Go See Hear April 18-25

This week offers another super week of shows.

The top choice for the week is the Shelby Lynne show at the Roxy on Thursday April 22 with Findlay Brown as the opening act. Lynne has a terrific new album that just came out, entitled Tears, Lies and Alibis – which gives you a good sense of what she’s singing about. It’s one of my top albums of the year for so. Come early to see Findlay Brown, a young British crooner whose currently disc, Love Will Find You, a lovely set of retro pop that evokes Roy Oribson and Chris Isaak.

Also that night, Trampled by Turtles brings their revved up bluegrass tunes to the Mint. Their new disc, Palomino, was a real eye-opener for me. The fine local country-rock outfit Old Californio also is on the bill.

Colorful Art Brut frontman Eddie Argos has a fun side project: Everybody Was in the French Resistance…Now! - in which he has created cheeky “answer songs” like “Think Twice (It’s Not Alright” and “Hey It’s Jimmy Mack.”

Ex-Toad The Wet Sprocket frontman Glen Phillips, who is currently part of the all-star Americana ensemble, Works Progress Administration, has a show at McCabe’s on April 23, with the Irish band the Guggenheim Grotto opening (I really liked their tune “Her Beautiful Ideas”) off their Happy The Man disc.

Saturday, April 24, brings several interesting options: the Black Prairie, which contains a trio of Decemberists, creates dark acoustic-based sound that suggests a gypsy mountain music done for a David Lynch soundtrack. The band, whose debut is out on Sugar Hill, shares a bill at the Bootleg with trio of fabulous female singers, the Living Sisters; I caught their delightful set recently at Amoeba Records.

Baltimore-based, Merge Recording artists Wye Oak (basically the duo Jenn Wasner and Andy Stack) forge an interesting soft/loud sound that has a bluesy bottom and a freak folk-rocky topside. Their show is at Spaceland.

The beloved Nanci Griffith brings her sweet voice and impressive catalog of tunes to the Canyon Club in Agoura Hills on the 24th too.

Josh Rouse has a weekend stay at Largo. The traveling troubadour now resides in Spain, which is evident from his latest effort, the Yep Roc-released El Turista, which is a cool, bilingual affair of laidback tunes backed with some world rhythms.

Rounding out the weekend, Peter Himmelman will serve up some of his smart, tart tunes at McCabe’s on Sunday, April 25.