Noise

Three under-the-radar shows: Unknown Mortal Orchestra, Holy Wave and Sarah Shook & The Disarmers

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Jake Portrait and his Unknown Mortal Orchestra bandmates hit Vinyl on July 18.
Photo: Neil Krug / Courtesy

UNKNOWN MORTAL ORCHESTRA

It seems like these New Zealanders know a thing or two about the finer things in life—at least that’s what the title of their April LP would suggest. Musically, Sex and Food is funky, psychedelic and slow-burning, taking listeners on a silky-smooth ride, infused with groovy guitar hooks, experimental effects and fuzzed out vocals (hear “Major League Chemicals” and “Hunnybee”). If you haven’t seen the Jagjaguwar outfit since its 2013 Beauty Bar show with Foxygen, don’t miss its return. Also returning: Vegas ex-pat Shamir, following up on last February’s hometown headlining debut. July 18, 9 p.m., $25, Vinyl. –Leslie Ventura

HOLY WAVE

“We’re children of My Bloody Valentine and Slowdive,” singer/guitarist Ryan Fuson told the hometown Austin Chronicle in 2016, but two years later, Holy Wave sounds more like the offspring of Syd Barrett and Stereolab on March LP Adult Fear. The El Paso-born quintet—whose records have all been released by the Austin-based (and Black Angels-affiliated) Reverberation Appreciation Society—crafts lush, psychedelic pop tunes that often don’t end up where you expect. Here’s hoping it finds time in its Vegas set for “Habibi,” which splits the difference between Os Mutantes and Faust over eight bouncy minutes. With The Acid Sisters, K. Kilfeather. July 16, 8:30 p.m., $10-$12, Bunkhouse Saloon. –Spencer Patterson

SARAH SHOOK & THE DISARMERS

Rebellion and outsiderdom drip from every note of North Carolina singer-songwriter Sarah Shook—and with good reason: She grew up in an orthodox Christian household. Naturally, she would start a band called Sarah Shook and the Devil and become a bisexual, atheist vegan. But those things don’t define her artistry. Through two stellar full-length albums, last year’s Sidelong and April’s Years, she has channeled her experience into broader themes of independence, identity and self-resilience, a punk sensibility colored in strums and twangs. Las Vegas doesn’t typically see the likes of artists like Shook—and, come to think of it, the rest of the country doesn’t, either. With Paige Overton, Timmy the Teeth. July 16, 8 p.m., $12, Beauty Bar. –Mike Prevatt

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