Weekly Music Agenda
These Arms Are Snakes
>> Atlanta four-piece The Coathangers will bring their sassy, lighthearted garage-pop tunes to the Black Cat tonight. Singing along is very much encouraged. With Thee Lexington Arrows and Foul Swoops, $10, 8:30 p.m.
TUESDAY
>> DCist has rarely been disappointed by Seattle post-hardcore stalwarts These Arms Are Snakes, so we'd wager that chances are pretty good that the band will tear the roof off of DC9 tonight. With DD/MM/YYYY and Three Stars alums Imperial China. $10 in advance/$12 at the door, 9 p.m.
>> South African outfit BLK JKS have been attracting quite a bit of attention lately, garnering comparisons to the likes of Vampire Weekend and TV on the Radio. With Laughing Man at the Black Cat, $10, 9 p.m.
WEDNESDAY
>> Though they're usually lumped in with the emo movement that they helped spawn, in many ways, seminal Seattle four-piece Sunny Day Real Estate has more in common with post-harDCore luminaries like Fugazi, Jawbox and Shudder to Think than with the radio-friendly emo bands of today. The original SDRE lineup has reunited for the first time since 1995 and will be playing tracks off of their much-loved, recently reissued Dairy and LP2 albums at the 9:30 Club tonight. Naturally, the show is way sold out but for the desperate, there's always Craigslist. Just be aware that you're up against some serious competition. With the Jealous Sound, sold out, 8 p.m.
>> Brooklyn newcomers The Antlers have generated quite a bit of buzz with Hospice, their boldly anthemic, unapologetically earnest concept album about loss. Come down to DC9 tonight to see if they live up to the hype — just be sure to show up early, as a strong turnout is all but guaranteed. With Holly Miranda, $8 in advance/$10 at the door, 9 p.m.
>> Sure, you saw The Pains of Being Pure at Heart the last time they rolled through town but have you seen The Depreciation Guild? Led by Pains drummer Kurt Feldman, the band marries shimmering shoegaze textures with harsh chiptune beats (they cite a hacked Nintendo Famicom as their fourth member) and layers androgynous twee-pop coos atop. Both acts will be at the Black Cat tonight with yet another much-hyped New York act, Cymbals Eat Guitars. $13, 8 p.m.
Sunny Day Real Estate
>> Love them or hate them, you're bound to have strong opinions about Wavves, the SoCal two-piece who have come to embody the divisive "shitgaze" movement. Known as much for their slacker punk lifestyles and bratty stage antics as for their fuzzed-out, sunbleached pop, the band seems to court controversy wherever they go. Regardless of what happens tonight at the Rock and Roll Hotel, it's guaranteed to be interesting. With Ganglians and The Tennis System (***), $10 in advance/$12 at the door, 8:30 p.m.
>> The Great Lakes Swimmers are likely to please all but the most discriminating fans of indie-folk, while The Wooden Birds will give anyone who loved Andrew Kenny's previous outfit — Austin slow-core heroes the American Analog Set — a serious case of the warm fuzzies. With Sharon Van Etten at the Black Cat, $13 in advance/$15 at the door, 8 p.m.
>> Quickly graduating from opening act to headliners, Syracuse chamber-poppers Ra Ra Riot have enjoyed a meteoric, well-deserved rise to the top of the indie-pop heap. At the 9:30 Club with Maps and Atlases and Princeton, $15, 7 p.m.
FRIDAY
>> Richmond outfit Strike Anywhere has been circling the globe for 10 years solid, serving as ambassadors for melodic punk rock. Tonight, they'll be stopping at the Black Cat with Polar Bear Cub, Crime in Stereo and Ruiner, $12, 8:30 p.m.
>> After two decades in the business, Pennsylvania jam band act The Disco Biscuits can now lay claim to the title of "elder statesmen," though they continue to push the boundaries by incorporating jazz improvisation and electronic instrumentation into their sets. At the 9:30 Club with Big Gigantic and Segway, $30, 8 p.m.
SATURDAY
>> Yet another Disco Biscuits show at the 9:30 tonight, this time with Savoy. You know the drill: $30, 8 p.m.
>> The Black Cat is hosting not one but two dance nights tonight. On the mainstage there's Eighties Mayhem with DJs Steve EP, Killa K and Krasty McNasty, $10, 9:30 p.m. Backstage there's the Wag with DJ Mark Zimin of Moustrap. 60s garage and soul accompanied by "cool mod videos," $5, 9:30 p.m.
SUNDAY
>> Recent Saddle-Creek signees The Rural Alberta Advantage will bring their disjointed, sweetly melancholic indie-pop to the Rock and Roll Hotel tonight. With The Lovely Feathers, $10, 8 p.m.
>> Up and coming local dance-punk act Noon:30 lay down thick, fuzzed-out bass grooves, while vocalist Blue S. Moon alternates between soaring vocals and disdainful sneers. With the Press and Aaron Thompson at the Black Cat Backstage, $8, 9 p.m.