. Thematically at least, there’s a bit of early Taylor Swift to Allison’s music (compare to “she’s cheer captain and I’m on the bleachers”), but Clean hardly sounds focus-grouped or aspirational. Allison’s are casually excellent pop songs performed with tossed-off flair, and that augurs well for the 20-year-old’s future. ANDREW GOSPE

THURSDAY

Depth Weekly Launch with Ben Sims
London's Ben Sims has been raising pulse rates in clubs and studios for the last 20 years. He produces and spins ruggedly minimalist techno tracks that cut to the chase, filling your neurons with a mixture of ecstasy and dread. For tonight's show—the debut of a new weekly called Depth—Sims will be in DJ mode, so you can finally feel the fierceness of what punters at Berghain, Fabric London, and other global hot spots have experienced. Make sure you get to Kremwerk in time to see Dr. Troy (an actual doctor who also owns the Medical and Transfusion labels). His set in January following VRIL's at Timbre Room proved that he's Seattle's most adventurous techno DJ, transporting the crowd to the weirdest places in the hardest, most revelatory manner possible. The return to town of LA-based Nordic Soul (Decibel Fest's Sean Horton) trading cuts with Q Nightclub booker Sean Majors should be notable, too. DAVE SEGAL

Kate Nash, Miya Folick
If I got a chance to talk to Kate at her show, I would tell her about the time the song “Foundations” wedged itself in my subconscious for weeks and I became unbearable to be around. “You said I must eat so many le-mons, cause I am so bit-tah!” I sang to myself in a weird cockney accent on the bus and in the shower, and I’m pretty sure the song played a minor role in a dream subplot. Kate doesn’t just write catchy songs about failing relationships, though. “I use mouthwash/sometimes I floss/I have a family/And I drink cups of tea,” she sings on a song entitled “Mouthwash.” I forgive her. I have no idea what Kate will sound like in concert, but if she sounds even half as good as she does on her CD, it’ll be worth it to you to check her out. STEVEN BLUM

Live in the Laser Dome with Young Galaxy and DJ Stas THEE Boss
Transcendent Canadian dream pop act Young Galaxy and local favorite Stas THEE Boss (as the evening's DJ) will combine their powers, with a full laser show plotting constellations throughout their live sets.

Simon Trpčeski
Macedonian pianist and concert hall regular Simon Trpčeski will perform a dazzling program that will span from Mendelssohn’s Songs without Words to Rimsky-Korsakov’s Scheherazade, showcasing his introspective technique.

The Strypes, Guests
The nutty thing about Irish quartet the Strypes is they play the sort of overdriven blues rock and careening pub rock that their parents—or maybe even grandparents—probably worshipped. These mugs are young (20 to 22 years old), but their musical predilections are ancient. Apparently, unlike many of their peers, they don’t give a damn about EDM, and that’s kind of adorable. The Strypes would rather tear through the sort of moves that made director Michelangelo Antonioni want to cast the Yardbirds in Blow-Up or emulate British pub-rock badasses Dr. Feelgood. To pull off this sort of retro fetishizing, a band needs above-average chops and the kind of zealous conviction for the cause that’s immune to criticism. The Strypes succeed on both counts. Here’s hoping they go through a psychedelic phase next. DAVE SEGAL

THURSDAY-SUNDAY

Tower of Power
Oakland’s fabulous funk and soul-jazz heavies Tower of Power return for yet another Seattle residency. Reports from the most gushing-est of fans claim that every TOP show is a killer dance party, but then they are the “Hipper Than Hip” from “Bump City” and would obviously know how to dig it deep “In the Slot”! That they keep killin’ it time and again is REALLY saying something, as Tower of Power have been active for 50 years and show no signs of getting up from all their serious getting down! MIKE NIPPER

FRIDAY

Acid Mothers Temple, Babylon, Fungal Abyss
What a long, strange trip Acid Mothers Temple’s music is. Year after year, these Japanese astral travelers release chaotic and blissful psychedelic works that subtly tweak their maximalist, distortion-loving approach with each punnily titled album. They also never stop touring, and one of these days they’re going to challenge the Grateful Dead for accruing legions of lysergic devotees… or fry trying. As someone who’s seen AMT many times under various conditions, I can vouch that their music represents one of the most efficient and bombastic ways to exit a mundane mind state. Seattle trio Hound Dog Taylor’s Hand keep ascending the mountain of jazz-rock freedom with a swaggering ruthlessness. RIYL Sonny Sharrock, James Blood Ulmer, and stroking your chin till it catches on fire. DAVE SEGAL

