Halmos’ debut EP is 5 tracks of blunt, thick sludge metal delivered with a stoner rock ethos.  The songs are centered around dense riffs generously stretched across mostly 5+ minute running times, with the tempos rarely rising above a crawl.  It’s stoner metal pared down to its most essential elements.  Lean, bruising opener “Datura” is the best of the lot.  Stream it below, and buy the whole thing for $5 over at Halmos’ Bandcamp.

The band is celebrating the release with a headlining show at The Masquerade tonight.  Order of the Owl, Demonaut, and Wolves and Jackals round out a solid as hell local metal lineup.  Admission is free, and the band will be selling a limited edition of 20 signed and numbered physical editions of the EP.

The first single from The District Attorneys’ forthcoming full length moves the band’s California country rock sound a little closer to classic power pop.  ”Confusion of Trust” squeezes vocal harmonies and hand claps into a sun-drenched package that breezes by in a tidy 3 minutes.  When I wrote about the band’s last EP, I worried that too much studio time might take away from their characteristic warmth.  I had nothing to be concerned about; the added layer of polish just brightens the colors.  This is tight, economical songwriting, but there’s an off-the-cuff vibe here that lends the song an appealingly shaggy mood.

Download “Confusion of Trust” below.  Slowburner (the band’s full length debut) will be out on April 24th.  You can catch the band tomorrow night at The Masquerade opening for Moon Taxi and Apache Relay.

[MP3] The District Attorneys – “Confusion of Trust”

Flyer after the jump.

Royal Baths, Abby Gogo, Spirits and the Melchizedek Children - Tuesday (2/14), 529, free.

San Francisco’s Royal Baths released Litanies back in late 2010, a nasty little collection of garage rock dirges that didn’t get nearly as much attention as it deserved.  I can’t say I’ve spent much time with followup Better Luck Next Life yet, but it’s definitely in the same vein.  Maybe a little less grimy, but still plenty of bite, the overcast counterpoint to the sunnier garage rock practiced by Bay Area contemporaries like The Fresh & Onlys.  It’s also nice to see Abby Gogo out of hiatus and playing shows again, and Spirits… are always worth a look.

The Togas, GG King, COPS - Thursday (2/16), The Earl, $10.

The Togas are a supergroup cover band formed specifically for this year’s Bruise Cruise Festival, which wraps up today in Miami.  The band features Ty Segall, along with members of Shannon & the Clams, Reigning Sound, and The Strange Boys, and their repertoire includes songs from Buddy Holly, Redd Kross, and The Temptations.  Kind of a novelty, sure, but it should still be fun.

Man Forever, Plasma Expander - Sunday (2/19), 529, free.

Kid Millions has been prolifically cranking out expansive psych/kraut explorations for over a decade as the drummer for Brooklyn vets Oneida, but he didn’t get around to putting out solo records until the last couple of years.  His solo efforts are released under the name Man Forever, and they consist almost entirely of manic drum freak outs.  There are touches of unidentified skronk every now and again, but it’s mostly all drums all the time, like a free jazz boombox trapped in a paint shaker.

More shows worth checking out after the jump.

Monday (2/13)

Kopecky Family Band, Avian, Shook Foil – The Masquerade (Purgatory), $8.

Tuesday (2/14)

Adam Acuragi, Jack Carter & the Armory, Slowriter – The Earl, $8.

Wednesday (2/15)

Scott Kelley (Neurosis), Eugene Robinson (Oxbow), From Exile, Nate Hall (US Christmas) – 529, $8/$10.

This Will Destroy You, Amen Dunes, Mountains – The Earl, $10/$12.

Fishbone, The Supervillains, AMUL9 – The Masquerade (Hell), $15.

Thursday (2/16)

HUNGER III w/ Featureless Ghost, Anticipation, Chief Acid Officer, Fit Of Body, Rekchampa, plus DJs Cc, Divine Interface, Featureless Ghost – 529, free.

Mood Rings, Red Sea, El Fossil, Young Again, Buzzedoff Litebeer, Shaquille O’Neal Slam Dunk Fest, Horny Dinosores – Star Bar, free.

Idle Warship (Talib Kwelie and Res), Rock Most, Sa-Roc, Young Rell – Center Stage, $20.

Cousin Dan, Jimkata – The Five Spot, $7.

Friday (2/17)

Isness, P Villa vs. Herobust, Nung River, Inner Gate – 529, free.

Cloud Nothings, A Classic Education, Gold-Bears – The Earl, $8/$10.

