Undertow Orchestra

A star-studded indie-folk revue designed for people who consider themselves above both stars and revues, the Undertow Orchestra brings together four well-regarded sad-sack singer-songwriters for an evening of collaborations and interpretations. Dave Bazan should be in a particularly gloomy mood: Last month he announced the dissolution of his long-running outfit Pedro the Lion, with whom he managed to make records that spanned the stylistic chasm separating baby-talk indie-pop from Neil Young-like power-rock. Vic Chesnutt's always finding something to be grumpy about; his latest, last year's beguiling Ghetto Bells, features a great song about George W. Bush called "Little Caesar." Mark Eitzel, who leads American Music Club when he's not making his own records, can second Chesnutt's emotion; in 2004, AMC released its so-called comeback album, Love Songs for Patriots, and Eitzel's got one called The Ugly American. Dentonite/Austinite Will Johnson might be the only dude with something to genuinely celebrate here. Fort Recovery, Centro-matic's beautifully bleary new one, is out next month, just in time to catch a little post-tour buzz.