Alvvays, Frankie Rose
From their quirky name to songs about waifs and lollipops, it’s tempting to hate this Canadian dream-pop quintet on principle. One listen to their exquisite discography, however, and resistance is futile—more so for those who remember Tallulah Gosh and the Shop Assistants with fondness. On 2014's Alvvays and 2017's Antisocialites, Molly Rankin's candied vocals commingle with buzz-saw guitars, a snappy rhythm section, and deceptively sassy lyrics. Frankie Rose draws from an analogous pool of 1980s influences for a more relaxed, atmospheric sound. Her fourth album, Cage Tropical, represents the artist at the peak of her powers.   KATHY FENNESSY

Band in Seattle: Industrial Revelation & The Flavr Blue
Band in Seattle's featured artists this session are Seattle-Los Angeles indie pop-hoppers the Flavr Blue with Stranger Genius jazz fusion group Industrial Revelation, and they'll be taping a live television segment at Victory Studios, with free beer, live performances, and post-set music trivia.

Devin the Dude, King Leez, DJ Indica Jones
There’s a strain of melancholy, Southern rap that bangs bluesily, utilizing chicken-scratch guitars, deep-fried organs, and sumptuous horns to tell bleary-eyed street tales and revel in sun-baked nostalgia. Think UGK’s first few albums, or the work of production team Organized Noize. It’s a lush, humid sound, and Houston’s Devin the Dude has pretty much perfected it over a decades-long career in the game. His sleepy drawl and penchant for hilariously kush-addled observations have afforded him a cult fan base many up-and-coming rappers would kill for, and his remarkable streak of good-to-great releases (from 2002’s Just Tryin’ Ta Live to his latest, One for the Road) suggest a quality control that may surprise you, given his nonchalance and chilled demeanor on record. I’d be remiss if I didn’t single out for special mention his track “Doobie Ashtray,” the most heartbreaking ballad about friends stealing your weed ever released. KYLE FLECK

Earshot Jazz Presents: Kavita Shah & Francois Moutin
New York-based composer and jazz vocalist Kavita Shah has performed and recorded with musicians like Lionel Loueke, Steve Wilson, Yacouba Sissoko, Cécile McLorin Salvant, and Samir Chatterjee. Tonight, she'll be joined by bassist Francois Moutin for an evening of duo pieces.

ParisAlexa, Stas Thee Boss, Taylar Elizza Beth, Guayaba, Acacia The Queen
At only 18, ParisAlexa already has the sophisticated voice and performance chops of many musicians twice her age. Her setup is simple—keyboards, vocal loops, maybe a guitar—but the effect is striking and worth listening to every spellbinding word (some of which she makes up on the spot). AMBER CORTES

Sessions: Bryan John Appleby
Picture, if you will, a young Seattle man with a reddish beard, a black wool cap, and a sweetly melancholy voice. Now picture a band around him, playing in that misty NW indie-folk fashion: a violin, a banjo, a lady harmonizing with him, a drummer who isn't too intrusive—maybe even the occasional doleful musical saw. He sings about combs, holes in the ground, "holy garments," and the bent beams of wooden buildings. Congratulations! You've just conjured Bryan John Appleby. Does he have a tattoo of an old flywheel or a ball-peen hammer under that wool sweater? Probably! BRENDAN KILEY

SATURDAY

Briana Marela, LAKE, Ever Ending Kicks
Take a dollop of Panda Bear’s bleached-out hymns circa Person Pitch, add a dash of Beach House’s radiant synth ballads and a pinch of Julianna Barwick’s amniotic harmonizing and you’ve got a recipe for something close to what Briana Marela’s up to. The local ambient-pop auteur released her album on Jagjaguwar, All Around Us, which was recorded in Iceland with the requisite production assists from Sigur Rós affiliates. (You’re legally obligated to work with Sigur Rós’ people if you’re making an album in Iceland.) The new album is measures more extroverted and ambitious than Marela’s earlier work, with glitchy, microscopic drum patterns and those flurried strings bringing to mind another famous Icelander’s finest hour: Björk’s Homogenic. Enough with the comparisons, though; All Around Us deserves to be heard on its own terms, so catch this gig and see one of Seattle’s most promising musicians in the flesh. KYLE FLECK

Diego El Cigala
Once referred to as "one of the most beautiful flamenco voices of our time" by iconic guitarist Paco de Lucia, vocalist Diego El Cigala blends bolero, tango, Afro-Caribbean jazz, and Cuban son traditions for a Grammy-winning sound all his own.

