MUSIC PICKS MAY 4 - 10 

• Brian Ziff
• Cobra Man

Cobra Man @ Metro Music Hall 5/5
Cobra Man began as a project for The Worble, a skateboarding crew out of Los Angeles. Back in 2017, Andrew Harris and Sarah Rayne created the soundtrack for The Worble's debut video, New Driveway, which would become Cobra Man's first album. It also led to a power-disco chicken-or-the-egg situation. "It's sort of a little bit of a leap of faith and really believing that what we liked, other people would like too. Even though it really wasn't popular at the time," Andrew told Thrasher Magazine. "... I remember talking to our manager John Michael and he was, like, "Dude, I don't think I would tell anyone it's disco." Well, the word is out—and if you listen to their two albums, the sound is neither overused or superfluous. On New Driveway, the tracks flow into each other so organically that it will have you breaking out a Members Only jacket and some Pony low-tops. It's an incredible project from start to finish. Their follow up, Toxic Planet, targets an itch that very few bands can scratch. The devil is in the details with all the wild, sweaty and punky moments. I'm looking forward to the New Paradise EP and how it should add to the extremes of their music hits. Cobra Man will be massive; give it time. Starbenders and Stolen Nova open. Cobra Man brings their "New Paradise" tour to Metro Music Hall, at 8 p.m. on Friday, May 5. General admission tickets for the 21-and-over show are $27 at 24tix.com (Mark Dago)

• Alina Pasok
• Molchat Doma

Molchat Doma, Nuovo Testamento @ The Depot 5/6
Throw your shades on, flip that collar and get those elbows moving, 'cause we're throwing down '80s-style. Nuovo Testamento is an edgy, bubbly, bewitching female-led, synth-summoning new-wave trio coming to us out of Italy. Nuevo Testamento belongs in a classic arcade where the power of companionship is more distracting than the strobing cabinets; think Black Mirror's "San Junipero." Fast-paced keys, science-fiction sounds and a drum machine intersect to fuel Chelsea Crowley's vocals, creating a bonfire of confidence and possibility. Nuevo Testamento opens for Molchat Doma, the Belarusian post-punk trio that has found world wide fame, thanks in large part to social media. Molchat Doma was No. 2 on Spotify's Top 50 Viral charts with their song "" (Vessel). Molchat Doma sounds inspired by the same era as Nuevo Testamento, utilizing the fast-paced synth sound of new wave, but with a darker, colder tone. If Nuevo Testamento had the speakers during the day at the arcade, Molchat Doma will take over at night when the windows get boarded up and the overhead lights come off. The ghostly, Russian vocals with slower, bassier melodies come off more Transylvanic, or Eastern-European. Shady figures and wide-eyed invitees can groove together with this trancey backdrop. Molchat Doma has not toured since finding their new level of fame due to the pandemic, so check out their debut tour alongside Nuevo Testamento for all ages at The Depot Saturday, May 6. Tickets are $27 at livenation.com. (Caleb Daniel)

• Laura Moreau
• Pearl and the Oysters

Pearl and the Oysters, Valet, Homephone @ Kilby Court 5/7
Pearl and the Oysters' latest album, Coast 2 Coast, is a voyage into a fantastical world curated by its writers. Duo Joachim Polack and Juliette Davis have created a sound full of whimsy, trippy effects and entrancing vocals. The effects used on the album are reminiscent of ray guns and space sounds creators in the '50s and '60s thought the future would sound like. Think The Jetsons, but with indie-pop beats overlaid. On top of that, there's the sound of water; you'll visualize the waves coming in on the beach, making you feel like you're sipping a fruity drink. That makes sense for the L.A.-based duo, as songs like "Pacific Avenue" and "Space Coast" have you feeling like you're somewhere between a beach with beautiful, blue water and a spaceship ready to fly away. Locals Valet join in on the space vibes. The young rockers have two singles out so far, one of which is called "Friendship Spaceship." Who wouldn't want to hop on the Friendship Spaceship? This track is a cheerful indie tune that will instantly relax you and make you feel at home. Rounding out the show are SLC group Homephone, who have released dreamy, chill tracks since 2021, and have built up a large following since then. This incredible lineup will hit Kilby Court on Sunday, May 7 at 7 p.m. Tickets for the all-ages show are $15 and can be found at kilbycourt.com. (Emilee Atkinson)

• David Brendan Hall
• Death Grips

Death Grips @ The Union 5/8
"What the hell is that sound?" is probably the single most on-the-money way to describe the trio known as Death Grips. Formed in Sacramento, Calif. in 2010, Death Grips have perplexed and excited listeners since their first full-length album, The Money Store, hit the streets in 2012. One can attempt to pigeonhole the group to no avail; their batch of tracks produces a flabbergasting medley of what we might hazard to call an experimental post-industrial/nü-metal/hip-hop cocktail thrown into a Vitamix and pulsated vigorously—yet not even that does the discography justice. Often shirtless, MC Ride brings distinguishably assured hip-hop-style bars to the mix, trailblazing a rare sound both for the group themselves and for music in general. Music-producer-turned-keyboardist/jack-of-all-trades/master of fun Andy Morin further dichotomizes the group from other artists with his personal flavor of metal-on-metal (might I suggest goth-influenced?) style of clanging keys. The group is rounded out sharply as if by a stiletto knife with modern legend Zach Hill, deity on the drums, whose anarchic yet impressively in-time method keeps his name hallowed by amateurs and professionals alike (believe it or not, Soundgarden and Pearl Jam drummer Matt Cameron is the proud owner of a Death Grips sweatshirt). Fans of black midi, Machine Girl, The I.L.Y's, and Hella (Zach Hill's other two projects), will find unrestrained pleasure and pandemonium at The Union Events Center on May 8 at 7 p.m. Tickets for the all-ages show are $55-200, available at ticketmaster.com. (Sophie Caligiuri)

They Might Be Giants @ The Depot 5/10
Sometimes, being clever can simply be annoying. Fortunately, that's never been the case with innovative indie darlings They Might Be Giants. Throughout their decades-long career, the band's two principals and former college chums, John Flansburgh and John Linnell, have shared nearly two dozen albums of lush, melodic and occasionally wonky music flush with instantly engaging hooks, low-key humor and surreptitiously infectious sounds. And while they mostly operate outside the parameters of commercial pop, they've nevertheless managed to infiltrate the media's mainstream, via TV theme songs, commercials and the occasional incidental offering. Appropriating their name from the 1971 film They Might Be Giants (which, in turn, was taken from a passage in the novel "Don Quixote"), they've managed to pursue an unlikely trajectory ever since. It was initiated with their so-called "Dial-A-Song" service using a single telephone in their Brooklyn apartments, and culminated with their classic album Flood, which they're currently performing in full on a massive national tour celebrating the band's 40th anniversary. They're also touting their latest release, Box, an art book and album that recently garnered them a Grammy nomination. Mostly though, they're bringing their music to a vast spectrum of fans who have come to adore such wonderfully weird offerings as "Istanbul," "Ana Ng," "Birdhouse in Your Soul," and, natch, "Your Racist Friend." What better proof that even nerds adore nuance.They Might Be Giants perform at 6:30 pm on Wednesday, May 10 at The Depot. Tickets for this 21 + show cost $92 through stub hub.com. (Lee Zimmerman)