Scale the Summit, Elitist, Capillaries – Drunken Unicorn, $8/$10.

Novakord, Jack of Hearts – North River Tavern, free.

Saturday (2/18)

Akil (Jurassic 5), Night Sun (Cole from Black Lips), Shaheed and DJ Supreme, Clan Destined, Gun Party – 529, $7.

Van Dyke Parks, Jeffrey Butzer – The Earl, $25.

Wizard Smoke, Colossus, Odessa – Drunken Unicorn, $7.

I Want Whiskey, Caroline and the Ramblers, Pocket the Moon, Tyson Duffy – Star Bar, $8.

Hip to Death, Swank Sinatra, Mack Messiah – The Highlander, free.

Sunday (2/19)

Man Forever (Kid Millions from Oneida), Plasma Expander – 529, free.

Shook Foil are worth keeping an eye on.  The 5 songs on the Little Significance EP show a confident band finding room to breathe within the overworked boundaries of guitar/bass/drums indie rock.  This is slippery, dynamic guitar pop, packed with big, dynamic shifts and an excellent sense of restraint.  Their flexible jangle is paired with genuinely thoughtful lyrics that stick as strongly as the melodies.  It’s a little wordy at times, but most of the words are worth hearing.  Really promising stuff.

Stream the EP’s title track below, and the buy the whole thing here.

The collision of caffeinated loops, bright guitar lines, and oddball lyrics produces some truly singular moments on If You Look For It, It’s There, the latest full length from local pop alchemist Nomen Novum. The songs are incredibly detailed, built brick by brick with sampled snatches of sound that add up to a shiny, dizzying whole. It always feels like there are thousands of gears spinning below the surface. Just listen to “Briar Hills,” which begins as something like idyllic glitch-folk before slowly melting into ambient sound collage in the final two minutes. Constantly shifting, always engaging.

Stream “Briar Hills” below, and get the whole album for free here.

Thurston Moore, San Agustin - Wednesday (2/8), The Goat Farm, $15.

With the future of Sonic Youth in jeopardy, it’s good to see Thurston Moore keeping busy.  Last year’s Demolished Thoughts is probably the quietest album he’s ever released, but it’s far from the pensive strum of most acoustic singer-songwriter efforts.  He approaches his instrument much the same way he does on late period Sonic Youth albums, just with less volume and the support of a string section.  The new songs sounded great in the afternoon sun at Pitchfork last year, so I’m assuming they’ll sound even better on a what should be beautiful night at The Goat Farm.

Natural Child, Turf War, The Boom Bang - Friday (2/10), 529, free.

Nashville’s Natural Child play bluesy stoner punk that exists in an alternate universe where the last four decades of music never existed.  It’s simple and sincere, with their best moments carrying the same pure rock charge that also buoys labelmates JEFF the Brotherhood.  Kindred spirits Turf War could pass as their drunker Atlanta cousins.

CJ Boyd, Nerdkween, Rabbis - Sunday (2/12), The Cut, $5.

Journeyman experimentalist CJ Boyd builds billowing soundscapes out of looped bass.  It’s minimal stuff, but not inaccessible or dryly academic.  Little Advances favorite Nerdkween is on the bill, too, bringing singer-songwriter chops matched with a fondness for tape hiss and other avant flourishes.  The show is going down at The Cut, a Reynoldstown salon by day that occasionally turns into a pretty cool performance space at night.  This should make for a soothing cap to the weekend.

More shows worth checking out after the jump.

Wednesday (2/8)

Old King Cole Younger, Blunt Fang, Eli Porter – 529, free.

Bleached, The Black Belles, Black Lodge – The Earl, $8/$10.

Thursday (2/9)

Boog Brown’s Dirty 30 Birthday Bash w/ YU, Dillon, Anthony Accurate, DJ AmDex – 529, free.

Colour Revolt, Right Away, Great Captain! – Vinyl, $10/$12.

Astounding Science Fiction, Brain, Cassandras, And That Is Why, Pillage and Plunder, Missle Command, Glen Iris – Star Bar, free.

Friday (2/10)

Soulphonics and Ruby Velle, Cherry Royale – The Earl, $10.

Fountains of Wayne, The District Attorneys – The Loft, $20.

The Explorer’s Club, Sealions, Androcles the Lion – Vinyl, $7/$10.

Stokeswood, Jack of Hearts, Calm White Noise – Star Bar, $8.

They Might Be Giants, Jonathan Coulton – Variety Playhouse, $22.50/$25.50.

