Live Music Picks: May 11-17 

THURSDAY 5/11
Sweet Spirit, Mad Max & the Wild Ones, Queenadilla
Austin-based nine-piece Sweet Spirit's new album Mojo (Nine Mile) is charmingly disjointed, yet strangely cohesive. Stylistically, the band is all over the place; you can't guess where the next song is gonna go. Opening track "The Power" starts off like Gary Glitter's "Rock and Roll, Pt. 2" performed by The Runaways. Then, "I Wanna Have You" follows with lead vocalist Sabrina Ellis and guitarist Andrew Cashen singing a lusty millennial cracker-soul duet. Next up, "Bat Macumba" rocks hard and fast, but conjures confusing references; it's like The Polyphonic Spree meets Daptone meets The Clash meets U.K.-mod-via-The Jam. Then there are ballads, songs that mine doo-wop, grunge, country—but the band's moxie, or mojo, is a strong through-line. Now, their two local openers also dig old sounds, just not as many. Mad Max & the Wild Ones is mainly about rockabilly, and Queenadilla does blues-rock at volume. But, as Sweet Spirt proves on Mojo, the songs don't all have to sound the same. (Randy Harward) Kilby Court, 741 S. 330 West, 7 p.m., $8, all ages, kilbycourt.com

THURSDAY 5/11
Hotel Garuda, Wingtip
What does it mean to have 25 million streams on Soundcloud? Or rave reviews from Billboard, Complex and Harper's Bazaar (that last one seems a bit bizarre)? It means, for fans of electronic dance music, that Hotel Garuda—the DJ/producer duo of Manila Killa and Candle Weather—is at least good enough to listen to for free. But so is any other artist these days. It's odd, though, to see such astronomical stats. Once upon a time, if those pertained to sales of a single album, Hotel Garuda would be the dance music kings of Molly Mountain—and music in general, because 25 mil would equal 25x platinum, or roughly 800,000 more than Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon. But it's a new time, and music is a whole new business. Hotel Garuda isn't even close to actually selling that many full albums, but when you can listen for nothing, you listen more—and even then, those numbers are still nothin' to sneeze at. The pair's blend of old-school soul and modern house and EDM music, as heard on their Eternal Sun Tour Mixtape (soundcloud.com/hotelgarudamusic), makes some great background noise for work or chill. Of course, those numbers are based, in part, on HG's remixes and collabs with other artists. "Smoke Signals," released last year, is their debut original single (PRMD Music)—but so far, it's sitting at 1.52 million streams. That's pretty respectable, even under the new music biz model. (Randy Harward) Club Elevate, 155 W. 200 South, 9 p.m., $15 presale, $20 day of show, 21+, facebook.com/thehotelclubelevate

FRIDAY 5/12
Eagle Twin, INVDRS
For more than two decades, Gentry Densley has been SLC's chief purveyor of heavy experimental music. First it was with cult metal-math-jazzcore band Iceburn, which was at one time big enough to call itself "Iceburn Collective." Then, for the past decade, it was with a much smaller outfit: Eagle Twin, a duo comprised of Densley on baritone guitar and drummer Tyler Smith—Densley's bandmate in Iceburn and Form of Rocket. While Iceburn reunited last year for a few shows and are working on an album, the question on everyone's minds is, "Whither new Eagle Twin jams?" Their last album, The Feather Tipped the Serpent's Scale (Southern Lord), came out in 2009. Relax, folks—it's coming. The band has been working on two new joints: The Thundering Heard (Songs of Hoof and Horn) comes later this summer, with The Lightning Dark (Hymns of Halos and Arrows) due a year later. Local doom merchants INVDRS open. (Brian Staker) Urban Lounge, 241 S. 500 East, 8 p.m., free, 21+, theurbanloungeslc.com

Flogging Molly, The White Buffalo, Dylan Walshe
The whole Celtic rock band thing is tired, played out since the early- to mid-aughts—except for a select few bands. Chief among them is Flogging Molly, led by Dave King, an actual Irishman and a veteran of metal bands Fastway (with ex-Motorhead guitarist "Fast" Eddie Clarke and UFO bass player Pete Way) and Katmandu. Yes, of course I'm saying Flogging Molly is the alpha Celt-rock band because King is Irish and has played in metal bands. You see, when it comes to this kind of music, you've got to have something unique. Since forming nearly a quarter-century ago, King and company's calling card has been a more intense take on the traditional Irish folk. It's earned Molly fans of all ages and stripes, who've all anxiously awaited Life Is Good (Vanguard), the band's first album in six years. It's calmer than you'd expect, but not wildly divergent since it's crammed with another of Flogging Molly's best attributes: King's ace songwriting, reminiscent of Billy Bragg and Joe Strummer. (RH) The Complex, 536 W. 100 South, 7 p.m. (doors), $33, all ages, thecomplexslc.com

FRIDAY 5/12
Cory Mon
Local singer/songwriter Cory Mon has had some ups and downs over the course of his career, but then that's perhaps part of the genre, suffused with storytelling. One of the ups was being named a finalist in the City Weekly Music Awards local band competition in 2011. Then, when tour plans were waylaid in 2014, he went on a kind of artist's retreat in Hawaii, which spawned new songs and renewed hope. His music is reminiscent of once-local, now-nationally esteemed Jerry Joseph: roots-rock with a funky side, and lyrical themes refined in the fire of difficult experience, amounting to songs that are cathartic and joyful (like with the hip-thrusting soul of "Beat of My Heart"). Mon has released a number of collections, including some with his former band Starlight Gospel. His latest EP, Heaven Don't Let Me Down, is self-released on Bandcamp. (BS) Hog Wallow, 3200 E. Big Cottonwood Canyon Road, 9:30 p.m., $7, 21+, thehogwallow.com

SATURDAY 5/13
Warrant
Any band that has to pick up the pieces after their original singer goes solo, gets fired or dies is in a difficult position. Warrant's Jani Lane checked all three items off that list, and his bandmates carried on with two singers known to glam metal fans: first with Jamie St. James of Black 'N Blue, then a short-lived Lane reunion, and now with Robert Mason (Lynch Mob, Cry of Love). Even when someone sounds as good as Arnel Pineda, Journey's pint-sized, Filipino Steve Perry sound-alike, the new guy still looks out of place. With Mason, Warrant lucked out. Lane wrote and sang the songs, and his particular hangdog look and sound seemed irreplaceable—but Mason sounds great on the band's signature songs, like "Down Boys," "Heaven" and "Cherry Pie." However, on the two albums featuring Mason—Rockaholic (2011) and especially the new one, Louder Harder Faster (Frontiers Records)—Warrant doesn't sound like Warrant. It's still glam metal; but, minus Lane, the band sounds different, likely from having the confidence to move on and let Mason sound like himself. (RH) Leatherheads Sports Bar 12101 S. Factory Outlet Drive, Draper, 8 p.m., $27 presale, $32 day of show, 21+