Bite Sized Sets at Comet: Shortstack from All Our Noise on Vimeo.

We’ll skip the obvious joke about band titles with double v’s and say that indie rock seems to really love its noise these days: Nottingham, England’s Lovvers, however, serve up a much more elemental tonic to the brainier stuff we’ve become used to on this side of the pond. As part of its first U.S. tour, the group plays tomorrow at Comet Ping Pong with Small Doses and Cigarbox Planetarium.

The influences listed on Lovvers’ MySpace seem to shuffle through the dirtiest examples early ’80s American punk rock (The Germs, Wipers, The Real Kids), and since forming in 2006, the band has earned a raucous live reputation—its promotional material proudly quotes a letter to the editor in Kerrang! describing one performance as “highly offensive.” In other words: Expect young, loud, and snotty.

The contrarian ethos doesn’t just manifest itself as teenage nihilism (though there’s plenty of it on Lovvers’ blistering, 13-minute Think EP from 2008, in songs like “Teenage Shutdown” and “Wasted Youth”). There’s volume, sure, but Lovvers also tease at the aural iconoclasm of a Brainiac or Pussy Galore, with heavily distorted vocals and elliptical song structures. Things never get too thoughtful, though, or too precise: The primary mode is id-fueled release.

Lovvers drop their debut full-length, OCD Go Go Go Girls, in the U.K. in August. The American release is TBA.

Friday, July 17 | Lovvers with Small Doses and Cigarbox Planetarium | Comet Ping Pong | 8 p.m. | $10 | all ages

Mary Timony, local guitar hero, has a new band—Soft Power. The band—originally called Pow Wow—will come as a blessing to Timony fans. The quartet’s sound hews toward the more angular rock of her Helium heyday with some well-studied kraut and psych flourishes thrown in. So far, Soft Power has posted two songs—”La La La” and “Izabella”—posted to its myspace page.

Timony is joined by band members Jonah Takagi, Winston Yu, and T.J. Lipple. It looks like the band will be playing Comet Ping Pong on June 20 and Fort Reno in July. [Timony's website puts the Comet show at June 19].

The band’s songs feel right at home with Timony’s warped faerie magik whether fronting Helium or with her later solo work [we praised her power trio in 2006]. Frankly, this is the best stuff we’ve heard from Timony in a while. The songs aren’t a total retread, they spark in unexpected ways and do not rest on her sharp guitar playing alone. She doesn’t sing lead on “La La La.” Instead, she is content to stand in the back, let the song rumble, and provide harmony, cooing the song title over and over.

*photo courtesy of Exclaim.

This seems like the origin of Ear Pwr’s asthetic. The Baltimore duo’s new record, Super Animal Bros. III, features songs about sweaters, animals, and animal video games, all set to bleeping crunky synthesizers. But like the Mega-Man themes of old, they do stick in your mind.

Ear Pwr / Exactly/ Adventure @ Comet Ping Pong
Fri. May 22nd, 10 pm, $10
5037 Connecticut Ave

However, their latest project, feature-length Wilco concert film Ashes of American Flags,
involves more concert footage and less out-and-out destruction. The film will be screened Saturday night at The Avalon at 7 pm, as part of the DC International Film Festival (There is a second screening on April 25 at 4:30pm), should you want to check it out. If you’d rather enjoy it in the comfort of your own home, there’s a chance that you can just drop by your local independent record store and buy it on DVD as part of Record Store Day.

After the screening, however, Comet Ping Pong will host a release party featuring various musicians covering Wilco songs. Which sounds great, if you’re talking about John Bustine playing, say, “Hotel Arizona.” But what Edie Sedgwick is going to bring to the table, I can only guess. Actually, no, I can’t guess, but I imagine it will be weird.

Big Gold Belt, Exactly, Revival, Brandon Butler, Peter Hayes, Mary Battiata, Lorelei, and Mary Timony, will also perform, as well as some surprise special guests.

Ashes of American Flags DVD Release Party @ Comet Ping Pong
10 PM, Free
5037 Connecticut Ave. NW

Extra Golden will be performing tonight at Comet Ping Pong, and instead of writing some pithy preview, I’ve opted to create a Washington City Paper/Extra Golden primer of sorts. Links below.

Extra Golden @ Comet Ping Pong
5037 Connecticut Ave. NW
$12, doors 9 pm.

