GREYLAG

>>> Thursday, Jan. 13

The folk revival of the indie scene seems to find its basis in an interesting ideal: the continuing search for beauty in little moments. Though it's difficult to avoid the perception of artifice - perhaps rightly so - in hipsters reprising a genre that more or less defines itself as the purest artistic expression of one dirt-poor troubadour and his busted-up guitar, this is ultimately how we separate the wheat from the chaff. All artifice aside, it still is a genre of paramount humanism. With no fancy effects to hide behind, it's awfully easy to spot a charlatan. I don't believe that Greylag are charlatans. A four-piece from Portland, the band makes music that wisely avoids any attempt to replicate traditional folk chestnuts, instead focusing efforts on creating a warm ambience of airy harmonies, gentle guitars and distantly chugging drums. Were it not for the insistent momentum that the drums provide, one might worry for a Greylag song evaporating into the atmosphere. - Rev. Adam McKinney

[Northern, with Liz Janes, Tattered Dress 8 p.m., $6, 321 Fourth Ave., Olympia, northernolympia.org]

MAKEUP MONSTERS

>>> Friday, Jan. 14

Makeup Monsters (formerly the duo of Shayne Weeks and Isaac Solverson, now a trio including Jay Clancy) are a band that's frustratingly talented, handsome and widely beloved. They're also remarkably young - something that's been discussed to death here and elsewhere. MM's youthful energy is in keeping with their aural ancestry, which dates back to the distant year of 2001, when vibrant, fresh-faced sensations (the Strokes, et al.) helped re-legitimize FM "alt" radio with contagious, candied rock. But rather than simply regurgitate those millennial tropes, Weeks, Solverson and Clancy make them their own, infusing feel-good jingles with rhythmic restlessness and barbed, sometimes-prickly lyrics. Theirs is not your father's rock music, but it might sound a little like a revisionist take on your older brother's. - Jason Baxter

[The New Frontier, with Tall Girl, 9 p.m., 301 E. 25th St., Tacoma, 253.572.4020]

ROMAN HOLIDAY

>>> Friday, Jan. 14

The Volcano has sung the praises of Roman Holiday plenty of times before. With a local brand of seemingly arena-ready pop rock, the band -  led by longtime friends Shane Lance (lead vocals, guitar) and Emerson Shotwell (drums) - has been rocking hard and looking good doing it in these parts since 2008. There's nothing mysterious about what Roman Holiday accomplishes - indeed, the act is no stranger to Kings of Leon comparisons or skinny jeans - but the precision with which this band struts its stuff is definitely something worth noticing. Unless you're some sort of music snob, you'll probably find something agreeable in Roman Holiday's mix. Saturday, the band will take to the Liberty Theater stage in Puyallup on a bill that also includes the über-talented Ben Union. - Matt Driscoll

[Liberty Theater, with Ben Union, Painted Grey, 8 p.m., all ages, $10, 116 W Main St., Puyallup, 253.864.8116]

WHEELIES

>>> Saturday, Jan. 15

To celebrate the birthday of Neil Harris, owner of The New Frontier Lounge, the venue has booked pizza-loving indie rock bikers Wheelies (no strangers to The New Frontier), caffeinated 253 veterans Gold Teeth ("the most rock and roll band in Tacoma") and ecstatic Tacoma punks The Fucking Eagles. Maybe you've spied the eye-catching Xeroxed poster for this show online or ‘round town. It's infused with a deliciously ‘90s kind of self-deprecating blasé-ness ("It's Neil Harris' BARF-day Bash!" "Mystical! Barbaric! Boring!"), that's even funnier when you consider there's no doubt this show will be, to cite the title of a Fucking Eagles jam, "out of this world." - JB

[The New Frontier, with Gold Teeth, The Fucking Eagles, 9 p.m., 21+, 301 E. 25th St., Tacoma, 253.572.4020]