The Submarines - “Peace and Hate”

The Submarines, Bad Dream Good Breakfast, the Color Bars
(Chop Suey) The Submarines are the L.A.-based duo of John Dragonetti and Blake Hazard. They used to date. They broke up. They separately wrote a bunch of songs about breaking up and missing each other, which they still recorded together at Dragonetti’s home. So of course they got back together and got married. The most obvious analogue here is also the most apt, as the Submarines’ sickly sweet, love-stoned pop songs recall nothing so much as the less manic moments of Mates of State, although Hazard occasionally sounds like a less subtle Mirah. Their latest, Honeysuckle Weeks—which ranges from the odd dub lope of “1940” to the manicured hand-wringing of “You and Me and the Bourgeoisie”—is as glossy and broadcast-ready as you’d expect from a band whose work has appeared on Weeds, Grey’s Anatomy, and Nip/Tuck. ERIC GRANDY

Half Light, the Purrs, the Jones Family Fortune, the Delusions
(Comet) In the late 1990s, Seattle was rife with music to sway to drunkenly, and no band exemplified the local shoegazer aesthetic better than Voyager One. Dayna Loeffler, V1’s old bassist, has switched to guitar in Half Light, the band she now fronts. Half Light’s debut CD, aptly titled Sleep More, Take More Drugs, Do Whatever We Want, is being released tonight, and it’s exactly what you’d expect: smooth, dreamy spacerock that owes influences to Pink Floyd, Lush, My Bloody Valentine, and, of course, Voyager One. The Purrs, another example of finely crafted local postpunk, round out a strong bill for fans of psychedelic rock. MATT GARMAN

Click here to hear Half Light.

Billy Bragg - “Waiting for the Great Leap Forward” (Live on the Henry Rollins Show)

Billy Bragg, C.R. Avery
(Moore) The election is still five months away, and you’re already worn down. What to do? You could be cryogenically suspended until November, but seeing Billy Bragg offers a much better way to recharge your batteries and forge on. His classic “Waiting for the Great Leap Forward” grows more stirring with every lyrical twist added to reflect time, place, and state of mind. And for all his fiery politics, Bragg’s live sets are tempered with humor, down-to-earth romance, and savvy observations. As befits a man of his wit and charisma, the Bard of Barking is not bashful in his pulpit, but unlike so many folk artists, he rarely stoops to preach. KURT B. REIGHLEY

Mars Accelerator, The Preons, Casey Alexander
(Skylark) The Preons play warm, mellow indie rock laced with lush layers of harmonica, trumpet, and keyboards. They’re like a calm, less literary Decemberists. The band’s members have a deep history in local music—bassist John Hendow played in local reggae band Jumbalassy before joining the Preons, and guitarist Josh Cowart once leant his talents to Hourglass Lake. The music benefits from their diverse pasts—subtle hints of jazz and reggae make their way into tracks on their latest record, Starshine on the Devilwoods. But the band say it’s the life experiences—everything from “rehab, weddings, weddings canceled, and death”—that happened while writing and record that make it so strong in the end, proving that sometimes adversity is the best inspiration. MEGAN SELING

The Preons:
“Conflict of the Cobra Kai”

“It Will Be Soon”

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