Los Campesinos
Irving Plaza; 1/22 at 7 p.m.; 17 Irving Pl., at 15th St.; 212-777-6800
These gritty Cardiff popsters know melancholy well, but they undercut it with highly danceable beats. With Massachusetts-based noise-poppers Speedy Ortiz opening, fresh off a tour with the Breeders. Their churning grunge lives in the nineties, but we’re certainly not mad about it.
Waxahatchee
Glasslands Gallery; 1/23 at 8:30 p.m.; 289 Kent Ave., nr. S. 1st St., Williamsburg, Brooklyn; 718- 599-1450
Named after a creek in Alabama near where her family has a vacation home, the confessional folk of Katie Crutchfield creates immediate intimacy, warming you up on a cold winter night.
Neutral Milk Hotel
Brooklyn Academy of Music; 1/23—1/25 at 8 p.m.; 30 Lafayette Ave., at Ashland Pl., Ft. Greene, Brooklyn; 718-636-4198
Webster Hall; 1/27 and 1/28 at 9 p.m.; 125 E. 11th St., nr. Third Ave.; 212-353-1600
Some of us don’t quite get the religiosity surrounding the nineties indie quartet led by self-styled pop-weirdo Jeff Magnum. As for the others: They’ll be out in force for the band’s long-prayed-for reunion shows at Webster Hall, and they’ll be genuflecting.
Travis Morrison
The Grand Victory ; 1/24 at 7 p.m.; 245 Grand St., nr. Roebling St., Williamsburg, Brooklyn; 347-529-6610
The Dismemberment Plan has had a resurgence in popularity of late, reuniting for last year’s Uncanney Valley, their first album in twelve years. For those who missed the reunion shows, Morrison’s moody yet enthusiastic solo repertoire should do the trick.
The Pizza Underground
Brooklyn Night Bazaar; 1/24 at 6 p.m.; 165 Banker St., at Norman Ave., Greenpoint
Did you know Home Alone star Macaulay Culkin had a pizza-themed Velvet Underground cover band? Well, Home Alone star Macaulay Culkin has a pizza-themed Velvet Underground cover band. And they’re playing SXSW! But first, they play a free show with The French Horn Rebellion and Rush Midnight this Friday at the Brooklyn Night Bazaar.
Luke Bryan
Madison Square Garden; 1/25 at 7:30 p.m.; 4 Penn Plz., nr. 31st St.; 212-465-6741
For better and, often, worse, Luke Bryan is the biggest thing in country music. The worse is obvious: His dopey but amiable songs are the essence of bro-country. But Bryan’s a nice enough guy, though, and he can put on an arena show.