By Defensive Listening.

Everyone's freaking out about the new Glass Candy, and I think it's great, but did you also know that Farah has a new single? It's called "Gay Boy." Look it up on her Myspace page and then order the 12". I can not believe that there aren't seven page cover stories about what a genius she is after hearing this thing. She eats Midlake for breakfast and has St. Vincent for dessert. And that's exactly why you and I will never get along, DFW music fans and press.

FRIDAY

Dear Human | New Science Projects | Geistheistler | Handbrake | Babar (Rubber Gloves)
Math Rock, who needs it, right? Anyways, whatever you feel about the genre is going to determine what you think of Dear, Human, and I have to admit: These aren't kind times for math rock fans. It was largely absorbed into the overall sound of hardcore from ten to twelve years ago and then quickly shunned after that, when all of the early 2000's kids learned to dance. Like any genre, it has its moments, and Dear, Human seems as capable as any. 80% of it is being really fucking good at your instrument, and they certainly do that. But Math Rock is kind of like being an Olympic Gymnast. I mean, yeah, everyone here can do flips and shit, but who among them is truly incredible? Who will surpass all expectations and transcend the genre's cliches? There's just so much DAMN PRESSURE. Also, why don't girls have math rock bands? Now some local scene misogynists will tell you it's because girls "can't play" or drum or have "girl rhythm." The real answer is that girls are too smart to play Math Rock. It's true.

Florene | Diamond Age (Tradewinds)
Florene's sound has changed considerably since their inception, and there were times during their recent NX35 set where I wondered exactly who the band on stage even was. They have definitely lost a lot of their original freeform static passages and replaced them with more structured thump and straightforwardly accessible beats. I don't know when these changes came about exactly, but it was definitely good timing when you consider they are on a label now and look, Florene has got some mouths to feed and Daddy has to get paid, ok? One minute your pedals are sliding off of a rickety card table at Eighth Continent, and the next you're counting blog dollaz with your fellow Chillwave and No Fi Dance peers, sipping fancy drinks at Baby Acapulco's.

Nice surprise to see Diamond Age pop up on this bill, which is the very interesting project of North Texas' M. Leer. Let me see if I can break this down, since it's a little confusing. M. Leer is a member of History At Our Disposal and The Diamond Age is his side-project. At some point in the last few years he did a note-by-note reinterpretation of Flaming Tunes, which was a side-project that Gareth Williams of This Heat was involved in, along with Mary Currie. I have been meaning to shed more light on this for years, since it's one of the most obscure reworks I've ever heard of by a local musician. Both the original and The Diamond Age version are great. This show is worth your time and effort.

Stoogeaphilia | The Black Dots | Bastardos De Sancho (Lola's 6th)

SATURDAY

Gordon Grdina Trio/Ingebrigt Haker Flaten/Nick Cabrera/Jason Jackson/Stefan Gonzalez (Pheoenix Project)

Lollipop Shoppe 6 Year Anniversary Party (Sons of Herman Hall)

SUNDAY

Tartufi | Darktown Strutters | Telethon | Pinkish Black |Hentai Improvising Orchestra (Kessler)
Great lineup at a great venue as Oak Cliff continues to dominate the Dallas scene.

Kilowatts | Aligning Minds | The Great Mundane (Cold Fusion Lounge)
DJ Killowatts has been making music since the mid-90's and actually hails from Plano, though he's now based in Philadelphia. His is a mix of deep bass, IDM, and ambient sounds, and he's pretty renowned internationally, which is something I never imagined when I remember hearing about him playing a show at Eisengberg's Skate Park. Unfortunately that may be preferable to "Cold Fusion Lounge." Full anonymous disclosure: I distinctly remember arguing about the origins of Industrial music with this guy in fifth period gym class, circa 1996 or so.