Milagres
March 23rd | 11:00pm | $6

Milagres have half-jokingly been referred to by Pitchfork as one of the last-remaning guitar bands in Brooklyn, but even so, their tasteful addition of synth adds a warmer, ambient edge. The songs are seductively infectious—a wall of sound builds and envelopes, and a twinge of sensitivity in the vein of Coldplay will leave your heart singing even if your mouth doesn't know the lyrics. Recently, Milagres—whose name means "miracles" in Portugese—was featured on NPR's Tiny Desk Concerts, playing a stripped-down version of "Here to Stay."

For fans of: Muse, Geographer, Coldplay

LISTEN:  “Glowing Mouth” :: Glowing Mouth

1,2,3
March 23rd | 10:00pm | $6

1,2,3's sound throughout "New Heaven" is difficult to put a finger on because it's a constantly-shape shifting, dynamic masterpiece. "Work" is an explosive, triumphant anthem that sounds like members of Trans-Siberian Orchestra ran away with the indie-rock circus, while later tracks like "Just Like Heaven (Is Gone)" remind of a young Brian Wilson. It plays like a good mix-tape: taking it down to a 50s slow-dance pace and then back up to a jump-up-and-down, put-your-fist-in-the-air celebration.

LISTEN:  “Work” :: New Heaven

Unicycle Loves You
March 23rd | 9:00pm | $6

Unicycle Loves You once opened for Weezer, which makes sense—their buzzing-guitar and relentless up-tempo garage sounds are reminiscent of the 90s in all the right ways. Their new album, Failure, is full of songs that are peppered with catchy boy-girl melodies and enough sarcastic lyrics to keep it lighthearted.

LISTEN:  “Wow Wave Cinema” :: Failure

Pree
March 24th | 11:00pm | $5

This Washington DC band was created from the ashes of Le Loup when May Tabol finished touring and decided to retire the surf-sounding guitar in exchange for a more Feist–esque style. Their album, Folly, which romanticizes the idea of modern-day gypsies, was written after a flurry of evictions and foreclosures throughout the band members thatleft them moving from place to place.

For fans of: Le Loup, Fesit, Regina Spektor

LISTEN:  “Heaven Is A Drag” :: A Chopping Block

The Souterrain
March 24th | 10:00pm | $5

The Souterrain have become a Davis live-music staple: They've gone from playing house shows to bigger local venues like Luigi's Pizza and The Naked Lounge in Sacramento, garnering more well-deserved attention—both locally and in surrounding areas—every month. Soon the band will grace the Fillmore in support of Drive-By-Truckers—their biggest gig yet. The band is celebrated as an all-acoustic band with various lineups of instruments, including a stand-up bass and even a French horn at times.

Radiation City
March 29th | 11:00pm | $5

What if oldies singer Connie Francis fronted an indie pop band these days? Perhaps it would sound something like Portland quartet Radiation City, who are self-proclaimed aficionados and creators of old-sounding music, paying tribute to the sound of mom and dad's generation while giving it their own present-day twist. They combine Lizzy Ellison's filtered, lo-fi vocals with their own version of the Wall of Sound, replacing Phil Spector's field of strings with booming drums, swelling horns and bold synthesizers.

LISTEN:  “The Color Of Industry” :: The Hands That Shape You

The Loom
March 29th | 10:00pm | $5

Fans of other Crossbill Records artists Garrett Pierce and Matt Bauer will identify with one of the label's more recent additions, Brooklyn-based The Loom. Their folk sound full impressive use of dynamics: drum-heavy, explosively powerful parts in songs that start out as quiet, banjo-driven melodies in songs like "The Middle Distance" and hints of gospel-esque hand-clapping and a hell of a horn section in "Helen".

LISTEN:  “For The Hooves That Gallop, And The Heels That March” :: Teeth

Hosannas
March 29th | 9:00pm | $5

A natural tendency with bands that use synthetic beats and electronic stitches like Hosannas does is to overlook the quality of the songwriting that lies beneath. Maybe it's the tired image of "songwriters" being limited to an acoustic guitar, but in a similar vein as Birds & Batteries, the tandem of Brandon and Richards Laws has taken a lushly penned stable of think-piece tunes and intensive ballads with jigsaw lyrics and wrapped them up in the kind of electric circus that could easily serve as the soundtrack to the darkest (weirdest?) points of your average Tarantino flick.

LISTEN:  “Somewhere In Between” :: Untitled EP

John Vanderslice
March 30th | 10:00pm | $7

After making three albums with MK Ultra in the 90s, John Vanderslice turned to a solo career, releasing 14 albums and EPs since 2000. His voice and songwriting is reminiscent of a young Don McLean, while his backing harmonies are avant garde and experimental, adding a deeper, darker undertone in his songs which he has referred to as "sloppy hi-fi." He has toured with the likes of Sufjan Stevens, Okkervil River, St. Vincent and The Tallest Man On Earth.

LISTEN:  “Trance Manual” :: Pixel Revolt

Appetite
March 30th | 9:00pm | $7

Appetite's Teddy Briggs started out as the drummer for Rooney and later for the band, What's Up, started writing music for his solo project on an eight-track recorder and originally released it under the name Chief Briggum. While his live band is a five-piece, he records everything in the studio by himself. His songs are made of simple harmonies layered on top of one another and compiled into what have been described as "pop symphonies"—both danceable and poignant.

Miss Lonely Hearts
March 31st | 11:00pm | $5

Miss Lonely Hearts, one of Davis' most beloved Americana bands, are as cheeky as they are talented. Their bio infamously reads, "Five dudes, copious liquor, and a fine shoe collection." Even their Kickstarter account dons a video called "We Want Your Money", which discusses why they need to have their new album funded ("So we don't have to keep on beggin' all day long"; "If we mix it ourselves you know it won't be worth a darn," etc.) rivals their songs as one of the most hilarious things they have ever done. Recently the band moved to Santa Cruz, where they continue to play shows and recently went on tour with The Devil Makes Three.

LISTEN:  “From An Old Man” :: Into The Wolves Den

J.P. Harris & The Tough Choices
March 31st | 10:00pm | $5

If you ask JP Harris & The Tough Choices what kind of music they play, you're likely to get an (albeit justified) earful about how Hank Williams, Buck Owens, Carl Smith and other classic country music singers are rolling in their graves at the thought of the "watered-down contemporary excuse that Nashville presents us for Country Music." The band aims to play straight-up whiskey-soaked honky tonk licks that will make the late-greats proud and the audiences dance.

McDougall
March 31st | 9:00pm | $5

This "one-man orchestra" from Portland plays punked-up tempos with a classic-blues sensibility that manages to stand out brilliantly in the sea of folk bands from the Pacific Northwest. His powerful vocals have a raw vulnerability that he uses as needed to get a story across—as if Two Gallants and Old Man Markley got together and formed a band on the side of a mountain to sing old hymns at the top of their lungs.

LISTEN:  “Ones & Twos” :: Cover With The Moon