Blood on the Wall, Psychic Ills, Fra Pandolf

Glancing at the names, one might surmise this is a psycho-core cannibal-metal sickfest. Not quite, as Blood on the Wall is surprisingly more of a raw, quirky, Pixies/Pavement-influenced offering who are fine in their own right. But opener Psychic Ills is the real prize here, featuring hypnotic bass grooves, tasty tripped-out atmospherics and dance-rock contortions, making them an unlikely cross between Cologne circa 1971 and Williamsburg circa 2002. For further proof, pick up their intriguing debut, Dins. Denton’s Fra Pandolf is itself no slouch; the band’s dense, overdriven guitar tapestries are punctuated by woozy vocal interludes and strategic breaks from the bone-crushing drum rattles. Show up early to see one of the pillars of the new Denton weird.