THURSDAY, NOV. 17:
Sarah Tudzin started Illuminati Hotties to create a showcase for her studio chops before transforming the project into one of the best shout-along rock bands of the new decade. The production fits like a three-piece suit, but Tudzin and her crew aren’t afraid to get it dirty (2021′s Let Me Do One More bursts forth with the irrepressible energy one might associate with an anime theme song or a late-’90s dance craze more than a self-described “tenderpunk” band). Wonder Ballroom, 128 NE Russell St. 8 pm. $20. 21+.
SATURDAY, NOV. 19:
Ana Roxanne and Rachika Nayar challenge the idea of ambient music as something neutral and functional that can simply be typed into an algorithm. Roxanne is fiercely present in her work as a multi-instrumentalist, and her music brims with melancholy and uncertainty. Nayar, meanwhile, recently put out an album called Heaven Come Crashing that’s as earth-shatteringly intense as the title suggests. Their co-headlining Holocene gig promises to be a showcase for abstract, beatless music that’s as powerful as any pop. Holocene, 1001 SE Morrison St. 6 pm. $18. 21+.
SUNDAY, NOV. 20:
When Let’s Eat Grandma debuted as teens with 2016′s I, Gemini, you would’ve been forgiven for thinking the two shaggy-haired British besties had some sort of psychic connection that allowed them to make spellbinding music at such a young age. On their subsequent albums, I’m All Ears and this year’s Two Ribbons, Rosa Walton and Jenny Hollingworth have honed their sound into a striking take on synth pop that retains all the dark fairy-tale mystery of their early work even as it bangs through the speakers. Doug Fir Lounge, 830 E Burnside St. 9 pm. $20. 21+.