Welcome to Seven in Seven, where we look at shows coming to the region over the next week. As always, whether your musical tastes are rock ’n’ roll, jazz, heavy metal, R&B, singer-songwriter or indie, there will always be something to check out. Here are seven of the best on the docket for the week of April 18:
Whitehall — Friday at Foto Club
Known for their dynamic alternative sound, sharp lyricism and infectious melodies, Whitehall are currently on tour, road-testing songs from their upcoming LP, due out later this year. The Brooklyn, N.Y., by way of Charleston, S.C., indie rock outfit has been making waves since moving up the East Coast a few years back, especially in the live setting. Seeing them perform, one never gets the sense that the group is phoning it in and, more so, they’re obviously having fun. It’s infectious to the point that audiences can’t help but feed off the energy.
Mount Eerie — Friday at Union Transfer
Phil Elverum has slowly acquired an underground cult status since the late ’90s for exactly the kind of work he’s been doing under the name Mount Eerie: building recorded atmospheric worlds that are distinctly bottomless with a fuzzed-out mystery. While the songs themselves speak with a raw intimacy that can be shocking to hear, it’s the recordings of an individual mind and heart going deeper within while turning over each stone along the way. His first album under the Mount Eerie moniker in five years, “Night Palaces,” appears as a culmination of eras, arrived at after tumbling through decades of a tumultuous life and building from scratch in the settled dust.
Dorothy — Saturday at Mickey’s Black Box
Projecting a full-bodied voice with every inch of her being, Dorothy Martin aims to turn a spark of hope into an inferno with her songs. The Budapest, Hungary,-born singer/songwriter fronts her eponymous Los Angeles-based rock band with gusto, grit and a top-tier confidence coupled with a quiet resolve like some kind of old school Western anti-hero. Blazing a trail with sold-out tours, collaborations with superstars like Slash and Creed’s Scott Stapp — along with over one billion streams in the rearview — it’s clear that Dorothy is just getting started.
Wednesday 13 — Sunday at Mickey’s Black Box
Hitting venues across North America on his “There’s No Such Thing as Monsters” tour celebrating 20 years of “Transylvania 90210,” fearsome frontman Wednesday 13 returns to preview his new full-length album, “Mid Death Crisis,” set to drop on April 25. Despite the title, the former leader of horror punk act the Murderdolls promises the LP will be a “leave-your-brain-at-the-door” rager, one that hearkens back to his hard rock roots. Mixing in a best-of set from his former band, it’s set to be a horror-ific Sunday at Mickey’s Black Box more reminiscent of Halloween than Easter.
The Linda Lindas — Monday at Union Transfer
Since going viral with their Los Angeles Public Library performance of the song “Racist, Sexist, Boy” in 2018, which propelled them into stardom, the world has watched The Linda Lindas scream about injustice, sing about growing up and exhibit the kind of selflessness that is so meaningful to the punk scene. Oh, and two of the four are still in high school, while one is in middle school. The band had a whirlwind past year, which included appearances on The Talking Heads tribute album “Stop Making Sense” and appearances on “The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon,” “The Daily Show” and “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” while opening for the likes of Blondie, The Rolling Stones, Paramore and playing festivals including Coachella, Lollapalooza, Boston Calling and more. They also joined Green Day, The Smashing Pumpkins and Rancid on a massive arena tour last summer. Now they’re standing on their own, headlining across North America in support of their second album, “No Obligation.”
Ben Kweller — Monday at Underground Arts
An open book throughout his lengthy career, Ben Kweller’s songs hold a nostalgic quality that takes you to a time and a place, happy or sad. His upcoming LP, “Cover the Mirrors,” sees the singer/songwriter walking through the fire of heartbreaking grief with intention and purpose, with his first new music since the sudden passing of his 16-year-old son Dorian Zev in 2023. Despite the profound heartache and sadness that have filled the years since the tragedy, Kweller’s open-eyed honesty about grief and loss has been an inspiration to people around the world and will help thousands more as he bares his soul onstage.
Youth Lagoon — Tuesday at The Foundry
The new album from Youth Lagoon, the project of Idaho-based Trevor Powers, is a triumph of American Gothic imagination. “Rarely Do I Dream” is a treasure trove of twangy, fuzzed-out guitars, sun-bleached synths, classical pianos, blown-out drums and Powers’ spellbinding melodies, which all feel like an old photograph that’s been reanimated in a strange and distant future. Drifting between propulsive electronica and hallucinatory rock songs, his singular voice always glows front and center like a neon road sign pointing home.
Soundcheck
• Whitehall: “Come Visit”
• Mount Eerie: “Broom of Wind”
• Dorothy: “Raise Hell”
• Wednesday 13: “In Misery”
• The Linda Lindas: “Found a Job”
• Ben Kweller: “Optimystic”
• Youth Lagoon: “Speed Freak”