Saturday (2/11)

Cusses, Cloudeater, Odist – 529, $5.

They Might Be Giants, Jonathan Coulton – Variety Playhouse, $22.50/$25.50.

Street Violence, The Angel Sluts, Sleepy Genes, The Humms, Gazelles – Star Bar, $7.

Sunday (2/12)

Willie Nelson – Tabernacle, $47.50-$57.50.

Jeff Mangum - Wednesday (2/1), Variety Playhouse, $36 (sold out).

What’s left to say about Neutral Milk Hotel’s Jeff Mangum at this point?  He disappeared, and now he’s back.  Rumors of his return were obsessed over for years, and his re-emergence has been dutifully covered in all corners of the internet.  It’s a good story, particularly since it looks like he’s put his recluse days firmly behind him – he’s got a slew of dates scheduled for the rest of the year, including a featured a spot in the Coachella lineup.  Maybe (hopefully) a Jeff Mangum show won’t seem like such an earthshaking event a few years in the future, but for now this string of shows feels pretty special.

Liturgy, When Pain Is King, Scarab - Thursday, (2/2), $8.

I don’t necessarily think the idea of “transcendental black metal” is a bad one, but Liturgy frontman Hunter Hunt-Hendrix certainly sounds like an asshole describing it.  Ignore all the pretension and condescension, though, and you’re left with two pretty terrific full lengths and a killer live show.  Aesthetica threatened to break them into the indie rock mainstream, but it’s hardly a crossover album.  Their sound is nearly as intense and uncompromising as their black metal forefathers, even if Hunt-Hendrix is aiming for something less bleak.  The music and underlying philosophy are worth embracing, even if the creator occasionally comes across as a giant turd.

Attention System, Death Is A Dialogue, Five Knives, Kid Portugal - Saturday (2/4), Star Bar, $8.

We mentioned local electro-rockers Attention System in the most underrated category of the Atlanta Music Roundtable, with several of us mentioning that they probably deserved a little more local, uh, attention.  Come out to Star Bar on Saturday and show them some love.  They put more effort into their stage show than most bands in town, with lights and intensity that put many of their peers to shame, so you’ll get your money’s worth.

More shows after the jump.

Tuesday (1/31)

Order of the Owl, Death of Kings, Prime Mover – Star Zone bowling alley, free.

King Khan and the Shrines, Jacuzzi Boys, Paint Fumes – The Basement, $15.

Wednesday (2/1)

The Kills, JEFF the Brotherhood, Hunters – The Masquerade (Heaven), $20.

Cassandras, The Shape, Sleepy Genes – The Drunken Unicorn, $6.

Hip to Death, Methods of Espionage, The Flannels – 529, free.

Swank Sinatra, New Terminus, Mice in Cars – Star Bar, $5.

Thursday (2/2)

Adron, Spirits and the Melchizedek Children, We the Lion – The Earl, $8.

Friday (2/3)

Today the Moon, Tomorrow the Sun, The Sleepy Vikings, The Pauses – 529, $7.

Pillage and Plunder, Absence of Ocean, The Violent, Full Net – WonderRoot, $5.

From Exile, Lazer/Wulf, Brain – The Drunken Unicorn, $7.

Saturday (2/4)

Weird Wives, A. Grimes, Death Domain – 529, free.

Big Freedia, Noot d’ Noot, DJ Dookie Platters – The Earl, $10/$12.

Anvil, Death of Kings – Hard Rock Cafe, $17/$20.

There’s a healthy amount of aggression on Good Men Are Monsters, the new two track EP from local post-punk outfit Mice in Cars.  It’s just not always on the surface.  Opener “Exit Interview” is mostly sustained menace, drawing tension from a muscular rhythm section that threatens rather than pummels.  It sounds a little like June of 44.  ”Six Months on Mir” ditches the restraint, slashing and burning through its runtime loudly and recklessly.  That one’s a bit closer to Rodan on the ’90s Louisville post-whatever continuum.

Stream both tracks below, and buy the EP for cheap over at Mice in Cars’ Bandcamp.

Book Club just released a video form “Cold Cold Year,” one of the best tracks from last year’s excellent Ghost.  The footage was shot in Paris at the end of 2011, but the grainy black-and-white makes many of the images feel well-worn, like they could have plausibly come from decades past.  It’s a good fit for the band’s clean, straightforward folk, which is sounds similarly out of time.

Check out  Ghost and the totally free Live on AM 1690 for free over at Book Club’s Bandcamp.