Concert Previews

Scotland's Sons & Daughters married violent imagery lifted from old American murder ballads with folk-punk Bo Diddley beats on their '05 debut album,

The Repulsion Box.

On their new CD,

This Gift,

they sweep away some (but not all) of the dirt and grit to reveal a polished pop core. Lyrically, it's still dark and edgy, but courtesy of producer Bernard Butler (of Britpop sensations Suede), Adele Bethel's melodies are sweeter and the boy-girl harmonies tighter, revealing a surprising new-wave exuberance. These songs could sound great live. The addition of openers Frightened Rabbit, the dramatic, yearning trio from Glasgow, Scotland, whose new CD,

The Midnight Organ Fight

, is also excellent, makes Sunday's show at Johnny Brenda's an Easter treat.

- Steve Klinge

Philly's musical workhorse Ben Arnold, fresh from a couple of showcasing gigs at Austin's see-and-be-seen-at SXSW music conference, returns home to woo local fans at the Tin Angel. Backed by four musicians that include the Brakes' Zach Djanikian, pianist/guitarist Arnold will focus on tracks from his current indie album,

Nevermind My Blues,

whose title well describes his down-but-not-out musical protagonists. With his emotive growl, funky electric piano playing, and often-clever lyrics, Arnold's latest batch of tunes are a jolting mix of light and dark themes touching on everything from post-Katrina displacement to misplaced affections. Arnold says the new record not only reflects his renewed interest in piano (his first instrument and one he got deeply reacquainted with during his stint with 4-Way Street), but also deliberately draws attention to what Arnold calls the "rusty soul" of his voice.

- Nicole Pensiero

Xiu Xiu make synth pop for people who hate synth pop. On their most recent CD,

Women as Lovers,

Jamie Stewart (the writing Xiu and the main singing Xiu) and Caralee McElroy (the other singing Xiu) create a wall of sound out of dense electronic squeals and clanging, complicated rhythmic interplay, whose often overly simple melodies are as shockingly appealing as they are nightmarish and emotionally complex. At the foot of that same wall stand Stewart and McElroy, whose interchangeable androgynous vocals offer up awful nursery-rhyme characters ("Puff and Bunny") and terrible life lessons ("You Are Pregnant, You Are Dead"). Their voices tremble as they scale the wall's fuzz-toned face while intoning the spirits of doom lyricists past (like Joy Division's Ian Curtis). Yet,

Women as Lovers

is as contagious as the flu and somehow eerily lovely.

- A.D. Amorosi