–Postrock and a Hard Place

–Rockers Without Borders

–Kenya Unrest Hits Extra Golden

–Thank You Very Quickly

Also, check out Michaelangelo Matos’ recent feature in Baltimore City Paper.

It certainly did the trick for Blues Control’s burbling sonic-gravy, but it will be even more appropriate
for tonight’s Lovefingers/Lee Douglas/Beautiful Swimmers throwdown. Nu-Disco will no doubt be blasting loud and clear, making Cleveland Park just little more decadent, at least for a night.

If you want a taste, check out Beautiful Swimmers’ mix, which is streaming here.

Lovefingers/Lee Douglas/Beautiful Swimmers @ Comet Ping Pong
5037 Connecticut Ave, NW DC
9:30PM – 3AM
FREE!!!

In a late-January installment of Leakproof, Black Plastic Bag linked to a new track by Queens-based duo Blues Control, taken from the their forthcoming full-length on Siltbreeze (which, according to their Twitter feed, was finished and mixed on March 11th). With a splintered drum machine splayed against lazy keyboards, intermittent cowbell, and spaghetti guitar lines, a listen to “Tenku You” might make one wonder how such a performance would translate live — especially with only two people running the operation. Wonder no longer, because Russ Waterhouse and Lea Cho will bring their sluggish psychedelia to Comet Ping Pong tonight for a free show in the pizza joint/bar/ping pong wonderland/venue’s ongoing concert series.

Supporting for Blues Control will be The Cheniers, a D.C.-based trio who deliver slacker rock in a style recalling veteran lo-fi champions Wingtip Sloat (also from northern-VA), crossed with today’s buzz-heavy new wave in the vein of Times New Viking and Australia’s Eddy Current Suppression Ring. Also on the bill is D.C. duo Protect-U, consisting of Mike Petillo and City Paper’s own Aaron Leitko. I have no idea what they sound like, but judging from their Myspace, I’m pretty sure there’s a Roland TR-707 involved. Details for the show below.

Blues Control w/ Protect-U, The Cheniers
@ Comet Ping Pong
Tonight: Friday, April 3rd
9pm, FREE
5037 Connecticut Ave NW

*Photo by Cassie Lewis

Sao Paolo, Brazil garage rockers Garotas Suecas weren’t bad Saturday night at Comet Ping Pong—I liked their organ-enhanced covers of “Respect,” Os Mutantes “A Minha Menina” (the one in the McDonald’s commercial) and Sly Stone “I Want to Take You Higher”—but the best music of the night came from the turntables of dj Neville Chamberlain (aka Neal Becton). Who knew Brazil had so much great psychedelia? Plus Chamberlain also played nice samba and tropicalia. Chamberlain, who’s also the proprietor of SOM Records, filled me in by e-mail on some of the music he was playing:

Novos Baianos – “Samba da Minha Terra” ; Os Increveis – “Vendedor de Bananas” ; Roberto Carlos – “É Proibido Fumar” ; Wilson das Neves – “Cloud Nine” ; Bebeto – “Princesa Negra De Angola”; Rita Lee- “Agora e Moda” ; and Wanderlea – “Kriola.

Local’s new “Marcio Local says, “Don Dree Don Day Don don”: Adventures in Samba Soul” on Luaka Bop won’t be officially released until May 12th, but this 32 year-old’s offerings with his band on myspace sound promising. Local says he’s trying to deliver a 2009-style combination of Jorge Ben and Banda Black Rio. That means vibrant, sunny Portuguese melodies over funky keys, bass, and percussion grooves with horns booming in and out.

Garotas Suecas’ version of samba is filtered through the Brazilian tropicalia movement and garage rock. Suecas feature shouted vocals with a touch of classic Brazilian lilt along with mid-sixties guitar, organ, and harmonica sounds inspired by both UK and American acts. Expect Chamberlain’s pre- and post-band spinning to tie together multiple Brazilian genres both old and new.

Marcio Local performs from 6 to 7 at the Kennedy Center Millennium Stage, 2700 F. St. NW. Free.

Garotas Suecas and DJ Neville Chamberlain will be at Comet Ping Pong beginning at 9 p.m. at 5037 Connecticut Ave. NW, Tickets: $10. Doors: 9pm.