Amused, Confused, & More Bad News, the third (or fourth, depending on how you look at it) studio album from local post-psych outfit The Purrs, comes across as guardedly autobiographical. Amidst the jangly guitar rock and fuzzed-out riffs, you can read the album as a document of the band's struggles since their 2005 debut The Dreams Our Stuff Is Made Of. With songs like "Loose Talk" and "Taste of Monday" garnering regular play on KEXP, the self-released album did about as well as they could have hoped for. They signed to a local label, and things were looking good. Then, well, not much happened. more ›

Two reasons: Kultur Shock on Friday (with X-Ray Press and Orange Tulip Conspiracy, $10, 21+), Art Brut on Saturday (with Miike Snow and Black Nite Crash, $13, all ages). Local gypsy art punks Kultur Shock are releasing their fourth studio album this year, and are about to jet off on tour in Russia. They don't play Seattle all that often anymore, and they're an insanely wild live band, mixing Sabbath-style guitar riffs with Balkan trad, shredded violin solos competing with lead-singer Gino Yevdjevic's melismatic vocals. As for Art Brut, they were indie rock darlings a couple years ago after an amazing debut record, , recorded in beautiful Salem, Ore. and produced by the legendary Frank Black. Also, like Kultur Shock, Art Brut is a fantastic live band that gives it their all and is best seen in a club. more ›

, dropped a couple weeks ago, and we've been listening to it steadily since. more ›

If you're feeling guilty about missing out on the Bonni Suval benefit Seattlest told you about a little while ago, no worries. You can alleviate your guilt by going to another Bonni Suval benefit, this one with a bunch of local bands playing their favorite guilty-pleasure cover songs. more ›

The bane of musicians and artists around the country--the lack of adequate health insurance-- has compounded Suval's bad situation, and the 'Seattle Music Cares' benefits are an attempt to help her out. Tomorrow's show at Neumos will feature Jesse Sykes and Phil Wandscher, Matt Brooke and Jen Ghetto, Faith & Disease, Rocky Votolato and Black Nite Crash. Special guests will include Suval herself, who may even attempt to sing. more ›