DEFTONES-LITE: THE ELECTRO-ROCK OF ✝✝✝

(Neptune) The latest side project of founding Deftones vocalist/guitarist Chino Moreno has a somewhat cringe-inducing name (apparently pronounced “crosses”) that suggests an occult witch-house aesthetic much darker than the band’s fairly polished, tuneful end results. But rather than the murky industrial darkness of bands who rode that already-crested wave, Crosses go for a electronic-tinged, pop-leaning sound in the vein of Depeche Mode or Nine Inch Nails at their most radio-friendly. It never seems to come together over the course of their eponymous debut’s 15 tracks—the lyrics and anthemic arena alt-rock compositions come off as just corny most of the time—but it sounds just enough like a softer Deftones record that diehard fans of theirs should find ways to enjoy it. MIKE RAMOS
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SCOTTISH TECH-HOUSE MAGUS HARVEY MCKAY HITS STUDIO 4/4

Studio 4/4—a weekly event overseen by Sean Majors with booking help from Decibel’s Sean “Nordic Soul” Horton, Ed “Kadeejah Streets” Cascavage, and other local DJs—focuses on the dance music that moves at the time signature in its name: techno, house, nu disco, and myriad subgenres thereof. Tonight they reel in Harvey McKay all the way from Glasgow. McKay’s recorded for some of the world’s most prestigious labels (Cocoon, Drumcode, Trapez) and won the favor of upper-echelon DJs like Michael Mayer, Adam Beyer, and Richie Hawtin. While McKay’s brand of tech-house may not be the most innovative I’ve heard, it is very sensual and propulsive, with moments of menace, too. With Xan Lucero, Jameson Just, and Mikey Mares. Q Nightclub, 9 pm, $8 adv, 21+. DAVE SEGAL
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