Depeche Mode plays Starplex Pavilion on Friday.
Ticketmaster
Depeche Mode, The Church and Chris Isaak are just a few topping the bill this week. Alt-pop darling Banks and Dum Dum Girl Frankie Rose will also be in town to offer some fresh new music off their latest albums. And Sublime with Rome, Steve Winwood, Reverend Horton Heat and Jason Isbell keep the rest of the week rocking.
Frankie Rose
With Suburban Living, Nite, 7 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 19, Club Dada, 2720 Elm St., dadadallas.com, $12
As the drummer for Vivian Girls and Dum Dum Girls, Frankie Rose is intimately familiar with the indie rock landscape. While those groups earned rave reviews for their fuzz-inflected take on the '60s, Rose has begun exploring different avenues in her solo work. Her latest, Cage Tropical, is a synth-pop gem. It has enough moody guitars, slinky keyboards and loops, and sci-fi references to make it an ideal soundtrack for a throwback show like Stranger Things. The album sticks with you long after the final track has ended. It will be interesting to see how Rose transfers this sound to the live stage. The show is likely to be a slow burn of emotion rather than a straightforward assault on the senses. Denton-based Nite, made up of twin brothers Myles and Kyle Mendes, will open the show with a set of meticulously crafted '80s pop. Jeff Strowe
Steve Winwood
8 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 19, Toyota Music Factory, 316 W. Las Colinas Boulevard, Irving, 972-810-1499 or ticketmaster.com, $45 and up
Steve Winwood isn't just another blue-eyed soul musician. He had early success with the Spencer Davis Group, for which he wrote the '66 hit "Gimme Some Lovin'" and has gone on to a successful career working with other groups and artists such as B.B. King, Jimi Hendrix and Eric Clapton. His work with Clapton, Ginger Baker and Ric Grech in Blind Faith in the late '60s set him up to work as a solo artist, and he's since recorded nine studio albums. In the '80s, Winwood recorded two No. 1 Billboard hits, "Higher Love" and "Roll With It." Earlier this month, he released Greatest Hits Live, which he'll support at Toyota Music Factory on Tuesday. Winwood continues to woo audiences with his combination of R&B, rock 'n' roll and pop; deep-ranging vocal work; and classic jukebox tunes. Pablo Peña
The Church
8 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 19, The Kessler Theater, 1230 W. Davis St., 214-272-8346 or thekessler.org, $28-$99
The Church brought its brand of psychedelic art rock to the masses during the 1980s and '90s. The Australian band swapped its initial new wave, indie rock sound for something slower with kaleidoscopic melodies and shimmery, dreamlike guitar riffs, which wasn't immediately successful in the U.S. But in 1988, with the release of its fifth studio album, Starfish, The Church saw itself back on the charts and has since released 13 full-length albums of different material and a handful of outtake and acoustic covers albums. Diamond Victoria
Banks
With Sam Dew, 8:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 22, South Side Ballroom, 1135 S. Lamar St., axs.com, $27.50 and up
Gothic, inky-dark and all atmosphere, the shadowy trenches of alt-R&B are a haunted realm of narcotic nightmares and deep, unquenchable longing. Built from hip, minimal beat programming and gunmetal textures, Banks’ music lands firmly in this school, but her aggressive, cartoonish take on the style is artificial and disingenuous. Or is it? Is the California-bred artist biting the sticky club visions of Drake or the Weeknd’s unnerving cynicism? Is she flirting with satire? Is the approach self-aware — does it matter? Her voice is forced, uneven, yet Banks seems to relish in her vocals’ frayed, searching quality. It’s not a traditionally beautiful voice, nor a particularly well-purposed one, but it’s unlike any other in pop or R&B, unique for its odd combination of unabashed cliché with messy cadences and a raw, slapdash delivery. If you called Banks’ art avant garde, you’d be right. If you called it vapid radio fodder, you'd be right, too. In truth, Banks' music lies somewhere in between, just off to the side of both tasteful and accessible. At times, that sounds like a really fascinating and fun space. Jonathan Patrick
Depeche Mode
7:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 22, Starplex Pavilion, 1818 First Ave., 214-421-1111 or dallaspavilion.org, $35.50-$125.50
Before Nine Inch Nails, Muse or even Marilyn Manson, there was Depeche Mode. A pioneer in popularizing electronic music, the English band peaked in the 1980s, offering a musical alternative to the exhausted bubblegum pop of Top 40 hits. The band has released 14 studio albums since its conception 37 years ago, including this year's Spirit. Besides the trio's musical accomplishments, its almost 20 world tours are proof that the members know how to own the stage with exceptional performances. DV
Sublime with Rome
With The Offspring, 7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 22, Toyota Music Factory, 300 W. Las Colinas Blvd., 972-810-1499 or pavilionimf.com, $19 and up
In 2009, members of the California ska punk band Sublime joined forces with singer and guitarist Rome Ramirez, resulting in what legally has to be called Sublime with Rome. Ramirez took on the role of frontman because Sublime's original singer died more than a decade earlier. The band has released two albums since the collaboration but also plays the older songs that initially brought the band success in the late '80s to mid-'90s. DV
Reverend Horton Heat
8 p.m. Friday, Sept. 22, The Bomb Factory, 2713 Canton St., 214-932-6501 or thebombfactory.com, $24-$190
Ah, the early '90s — a time when a Nudie suit-clad rockabilly cat out of Deep Ellum could get signed to Sub Pop with songs about steak and marijuana. If it's hard to believe it's been about 20 years since Dallas' Reverend Horton Heat had his major brush with alt-fame; it's just as hard to believe that he's still alive and kicking. This, too: He hasn't lost a step. Chris Gray
Against Me!
With Bleached, The Dirty Nil, 9 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 23, Granada Theater, 3524 Greenville Ave., 214-824-9933 or granadatheater.com, $24
Long after its major label ties ended, Against Me! keeps churning out punk-charged rock for large audiences. The four-piece has many great tunes in its canon, but right now the band is promoting last year's Shape Shift With Me. Lately, Against Me! is also playing a lot of tunes from its debut LP, Reinventing Axl Rose, with some other favorites sprinkled in. Against Me! is still one of the most vital punk bands around; it makes you feel truly alive when you sing along. Also make sure to check out opener the Dirty Nil, a trio that fits together the Replacements, glam rock and pop-punk quite well. Eric Grubbs
Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit
With Frank Turner & the Sleeping Souls, 8 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 23, The Bomb Factory, 2713 Canton St., 214-932-6501 or thebombfactory.com, $45-$65
Representing the continuation of the Muscle Shoals legacy, former Drive-By Trucker Jason Isbell and his band the 400 Unit are proof that regional influences still have a role in modern music. Isbell takes deep pride in his northern Alabama upbringing, but his latest album The Nashville Sound celebrates the city he adopted six years ago. The album, of course, features Isbell’s characteristic autobiographical lyrics, but it takes a step further and explores deeper cultural divides alongside his personal demons. Powerful tracks off the new album, such as “White Man’s World” and “Last of my Kind,” illustrate the growth Isbell has made during his five years in Tennessee. This is the second leg of the tour for The Nashville Sound, which went through Austin in July, and Dallas is the only Texas show this side of summer. Fans can expect the band to explore more than just the new material for this show. Isbell likely to play some covers, deep cuts and tracks from his time with Drive-By Truckers. Nicholas Bostick
Chris Isaak
8 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 24, Toyota Music Factory, 300 W Las Colinas Blvd., 972-810-1499, or pavilionimf.com, $39.50-$99.50
Chris Isaak was the Roy Orbison of the 1990s, not only for his '50s-style chops and aesthetic, but also for his vocal falsetto in songs that pluck at the heartstrings big time. He's released 12 studio albums; the latest is 2015's First Comes the Night. Isaak hasn't only stayed within the singer songwriter realm, though. He and friend David Lynch have worked together on numerous soundtracks, which gave Isaak his big role in Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me. DV
