In Up & Coming:

Girl Talk, Junk Culture
(Showbox Sodo) But a few listens to Junk Culture's debut disc, the West Coast EP (out October 27), lead me to think that Mantena will fare well before Girl Talk's jumpy hordes. Like most Illegal Art releases, the EP consists of many samples, hard-to-identify snippets—save those from Animal Collective's "Brother Sport" and Steve Miller's "Take the Money and Run"—that the Portland-based producer stitches together with brash, raw finesse. The nine tracks here are spasmodically rhythmic and awash in digitally altered tones, vaguely alluding to Jason Forrest's hectic, prog-disco bombast, Caribou's sublime psychedelic funk, and Prefuse 73's clipped glitch-hop.

Pearl Jam, Ben Harper and Relentless7

(KeyArena) One of my earliest assignments for The Stranger was to write the scathing "con" side of a pro/con piece about Pearl Jam. It was fun, and I took to it with bilious gusto, but I must confess: I don't really hate Pearl Jam. It's more that I just haven't cared about them one way or the other since around 1994's Vitalogy. Before that, I actually really liked the band. Hell, Ten was the first "cool" cassette tape I ever owned (thanks, Uncle Brian). The band have kept on churning out good-hearted, unsurprising alt-rock 'n' roll over the years, and they've continued to be unassailably good guys, supporting righteous political causes and charities and sticking up for their fans against the corporate ogres. Their new album, Backspacer, is reportedly as vital a record as the band's done in years. And I still couldn't care less. ERIC GRANDY

Manic Street Preachers

(Neumos) In February 1995, Manic Street Preachers' guitarist and lyricist Richey Edwards (who once famously carved "4 Real" into his arm with a razor in response to a music journalist questioning the band's sincerity) went mysteriously missing, leaving his car abandoned with a dead battery near a bridge notorious for suicide jumpers. In 2008, he was declared presumed dead. In between, the band carried on without him, adopting a bigger, brighter Brit-pop sound and with bassist Nicky Wire taking over for Edwards on lyrical duties. This year, the band released their ninth album, Journal for Plague Lovers; its lyrics are written by Edwards, culled from notebooks he left to his bandmates before his disappearance. Miraculously, the album comes off as reverent and resonant rather than grave-robbing. In support of the album, the band are embarking on their first U.S. tour in 10 years, which kicks off tonight in Seattle. ERIC GRANDY

Looking for more? Search our online calendar for a complete listing of concerts and live music tonight.