Jonathan Davis
Ex-Korn frontman and nü-metal pioneer Jonathan Davis will return to Seattle to promote the release of his solo debut album.

Keith Sweat
Anyone who had sex in the '90s owes their good fortune to the slick R&B of easy listening (and platinum-selling) legend Keith Sweat.

Kelli Schaefer, Hotels, Von Wildenhaus
Portland solo rocker Kelli Schaefer draws from artists like PJ Harvey, Nick Cave, and Bjork to craft her own unique art-pop sound. She'll be joined by Hotels and Von Wildenhaus.

Nail Polish, Naked Lights, Zen Mother
Nail Polish radiate insane no-wave energy and angst that amp you to patriarchy-smashing righteousness. Their chronically cranky rock careens and crunches like long-lost 1980s UK hell-raisers like bIG fLAME and MacKenzies. Scoop up Nail Polish’s two galvanizing releases—Abrupt and Authentic Living—for instant adrenaline boosts. DAVE SEGAL

Red Ribbon, Thank You, Whitney Ballen
Sink into an early spring evening of surrealist rock, pop, and cosmic psych with sets by Red Ribbon, Thank You, and Whitney Ballen.

The Soft Moon, Boy Harsher, Missions
The Soft Moon, aka Luis Vasquez, makes music that sounds real good while you’re jumping up and down as high as you can jump, and as heavy as you can come down, in a windowless room, with a strobe light going, turning you into a jerky stick figure as you make your own video with your iPhone. I myself have not lived on a steady diet of this since college, but I think Vasquez does it as well as anyone doing it. Strobe and iPhone not included, but if you show up, you can sure as hell jump. ANDREW HAMLIN

SATURDAY-SUNDAY

Not in Our Town
For their explosive spring performance, Seattle Women's Chorus and Seattle Men's Chorus will join forces to sing songs of protest and social justice representative of uplifting social movements and community unions throughout modern history. Enjoy iconic songs of solidarity from artists like Melissa Etheridge, Katy Perry, and Whitney Houston, with a featured debut by social media notable Randy Rainbow.

SUNDAY

Bilal, Bells Atlas, DJ SolidSound
Singer, songwriter, producer, and musician Bilal is known for his work with Kendrick Lamar (“These Walls” off To Pimp a Butterfly won them a Grammy for best rap/sung collaboration), Erykah Badu, Robert Glasper, the Roots (“It Ain’t Fair” from the Detroit film soundtrack, most recently), and Common. But Bilal’s solo catalog is deserving of its own accolades, and he most recently united with Adrian Younge on the perfectly wrought 2015 LP In Another Life, the multi-instrumental producer bringing psychedelic soul and Morricone-esque drama to Bilal’s fine mix of R&B, jazz, funk, hiphop, and regular ol’ soul. Bilal’s vocals are a creamy caress that hit falsetto notes and evoke the greats—Prince, Marvin Gaye, Curtis Mayfield—all while maintaining his own singular sensuality. LEILANI POLK

Thor & Friends, Norman Westberg
Thor Harris has long served as the secret weapon for an eclectic assortment of artists—Angels of Light, Shearwater, and Bill Callahan, to name a few. His sturdy frame and golden locks may suit his birth name, and there are certainly moments in his music where he throws his muscle into percussion, but there has always been a prevailing air of unexpected delicacy to his work. This gentle touch is best captured in his current project Thor & Friends, which favors the hypnotic, repetitive arpeggios of Steve Reich and Terry Riley over the brutish clatter of his work with opener Norman Westberg in Swans. BRIAN COOK

Tito’s Handmade Vodka’s 21st Birthday & KEXP Benefit with STRFKR
Joshua Hodges is the visionary leader of STRFKR, a Portland-based synth-pop band with light psychedelic and indie-rock tendencies. Their sound is driven by Hodges’s pleasant, sighing vocals, bright keys, pulsing and bumping bass, and beats with just enough groove appeal to make you want to dance—but not too hard, more like an easy, hip-shaking sway and slight shoulder shimmy. STRFKR dropped a fifth full-length in November 2016, Being No One, Going Nowhere, and released another album, Vault Vol. 1, in February 2017, the first of three that compile previously unreleased and rare tracks, including material composed well before their 2008 self-titled debut. LEILANI POLK

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