>>> Thursday, Nov. 22

APRICOT & THE BEGINNERS

The New Frontier is where to be Thursday after you fill your pie hole with turkey and all the trimmings. The Thanksgiving show features Apricot & The Beginners and Si Si Si and will help you forget all about that smart-ass comment your brother made, the soggy green beans with not enough crunch and the well-meaning, fall-apart organic gluten-free tasteless apple pie your sister made. Apricot & The Beginners spin little tales with the singer's lullaby voice, her nuances touching each word, flowing in and out of the keyboard scales and plucky guitar riffs, making an easy listen for a full-bellied audience. The seven-piece Tacoma band likes to let listeners peek into their surroundings, with lyrics about drinking beer, sneaking into shows, BLTs at 2 a.m., taking naps with friends and being in love. Banjos, xylophones, and synthesizers make their way through the music, guiding each other hand in hand over the crossroads of mellow percussion, weaving through the lanes of sleepy sexy singing and parking in the heart of guitar and good intention. - Nikki McCoy

THE NEW FRONTIER LOUNGE, 9 P.M., NO COVER, 301 E. 25TH ST., TACOMA, 253.572.4020

>>> Friday, Nov. 23

I LIKE SCIENCE

Over the years, Tacoma mainstays Umber Sleeping has gone through many personnel changes and even, briefly, name changes. Recently, the final decision was made to change to the name I Like Science. Of course, the art-rock act is still masterminded by drummer Peter Tietjen, so it still sounds more or less like Umber Sleeping. The main difference is that Tietjen has taken on not only drumming duties, but keyboard duties as well - playing one with one hand, and one with the other. Rather than hanging them up, this tightrope walking shift on the part of Tietjen has palpably revitalized its sound. Somehow, the songs have become poppier, more anthemic with this latest change. But this is a band that has always been in flux. Time will show how it continues to grow and hone its craft. - Rev. Adam McKinney

THE NEW FRONTIER LOUNGE, WITH ROWHOUSE, LE LO/FI, DJ MELODICA, 9 P.M., COVER TBA, 301 E. 25TH ST., TACOMA, 253.572.4020

>>> Monday, Nov. 26

JAMES TALLEY

Poet, performer, singer and songwriter James Talley may not have instant name recognition in every household, but the list of performers who have performed his songs do - Johnny Cash and Paycheck, Gene Clark, Alan Jackson and Moby have all recorded James Talley songs. During Talley's long career he has performed twice in the White House, played the Smithsonian and even had B.B. King lay guitar tracks on his albums.

The Mehan, Oklahoma born singer's career spans more than 40 years garnering him universal praise for his folk-country-blues songs written with lightness, impact and beauty. After receiving encouragement from Pete Seeger, Talley began to write songs that drew upon the culture of the Southwest that he experienced growing up. His songs, like his poetry serves as a vehicle for Talley to tell stories that will be familiar to anyone with a working class background. - Timothy Grisham

OLYMPIC ROOM, 7 P.M., NO COVER, TACOMA PUBLIC LIBRARY MAIN BRANCH, 1102 TACOMA AVE. S., TACOMA, 253.292.2001

>>> Thursday, November 29

CHILDREN OF KIDS

Though they share qualities with other electronic neo-primitivists like Animal Collective, NewVillager and Yeasayer, Children of Kids tends toward the dreamier, gentler side of things. But even still, there's always an underpinning of intensity, with an insistent beat that threatens to scare away the trilling synths. Amongst these beat-driven aural journeys, Children of Kids occasionally flirts with blissed-out chillwave - music that desires nothing more than to take your mind for a walk, dip it in some caramel and roll it in rainbow sprinkles before returning it, sun-baked and sticky, to your head. Given that this show will be held in the basement of a University of Puget Sound building, and that one of the other bands (Bardobasho) is advertised as "ethereal vocal-driven electronic," I'd count on some serious head-bobbing to be had at this show. - Rev. AM

CLUB RENDEZVOUS, WITH NOT FROM BROOKLYN, BARDOBASHO, 9 P.M., NO COVER, $3 RECOMMENDED DONATION, 1500 N. WARNER, TACOMA, 253.879.3100

LINK: More live music in the South Sound