I attempt to unravel Zac Pennington and the Parenthetical Girls' knotty new album Entanglements:

Asked if he has consciously cultivated an exaggerated version of himself, Pennington subtly reframes the question: "Do you mean, 'Are you trying to seem like an asshole, or are you really that much of an asshole?'"

And then he answers: "I guess I don't really know anymore, to be honest. I don't really think of Parenthetical Girls as just some element of a greater scheme of self-aggrandizement. If it were, the whole thing would be a lot more depressing than it already is, considering the farm leagues within which we operate. I think people tend to approach us with a certain degree of cynicism—to think that what we do is somehow disingenuous or some kind of put-on. And that's valid—no one in the band is particularly concerned with upkeeping some standard of 'authenticity' or whatever. But, I mean, fuck it: I do like snobby shit. And I do admire a lot of affected, self-aggrandizing pop musicians. And I do choose to sing like a lady sometimes. All of these things tend to lend themselves to a certain level of conscious cultivation."

Dave Segal profiles the upstream headway of emerging Seattle singer/songwriter Sokai Stilhed:

Remember how everyone used to call Scottish dream-pop group the Cocteau Twins "ethereal" at every opportunity? Well, compared to Sokai Stilhed (pronounced "sockeye steelhead"), Cocteau Twins are Slayer.

Fucking in the Streets examines Mt. St. Helens Vietnam Band and the recent phenomenon of pairing ice cream and indie rock:

Can I just say how much more excited I am by the recent wave of hip/indie ice creameries than I was about artisanal doughnuts or cupcakes? It goes like this: ice cream > cupcakes > doughnuts.

Album reviews of Bell Orchestra's As Seen Through Windows, Cursive's Mama, I'm Swollen, and Handsome Furs' latest album, Face Control:

Face Control, the follow-up to 2007's Plague Park, was written and recorded on the heels of a trip to Russia by husband and wife duo Dan Boeckner and Alexei Perry. While the album bears traces of that trip—most obviously in tracks like "Nyet Spasiba" and "Radio Kaliningrad," and in the liner notes and album artwork, which feature snapshots from the vacation and an old military photograph of terrifying Russian autocrat Vladimir Putin—it mostly sounds like a reborn Bruce Springsteen recording pissed-off demos with a drum machine. Which is to say: fucking awesome.

Michaelangelo Matos on the latest singles and remixes from the Hold Steady, Antony Hegarty, School of Seven Bells, and Wavves:

[The Hold Steady] finally just step up and do it—not simply covering their most obvious inspiration, Bruce Springsteen, at his behest for charity (it's on the War Child: Heroes album), but doing it with an arrangement that sounds precisely like the E Street Band in their mid-'70s prime. Not a facsimile thereof or a fond borrowing: a damn-near carbon copy.

Larry Mizzell Jr. looks forward to this weekend's rescheduled Blue Scholars/Common Market shows:

Last December, the Great Blizzard of 2008 shut our city down, resulting in epidemics of cabin fever, snow rash, some light instances of cannibalism, and what most would have thought impossible: the cancellation of Blue Scholars/Common Market shows. Well, mend your hearts, kids, and learn to trust again, because that rescheduled three-night run at Neumos is now upon us—I hope you got your tickets.

Christopher Deluarenti on soccer-mom ebonicisers Sparkle Girl:

"Ladies and gentlemen!" announces the self-proclaimed "garbage noise duet" Sparkle Girl to an audience huddled in a loftlike space. "In the middle of the room, there is a box full of crap. Make sounds with the crap!"

Casey Catherwood on the band that should've won this year's EMP Sound Off! competition:

Tacoma duo Makeup Monsters, with their minimal punk-pop sound and sleepy-teenage stage presence, were by far the weirdest young band on the bill, but they were also the most exciting, with great potential to grow into their sound in the future. They, of course, came in last place.

Up & Coming, the Stranger's weekly guide to noteworthy concerts and parties, such as this Sunday's Kim Ann Foxman DJ set at Chop Suey:

Kim Ann Foxman has the unfortunate distinction of being the member of Hercules and Love Affair who's neither the Producer (Andy Butler), the Voice (Antony Hegarty), or the Tranny (Nomi Ruiz). But while Foxman might not be the highest-profile member of that band, she's still instrumental to their beguiling sound.

Plus: Party Crasher watches a band plays some Saturday morning cartoon themes, Poster of the Week, a New Column! about multigrain bread by ...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead, and as always, our complete, searchable Music Calendar Listings.