(Safeco Field) Thirteen years ago, you could glimpse Destiny's Child in the "H to the Izzo" video, Bey texting Hov "smiley faces after all of her phrases" in "Change Clothes." The "new Bonnie and Clyde" kept it national-security-level secret for years before even that much came out, but once they admitted to the world that they were "Dangerously in Love," they turned their relationship into pop music's Camelot, a royal family for crown-infatuated America. Queen and king (Beyoncé unquestionably flexes more influence throughout the land), their court is a corporate-synergized chart monarchy—where even Rihanna, the alleged onetime side-chick, gets her own lands to rule. Little Blue Ivy gets cameos and shout-outs, with proud papa telling his baby daughter not to worry about ruining his "Yellow Basquiat"—because she owns it. If you peasants want tickets to this love train, you better throw your diamonds up. LARRY MIZELL JR.
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(Sunset) Where do you go after shredding on guitar for Israeli garage rockers Monotonix, who raised more hell than most in the biz over the last five years? Yonatan Gat has decided to link up with Portuguese drummer Igor Domingues and Wurlitzer organist Tamar Aphex and venture into a more psychedelic direction on his debut EP, Iberian Passage. Not as dense, aggressive, and noisy as Monotonix, the six tracks here still unspool and curlicue with a vital energy, recalling South American psych units like Os Mutantes and Traffic Sound. Rhythmically and tonally, Iberian Passage sounds more interesting and fresh than Monotonix’s rehashed Blue Cheer and Mudhoney machinations. Seattle’s Dreamsalon have been one of the city’s most consistently gripping live bands over the last few years, lacing their instantly catchy garage-rock and post-punk tunes with bristling textures and galvanizing dynamics. Cop their hit-packed album Cast Shadows posthaste. DAVE SEGAL
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(Chop Suey) I listened to L’Orth—the new project of tattoo maven Lisa Orth of Telepathic Liberation Army—by way of a 13-minute YouTube recording from a show at Gallery 1412 from earlier this year. The sounds are hypnotizing—rhythm beats solemnly from a single tom, anchoring the mystical deep-space noise spilling from Orth’s synth/pad setup. Unintelligible cries, ripples of ominous prehistoric and futuristic texture. It’s like walking through a dark jungle and looking up in time to see a spaceship land. But instead of aliens stepping out, it’s an ancient civilization coming back to reclaim their planet. Okay, I was really tired while typing this, but I think if you listen with your eyes closed, you’ll get me on this one. With Corey J. Brewer. EMILY NOKES
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(Lo-Fi) Swimming in the same shamanic channels as similarly minded weird wizards, from Sun Ra to the No-Neck Blues Band, Stalebirth cast witchy free-jazz-inflected spells on your brain then cackle at the chaos they've conjured. This is music that requires patience: a serpentine, subversive mix of brass, percussion, and vocals teasing you to unravel the rhythmic and melodic riddles contained within. Primitive futuristic junkyard symphonies, these. Electroacoustic guitar demi-god Bill Horist turns out to lend an alternate, slightly mellow take on improvised compositions. KYLE FLECK
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And here's all our recommended music events—tonight, tomorrow, this weekend, and beyond!
