Live Music

Wed., May 25, 7pm. $14. With Portastatic. Trocadero, 1003 Arch St. 215.922.LIVE. www.thetroc.com

The church of Kiley sounded the trumpets, and the faithful have come calling. Nine months after the release of their indie rock/pop/songwriter/even-a-little-country masterwork More Adventurous, Rilo Kiley are back again, upgrading from October's packed Starlight Ballroom to the much swankier Troc. All the better for Jenny Lewis' soaring, furious vocals to pounce on you-and easier for guitarist/singer Blake Sennett's snarky asides to get lost in the mix. Lewis has been working on a soul-fried solo project to be released this winter, so with any luck, she'll treat the devoted to a sneak peek. (Jeffrey Barg)

Mice Parade

Fri., May 20, 9pm. $10. With Boom Bip, Mobius Band + Starkey. Khyber, 56 S. Second St. 215.238.5888. www.thekhyber.com

From a basement in Mt. Vernon, N.Y., Adam Pierce has been creating genre-defying indie rock as Mice Parade (an anagram of his name) for the past few years. But the former one-man band got help from some new friends for the stunning Bem-Vinda Vontade, both the follow-up and companion to last year's Obrigado Saudade. múm's Kristin Anna Valtysdóttir lends her ethereal voice to a couple of Votande's intricate tracks, and other guests include June of '44/HiM drummer Doug Scharin and Japanese singer Ikuko Harada, who sings in Japanese and English on "Ground as Cold as Common." Expect the live show to be an exhilarating improvisational drift through challenging rhythms and sounds. (Doree Shafrir)

My Morning Jacket + Bob Mould

Sat. May 21, 7:30pm. $22. With Jason Mraz, Son Volt + West Indian Girl. Tower Theater, 69th and Ludlow sts., Upper Darby. 215.336.2000. www.electricfactory.com

Billed as "a public radio listener appreciation event" (very snappy), this is basically a shindig for the sometimes dull but very worthy WXPN. Excited yet? You should be, you cynical hipster pond scum-if only about the godlike Bob Mould, founder of '80s alt-rock noisenicks Hüsker Dü, '90s power trio Sugar and the primary cause of my ongoing battle with tinnitus. And if that doesn't grab you, then bow down at the altar of My Morning Jacket, Kentucky youngsters who make contemporaries like the Kings of Leon look like a bunch of gutless fashion victims, and resemble nothing less than the Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers playing the collective works of Buffalo Springfield, Creedence and the Stones, ripped to the gills on acid. (Neil Ferguson)

Jim and Jennie and the Pinetops

Sun., May 22, 8pm. $13. World Cafe Live, 3025 Walnut St. 215.222.1400. www.worldcafelive.com

It's a shame, really, that Jim and Jennie and the Pinetops no longer call Philly home. The fresh-faced bluegrass devotees may have migrated to New York and North Carolina, but that's no reason to pass up their fantastic new record. Rivers Roll on By, released on famed alt-country label Bloodshot, has enough snappy hoedowns to keep spirits high and enough lonesome soul-searching to nurse a lifetime of heartbreak and hangovers. The band's title pair recasts the classic "I Know You're Married but I Love You Still" as an a cappella duet, and while it's certainly a beaute, the original numbers stand just as sturdy alongside. (Doug Wallen)

Gang of Four

Sat., May 21, 8pm. $25. With Radio 4. Theater of Living Arts, 334 South St. 215.922.1011. www.theateroflivingarts.net

Okay, PiL, it's your move. Having now been officially cited in every record review since 2001, having seen their name sadly dragged behind the phrase "art-damaged funk," and having had to do the walk of shame back from every dive-bar DJ night from Northern Liberties to Park Slope, British punk legends Gang of Four return to collect what's left of their legacy-and, if reports are to be believed, deliver one of the best rock shows of the year. So everyone get it out of your system all at once: "OMG can you believe a former anticapitalist rock band is doing a reunion tour? WTF?" But what does Gang of Four sound like, you ask? You know, kind of like the Rapture meets !!!. If you can imagine that. (J. Edward Keyes)

Monty Alexander Trio

Fri., May 20 and Sat., May 21, 8pm and 10pm. $25. Zanzibar Blue, Broad and Walnut sts. 215.732.4500. www.zanzibarblue.com

With the smooth appeal of Nat King Cole, the erudition of Oscar Peterson, and a level of swing and versatility matching his high-gloss piano skills, Jamaican-born Monty Alexander just keeps getting better. He got his start in the '60s backing singers at Jilly Rizzo's Manhattan club (Sinatra's old hang) before settling into a career marked by a restless approach to jazz that typically referenced his Kingston roots. On record Alexander mines a host of different grooves. 1999's Stir It Up combined jazz and reggae in tribute to Bob Marley. He drove his natty trio through blues changes for 2003's Impressions in Blue. And he and guitarist Ernest Ranglin punched up the ska on last year's Rocksteady. (Ken Micallef)

Heartless Bastards

Sat., May 21, 9pm. $10. With Sugar Skulls + Bad Penny. Five Spot, 5 S. Bank St. 215.574.0070. www.thefivespot.com

"I'm gonna take everything, everything!" wails Erika Wennerstrom about two minutes into Heartless Bastards' debut Stairs and Elevators. It's easy to believe. Wennerstrom is a typhoon in a T-shirt, pulling notes from way down deep and powering her way through brash and bristling rock songs. The obvious reference point is PJ Harvey, but Wennerstrom is cockier and the Bastards are less bashful about their blues roots. Songs ride grimy, hip-swiveling riffs, with Wennerstrom doing highwire acrobatics above guitars that snarl like Rottweilers. There's a primacy and fearlessness to the Bastards' music that's easy to succumb to, and when Wennerstrom says she's going to take "everything," the impulse is to happily let her have it. (J.E.K.)

Michael Gira's Angels of Light + Akron/Family

Thurs., May 19, 9pm. $10. With Golden Ball. Khyber, 56 S. Second St. 215.238.5888. www.thekhyber.com

Though swathed in massive shrouds of dark percussive sound, even the most doom-laden Swans records had at their centers a flickering soul of gorgeous melody. With Angels of Light, Swans' Michael Gira has left behind the extremes of noise and silence, sin and redemption, to focus on softer, more traditional-sounding songs that are nonetheless harrowing in their honesty. The latest album Angels of Light Sing 'Other People' brings together 12 poetic considerations of old friends, children, collaborators, inspirations and, rather oddly, Michael Jackson. As his opener and backing band, Gira brings Akron/Family, a Brooklyn-based foursome whose self-titled debut incorporates found sounds and electronic squiggles for dreamily beautiful songs. (Jennifer Kelly)