MUSIC

Two indie-rock shows from under-the-radar bands with notable local pedigrees. Dot Dash plays jangly indie pop, has a bit of punk-rock snarl, and features dudes who used to be hidden-gem locals like Julia Ocean and The Saturday People. With Capstan Shafts at DC9 tonight at 9 p.m.

And Drunken Sufis is the hard-to-pin-down side-project of the much poppier Jukebox the Ghost's Tommy Siegel. The songs are mathy; the lyrics are paranoid and political ("you're just another motherfucking neocon in our eyes"). Cool. They have a new album, which tonight's show is celebrating. With Typefighter and Meta at the Black Cat Backstage at 8 p.m.

BOOKS

Topical! Hisham Matar reads and signs his second novel, Anatomy of a Disappearance, narrated by the 12-year-old son of an anti-Gadhafi dissident in Cairo. At Politics & Prose at 7 p.m. Free.

Like Beach House, Wye Oak is a Baltimore duo that relishes in spacious moments and dark melodies. Its third full-length, Civilian (Merge), has a patient, dreamy sound, subdued to the point that it contains few revelations, at least if you’ve been paying attention to underground rock over the last five years. There are no wild aberrations, unforgettable hooks, or bizarre ambitions here.

Civilian, rather, is an album of great craft and detail. Guitarist Jenn Wasner’s breathy voice carries weight and truth, even when you can’t make out what she’s saying. At times, her guitar playing recalls the softer, folkier side of Sleater-Kinney, with its clean, single-note lines and neat arpeggios, though on tracks like the tumbleweed-bound “Civilian,” she pulls off a few fierce, abrasive lead parts.

The record is focused almost to a fault, but Wasner and her bandmate, drummer and keyboardist Andy Stack, quietly bring in unexpected sounds. “The Altar” places a Casiotone-laced hip-hop groove beneath exquisite vocals, almost like Grizzly Bear’s “Two Weeks.” The extreme soft-loud changeups on the foggy “Plains” would make Pixies proud. And the abusive coda of “Dog Eyes,” with its hushed vocals pressed against slow and heavy drumming, is surprising and hypnotic.

Stack plays keyboard bass lines with one hand while rocking the kit with his other limbs, and his one-man rhythm section glues the project together. It’s hard to imagine the coordination required; that Stack is able to bring variety to his playing gives Civilian the bulk of its complexity, and his sustained keyboard parts often add an otherworldly drone. Still, the songs themselves don’t quite match Wye Oak’s astral textures, and Civilian is no game-changer. But after a somber, late-night listen, it may wind its way into a few of your playlists.

Wye Oak performs with Lower Dens and Lands & Peoples 9 p.m. Friday at the Black Cat, 1811 14th St. NW. $12.

• The Fabulous Thunderbirds, Lil Ronnie & the Grand Dukes. Birchmere. $25.
• Orquesta Ashe, Ocho de Bastos. Black Cat. $12/$15. All ages.
• Van Morrison. DAR Constitution Hall. $95-$350.
• Keith Secola & His Wild Band of Indians. Kennedy Center Millennium Stage. Free.
• O.A.R., Matt Nathanson. Merriweather Post Pavilion. $30–$38.
• The Start, Normandie, The Perfects, Skydivers. The Red & The Black. $10. +21.
• The Tennis System, Paperhaus, Loose Lips, No Dice. Rock and Roll Hotel. $10. All ages.
• Sunsets with a Soundtrack: The U.S. Army Concert Band. West Steps U.S. Capitol. Free.
• FFFever, Exactly, Smarts, Raccoon Fighter. Velvet Lounge. $8. +21.
• Wolf Trap Opera Company: “La Boheme.” Filene Center at Wolf Trap. $10–$60.

Saturday

• Tracy Chapman, Gabi Moreno. 9:30 club. $40. All ages.
• Blues Condition, Rival Tribe. Bangkok Blues. Call for price.
• 1964: The Tribute. Birchmere. $35.
• Fiery Furnaces, Wye Oak, Screens. Black Cat. $15. All ages.
• Baby Teeth, My Dear Disco. IOTA Club & Cafe. $10. +21.
• 2009 Memorial Concert in Honor of Susanna “Susie” Kim. Kennedy Center Terrace Theater. SOLD OUT.
• Ricardo Arjona. Patriot Center. $59-$99.
• Parliament Hill, Rick Irby, Taylor Carson. The Red & The Black. $8. +21.
• Five Four, Sweet Interference, Bellflur, Gaslight Society. Rock and Roll Hotel. $10. All ages.
• Len Bias, Citizen Meander, Lost Civilizations, The Fordists. Velvet Lounge. $8. +21.
• B-52s, The New Collisions. Filene Center at Wolf Trap. $25–$40.
• DJ Dk. Cafe Saint Ex.

Sunday

• Mos Def. 9:30 club. $35. All ages.
• Barbershop Jam, Blues Jam w/ the Idle Americans. Bangkok Blues. Call for price.
• The Neville Brothers. Birchmere. $49.50.
• Ra Ra Rasputin, Anamanaguchi, Lode Runner. Black Cat Backstage. $10. All ages.
• Lights Resolve, Awesome New Republic. DC9. $8. +21.
• Incubus, The Duke Spirit. Merriweather Post Pavilion. $35–$45.
• Green Room Rockers, The Forthrights, The Chariots. The Red & The Black. $6. +21.
• Screen Vinyl Image, Space Tigers, Oblisk, The Skygreen Leopards. Velvet Lounge. $8. +21.
• Johnny Mathis. Filene Center at Wolf Trap. $22–$45.

Eleanor Friedberger of Fiery Furnaces photo by neonwar, Creative Commons Attribution License.

More info and video from last year's Whartscape after the jump.

Not familiar with Wham City? Get acquainted. B-more's a quirky metropolis with a soundtrack to match. Just as trained ears can pick out a distinctive D.C. post-punk grind, Baltimore's deafening feature is noisy pop. And Wham City's noisy pop, Baltimoreans will agree, is de riguer. It's a bit off in the best way possible, and so is Baltimore.

Mega-Ppsses and Friday evening's show in the BMA auditorium are sold out, but tickets for individual shows are still available for $18. Considering each set's lineup of 20+ bands, that's a lot of bang for your buck.

I can't help but wonder if that's sort of a mixed blessing for Wye Oak. After all, if your music inspires your audience to vegetate, who will come out to your show? So, for their sake, maybe pack up a few pillows, some blankets, and take the read-in down to the Black Cat tonight to see the band perform.

Wye Oak, O'Death @ Black Cat
1811 14th St. NW
9 PM $10