[SYNTH-ROCK] + SAT, FEB. 15

I've written several times before about People Under the Sun, but here's the deal for the uninitiated: Beyond being reliably catchy providers of psychedelic synth-rock, People Under the Sun are perhaps the Tacoma music scene's most committed aesthetes. Not content to simply call it a day at paying homage to the New Wave pioneers that have clearly served as influences, People Under the Sun go so far as to cram their stage with a bounty of outmoded technology. Blocky computers and vintage Korgs surround the band, making it hard not to recall how David Byrne swooned over the sterile beauty of microchips in True Stories. While rumor has it that the band has recently begun pairing down the equipment (read: they're ditching floppy disks), they're still very much analog-powered. {REV. ADAM MCKINNEY}

PEOPLE UNDER THE SUN, w/ the Silver Dollars, Bod, 7 p.m., The New Frontier Lounge, 301 E. 25th St., Tacoma, cover tba, 253.572.4020

[CLASSIC ROCK] + SAT, FEB. 15

Where do you rock on Valentine's weekend? How about McCoy's, where the crowd is rough and the music is loud. Saturday, Horse Bodies, DBST and 10 Cents in Oklahoma will be playing for all the lovesick South Sounders, bringing a well-round bill of classic rock. Horse Bodies, with a strange name and a sweet sound, are an Oly favorite. They are a skilled foursome, able to noodle necks and jam down without sounding too hippy. They have some blues, some grit and some stories to tell. Grab your sweetie and a shot of whiskey and enjoy the rock. {NIKKI MCCOY}

HORSE BODIES, W/DBST, 10 Cents in Oklahoma, 8 p.m., McCoy's Tavern, 418 Fourth Ave., Olympia, $3, 360.352.0696

[ALT ROCK] + SAT, FEB. 15

When Levels make music, they do not fuck around. With compositions tight as a drum and volume knobs dialed in to "internal-organ-jostling," Levels approach a purity of alt-rock purpose that nears elegance. Even with the guitar onslaught, Levels never come close to anthemic. Sounding something like the fuzzy baby of Queens of the Stone Age and Depeche Mode, Levels seem to value a uniformity of mood that clouds everything in too much gloom to support any fist-pumping. Moshing, on the other hand, may come naturally when they take the tiny stage of the Java Jive. With the amps filling that little room with roaring guitars, it'd be hard not to have your knees buckle and tip you over, causing that domino effect that sucks everyone onto the floor. {REV. AM}

LEVELS, w/ Shrouded in Veils, Cambrian Explosion, Myth of Progress, 8 p.m., Bob's Java Jive, 2102 South Tacoma Way, Tacoma, $5, 253.475.9843