Concert Previews

It's a double dose of old-school soul and R&B from two artists who are masters at revitalizing the form, as they show on their terrific new albums. James Hunter's Minute by Minute is the grittiest and punchiest set yet by the English guitarist and former Van Morrison backup singer. It's also his first album that credits his longtime band in the title. In On My Mind/In My Heart, Boston's Jesse Dee works up sweaty passion in compact songs marked by memorable hooks and horn-driven flair. His occasional falsetto also points up his light, warm touch, one that epitomizes sweet soul music.

- Nick Cristiano

The voice is as inviting as any you'll hear, a slow and easy Louisiana drawl. Mary Gauthier's songs, however, pull no punches. On her new album, Live at Blue Rock, Gauthier (pronounced Go-SHAY) presents some of the best of those songs, with just a fiddle player and percussionist accompanying her own guitar and harmonica. Whether spinning empathetic portraits ("Last of the Hobo Kings," "Karla Faye") or drawing from her own life ("Blood Is Blood," "I Drink"), Gauthier invariably cuts to the bone.

- Nick Cristiano

In September, when Efterklang released Pirimida, its fourth album, the Danish trio did a one-off U.S. performance with an orchestra at New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art. When the band comes to town Tuesday night, it will be as a six-piece - large enough to embrace the cinematic sweep of electronics and orchestration that defines Efterklang's brooding, complex songs, compact enough to fit Johnny Brenda's intimate stage. Whereas 2010's Magic Chairs reveled in elaborate string and choral arrangements, Pirimida focuses more on the swooning songcraft of singer Casper Clausen. The album integrates field recordings from the band's visit to an abandoned Russian town in the Arctic Circle, and while a chilly spaciousness pervades, warm, embracing choruses are never far away. - Steve Klinge