Live: Music Picks Sept. 12-18 

THURSDAY SEPT. 12

Murder by Death
Someone recently tweeted that if David Lynch ever brought back the cult-favorite murder-mystery TV show Twin Peaks, Murder by Death should write the score. It would be a fitting match—and not just because of the band’s name—since both the 1990 serial drama and the latest album from the indie-rock Bloomington, Ind., quintet, Bitter Drink, Bitter Moon (Bloodshot), explore the hidden dark sides of seemingly idyllic small towns. In a similar Laura Palmer-type situation, while Murder by Death was writing the album, “a couple of girls went missing, and that really took over the whole town,” frontman Adam Turla said in an interview with City Weekly. “And everyone was very concerned about it, and it was just sort of a tragedy in places that seem peaceful and reserved.” The story is told on the track “Hard World,” a heartrending rocker sung from the point of view of one of the victims who was never found, with haunting lyrics like “Remember me, remember me/ Underneath this lonesome, awful tree. … Whispering leaves, pointing branches will tell you where I’m lying.” Larry & His Flask and Charles Ellsworth are also on the bill. (Kolbie Stonehocker)
Bar Deluxe, 666 S. State, 8 p.m., $15 in advance, $18 day of show

FRIDAY SEPT. 13

David Bromberg Quintet
With his rumbling voice and skill on an impressive slew of instruments—from guitar and fiddle to dobro and mandolin—Americana musician David Bromberg rightly earned this description from country singer Jerry Jeff Walker: “The reason man created stringed instruments. David touched them with a lover’s fingers and they moaned that true love right back at him. Wood and wire and flesh spoke.” That soulful expertise has been heard most recently on Use Me, released in 2011, which features collaborations with noteworthy guests such as John Hiatt, Los Lobos, Linda Ronstadt and others, as well as some satisfying zinger lyrics like, “You best get your tongue out of my mouth/ Because I’m kissing you goodbye!” The DayLates will start things off. (Kolbie Stonehocker)
The State Room, 638 S. State, 8 p.m., $35

SATURDAY SEPT. 14

Parlor Hawk CD Release
Even though Parlor Hawk’s first album, Hoarse & Roaring—written by frontman Drew Capener and Joshua James—came out a few years ago, bassist Andrew Dyer says via e-mail that the folk-rockers feel like their brand-new self-titled album “is truly a freshman release because it’s the first thing we’ve made together.” The result—recorded at June Audio in Provo, produced by Nate Pyfer and mastered by Joe Lambert (Local Natives, Animal Collective)—is a bit of a departure from the band’s old sound, with a lot of their previous twang pushed to the edges, but is absolutely stunning. The themes explored in the album’s sobering, heartfelt 11 songs “reflect our personal experiences in the past few years,” Dyer says. “A few of us have graduated college, got married and had kids.” That emotional intimacy is especially poignant on “Maryanne,” named for Dyer’s mother, who recently passed away. He says the moving song “is about losing a loved one and learning to cope with the people you still have,” with beautiful lyrics including “Maryanne, please take my hand, though it is hard for you and I don’t understand.” Westward the Tide and Levi Levitt are also on the bill. (Kolbie Stonehocker)
Velour, 135 N. University Ave., 8 p.m., $8

Titus Andronicus
In William Shakespeare’s Titus Andronicus, the title character’s daughter is raped and her father bakes her attackers into a pie—before killing both his daughter and himself. The play is gory and, in the eyes of many audiences, distasteful. But its name was inspiring in the eyes of New Jersey native Patrick Stickles, who named his band after the violent play. Titus Andronicus has been modernizing punk sounds since 2005, and met huge successes (both popularly and critically) five years later with their sophomore LP, The Monitor—a Civil War-themed lo-fi concept album. The Monitor’s follow-up, Local Business, was released in 2012 with the intention of creating a raw, more unpolished sound that could be copied easily onstage—and Titus Andronicus is giving Salt Lake City a chance to judge their efforts. Lost Boy and Lemuria are also on the bill. (Ivy Smith)
Kilby Court, 741 S. Kilby Court (330 West), 7 p.m., $10 in advance, $12 day of show

TUESDAY SEPT. 17

The Legendary Pink Dots
With the shortest track clocking in at more than five minutes, and the longest lasting for more than 11 minutes, The Gethsemane Option (Metropolis Records), the latest album from English/Dutch experimental-rock outfit The Legendary Pink Dots, is the musical version of a sprawling forest filled with strange mutant creatures. “The Garden of Ealing” is where you’d find yourself after you woke up in a fever from accidentally inhaling the vapor from a poisonous flower. Most of the time, the lyrics are nonsensical blurbs of twisty words, clouded by clips of rain falling and little zip-zoop blips of sound that hit and then ricochet away. But it’s OK if you don’t understand a damned thing frontman Edward Ka-Spel is singing, because according to him, “music and words should be a totality—a sum of the parts,” as he told Peek-A-Boo Magazine. “That’s why I can listen to an inspired band from Finland and love what I hear. I hardly speak a word of Finnish.” (Kolbie Stonehocker)
The Urban Lounge, 241 S. 500 East, 8 p.m., $22 in advance, $25 day of show

The Lumineers
Jeremiah Fraites and Wesley Schultz bonded and started writing music together after the death of Fraites’ brother, who was also Schultz’s best friend. Though The Lumineers’ beginnings are steeped in sorrow, their Americana-style pop-folk songs are mostly up-tempo and hopeful; the ubiquitous “Ho Hey” was inspired by the loss of a girlfriend and, ironically, about the loss of a dream, after the band decided to move to Colorado from New York City, where they’d struggled as musicians. After picking up additional band members and finding success in the Denver scene, the band was discovered on YouTube and is now touring widely with their simple front-porch-style songs. Dr. Dog and Nathan Rateliff will open the show.
The Great Saltair, 12408 W. Saltair Drive, 7:30 p.m., $35

WEDNESDAY SEPT. 18

Saint Rich
Bands can be born out of all kinds of random happenstances, including a flood, as in the case of indie-rock duo Saint Rich. When practice for their band Delicate Steve in rural New Jersey was canceled because the nearby Paulinskill River overflowed its banks and washed out the road, bandmates Christian Peslak and Steve Marion found themselves alone at the house. They decided to take the opportunity to experiment with some new songs, and the result was a brand-new band. Beyond the Drone (Merge), Saint Rich’s debut album, will be released in October, and features organ riffs and effervescent vocals, grounded by catchy beats. Check out the amusing music video for “Officer,” in which Saint Rich tails a police officer and rides in the back of his car, almost taunting him with the line “Why do you look so mad?/ You always look so fuckin’ angry/ You should be happy and you should feel good to be king of the neighborhood.” Wild Belle and Breakers will start things off. (Kolbie Stonehocker)
The Urban Lounge, 241 S. 500 East, 8 p.m., $12

More Entertainment & Music Picks: Events.CityWeekly.net