Live: Music Picks April 9-15 

• Dead Winter Carpenters

Dead Winter Carpenters
There's not much about Dead Winter Carpenters' style that's particularly new or innovative, but that's not a bad thing by any means. Like that worn-out recipe card for banana bread in your mama's recipe box, the California alt-country/Americana five-piece's sound is created with elements that are time-tested and achingly familiar. Combining inviting male/female vocal harmonies with fiddle and twangy guitar, Dead Winter Carpenters evoke a simpler, homier time and place with hum-along, toe-tappin' tunes that would appeal to fans of Devil Makes Three, Gillian Welch, and other folk and country acts. Their latest release, 2014's Dirt Nap EP, is a brief but potent collection of songs about life's hard-luck times and other meat & potatoes-type subject matter. (Kolbie Stonehocker) The State Room, 638 S. State, 8 p.m., $13, TheStateRoom.com

• Twinsmith

Twinsmith
In the music video for Twinsmith's new song "Alligator Years"—from their upcoming new album of the same name, out May 4—four plush alligator puppets (worn on the hands of the Omaha, Neb., synth-pop/indie-rock group) sing, dance and "play" their instruments in front of a colorful cardboard background. The video is cute, weird and kinda wonderful, and somehow perfectly fits with Twinsmith's lighthearted synth-tastic sound, created with upbeat percussion, sun-dappled keyboard and poppy group choruses. "Seventeen," the other single Twinsmith has released in anticipation of Alligator Years, is catchy but has a note of teenage longing, as implied in the track's title. The Boxers and Violet Waves will open. (Kolbie Stonehocker) Kilby Court, 741 S. Kilby Court (330 West), 8 p.m., $8 in advance, $10 day of show, KilbyCourt.com

• Dengue Fever

Dengue Fever
When Dengue Fever keyboardist Ethan Holtzman traveled to Cambodia in the '90s, he probably didn't think he'd return with the inspiration for a band name (his traveling companion contracted the mosquito-borne disease) as well as that band's sound. But he came home to Los Angeles with a bunch of cassettes of '60s Cambodian rock and, with those jukebox-friendly vintage sounds in mind, started psych/surf band Dengue Fever a few years later. Fronted by Cambodian female vocalist Chhom Nimol, Dengue Fever has a lot of disparate elements at work in their unique music, but it all works; think surf rhythms mixed with delicately sung Khmer/English vocals, Spaghetti Western guitar and more. Dengue Fever's latest album, The Deepest Lake, released earlier this year, includes plenty of poppy jammers as well as band-member commentaries that explain the meaning and stories behind each song. Melle and NSPS will also perform. (Kolbie Stonehocker) Kilby Court, 741 S. Kilby Court (330 West), 7 p.m., $12 in advance, $14 day of show, KilbyCourt.com; limited no-fee tickets available at CityWeeklyStore.com

Bands for Babes: Mañanero, Scary Uncle Steve, The Utah County Swillers, Baker Street Blues Band
Being homeless is tough enough, but it can be especially tough for women when they get their period but don't have access to feminine-hygiene products. Oftentimes, pads and tampons aren't donated to shelters, and homeless women are left trying to make do with what they have—but you can help. Tonight at the UAA Community Art Garden, four local bands are performing at the Bands for Babes benefit concert, where donations for feminine-hygiene products as well as new bras will be accepted for The Road Home homeless shelter. On the bill are blues/rock band Baker Street Blues Band, punk act Scary Uncle Steve, trucker punks The Utah County Swillers and punk/folk/metal solo act Mañanero. (Kolbie Stonehocker) SLC Arts Hub: UAA Community Art Garden, 633 W. 100 South, 7:30 p.m., $5 or donation of feminine-hygiene products or new bras, UtahArts.org

Quiet House Album Release
'Tis the season (it seems like) for great local bands to be releasing albums, and one of those bands is Provo folk-core/orchestral group Quiet House. Fronted by vocalist/guitarist Stuart Wheeler, Quiet House won Velour's Winter Battle of the Bands in December, and for good reason: Their set was one of those magical events that seems to make time stop momentarily. Now, Quiet House—the lineup of which includes Provo stalwarts Alyssa Pyper, Jesse Quebbeman-Turley and more—are coming out with their debut full-length album, which, if their new song "Tetons" is any indicator, should be fantastic. In the "Tetons" music video, Wheeler performs solo and live at Provo's Studio Studio Dada, and fills the space with his crystal-clear voice and emotive guitar-playing. Bat Manors and L'anarchiste will also perform. (Kolbie Stonehocker) Velour, 135 N. University Ave., Provo, 8:30 p.m., $8, VelourLive.com

• Infected Mushroom

Infected Mushroom
The music of Infected Mushroom (DJs Amit "Duvdev" Duvdevani and Erez Eisen) is indeed infectious; the psychedelic, trance-electric (and sometimes playful) melodies are played raw and exposed so they are familiar when they are brought back in variations throughout the songs. The Israeli duo (who now live in Los Angeles) have been producing industrial electronica since 1996. This year, they released their ninth full-length album, Friends on Mushrooms 5, which has hypnotic rhythms similar to ones heard on their previous albums, but also features new effects and instruments that increase the intensity of already complex tracks. Infected Mushroom's live show incorporates animatronics for a visual punch; for a glimpse of the animatronic multi-mouthed monster you can expect at this show, check out the Animatronica Live Tour 2015 Teaser on YouTube. (Tiffany Frandsen) Friday, April 10 @ The Complex, 536 W. 100 South, $20, TheComplexSLC.com

• Brand New

Brand New, Desaparecidos
It's been five years since New York alt-rock/emo band Brand New released its 2009 album, Daisy. But in a couple tweets in November, the band confirmed they've entered the studio to begin work on their fifth album, which they're being typically tight-lipped about (the only text on their website reads: "Brand New is in the studio," followed by the strange phrase "Procrastinate! Pogolith Earth Sound Alliance 2015"). Whatever that means. But in the meantime, fans can snag a Record Store Day exclusive re-pressing of Brand New's sophomore album, Deja Entendu, on vinyl, which will be released as a limited-edition double LP. Also on the bill are Desaparecidos, a project of singer-songwriter Conor Oberst. (Kolbie Stonehocker) Friday, April 10 @ The Great Saltair, 12408 W. Saltair Drive, Magna, 7 p.m., $28.50 in advance, $33 day of show, TheSaltair.com

• Black Milk

Black Milk
At a performance by influential Detroit hip-hop producer/emcee Curtis Cross, aka Black Milk, it's unlikely you'd see just a rapper with a DJ standing behind him onstage. Instead, Black Milk typically performs backed by a full live band, including on his current tour, which features live instrumentation by longtime collaborating band Nat Turner. The emcee/band setup allows for improvisational freedom during shows, which Black Milk designs to be stylistically diverse. From electronic sounds to soul and funk, he said in an interview with NPR, he likes to incorporate "all the things I love about music into one show," but "the core is always gonna be hip-hop." That diversity can also be heard on his latest album, 2014's If There's a Hell Below, a killer collection of songs that combine elements of jazz, soul and even Asian-influenced sounds, as well as Black Milk's own hard-hitting delivery. DJ Street Jesus and Dine Krew are also on the bill. (Kolbie Stonehocker) The Urban Lounge, 241 S. 500 East, 9 p.m., $10, TheUrbanLoungeSLC.com