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Music Critics' Picks: Bandolier, The Jilly Rizzo, Mothrider, Stripmall Architecture

July 26-Aug. 1: Live music in the greater Tacoma and Olympia area

Rebecca Coseboom of Stripmall Architecture / Photos by Julie Schuchard.

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[POP] + FRI, JULY 26

Pop aficianados Bandolier boast enough bubbly orange sunshine in their sound to propel their motor scooters sans power. A blend of dancey keyboards with the pop vocal layering of traditional songwriting from the 1960s - well, yeah, that's pretty much the story here. Pop as pop can be songcraft, a Camera Obscura-like tapestry of candy-coated melodies, clean arrangements, and perhaps most of all, some groovin' bass work with a low end work that sounds like a cross between Bruce Foxton and Pet Sounds plucker Carol Kaye. If you can imagine The Feelies meeting The Shangri-Las, or Aislers Set meeting The Kinks, then Bandolier will fit you like a comfortable swimsuit cover up. Tacoma dreamin' on such a summer's day. {RON SWARNER}

BANDOLIER, w/Old Age and The Nadines, 9 p.m., The New Frontier Lounge, 301 E. 25th St., Tacoma, $5, 253.572.4020

[PUNK LOUNGE] + SAT, JULY 27

I have officially been Jilly Rizzo - Rolled. I cannot, for the life of me, get the song "Shuttlecock of Love" out of my head. After watching a YouTube video of The Jilly Rizzo playing live in studio on the BJ Shea Show, I've been batting the catchy chorus around in my brain. Based out of Renton, the band features former 107.7 DJ Dick Rosetti, who knows a thing or two about catchy choruses. Hence his interest in The Jilly Rizzo playing with Trees and Timber and The Variety Hour, two Tacoma indie pop rock bands that compliment the scene with their diversity and delight. The band also includes singer Mara Dralle who use to give Volcano Editor Pappi Swarner rubdowns at Lakes High School, but that's a different story. Saturday, come see these great bands at Acme Grub Cage and get caught up in chorus, rolled in rhythm and penetrated with pop. {NIKKI MCCOY}

THE JILLY RIZZO, w/Trees and Timber and The Variety Hour, 9 p.m., Acme Grub Cage, 1310 Tacoma Ave. S., $5, Tacoma, 253.272.1892

[ELECTRONICA] + MON, JULY 29

It's gotta be said: when it comes to bringing some much-needed stage presence to the act of being a performing DJ, Mothrider is about as compelling as they come. Perpetually hidden beneath a sort of black and white super-villain mask (or maybe the kind of face that would've been super-saturated and pop out unexpectedly in The Cell), Mothrider's true identity is known only to Mothrider - I mean, and probably also his friends and family; let's not get crazy, here. Mothrider's brand of electronic music is atmospheric, energetic and overwhelming. It sounds like the sort of music that would've been blaring during those Eyes Wide Shut parties, if only they'd get a decent sound system in that mansion and tell the cat to stop walking across the piano keys. {REV. ADAM MCKINNEY}

MOTHRIDER, w/ Stepkid, Elbow Coulee, 10 p.m., Le Voyeur, 404 E. Fourth Ave., Olympia, no cover, 360.943.5710

[ALT POP] + THURS, AUG. 1

Drawing inspiration from early electronica as well as gauzy '90s darlings like Mazzy Star, Stripmall Architecture sound beautiful, even if they don't particularly sound like shiny happy people. But never mind. What Stripmall Architecture do, they do very well: accompanying long, tear-soaked car rides; filling dark dance floors with lonely searchers; seeping through your headphones during nighttime solo strolls, effectively turning your life and your city into a movie. The vibe that hangs over the music of Stripmall Architecture isn't exactly one of heartbreak, but rather one of stiff-lipped resolve in the face of despair. But that just might be me reading into it. For all I know, these dark ditties are about what a lovely time the band had on a picnic that one time. Probably the despair thing, though. {REV. AM}

STRIPMALL ARCHITECTURE, w/ Books on Fate, 10 p.m., Le Voyeur, 404 E. Fourth Ave., Olympia, no cover, 360.943.5710

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