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Nine albums in, and My Morning Jacket finally released a self-titled project in 2021. The Kentucky rock band has been making psychedelic-inspired jams since its first album, “The Tennessee Fire,” came out in 1999. The band is fearless — that’s clear in the sonic zigzagging it’s done over the last two decades. On this latest album, vocalist and songwriter Jim James has sharpened his lyricism, saying what he wants without reluctance. This was never a band that was afraid to say the thing, but the pandemic gave many, including James, a new level of clarity. The song “The Devil’s in the Details” features sleepy guitar strumming and barely-there percussion that put listeners in the middle of what sounds like a dream. But then James’s voice comes in softly; he doesn’t sound like he’s exerting too much energy as he delivers a biting survey of a failing capitalist society. The mall is at the center of this “devil.” He sings, “Growing up at the mall / Amidst the fruits of slavery / We all stand complicit in the greed.” The way his voice wobbles, he could be singing a lullaby — if he weren’t saying everyday life is sponsored by oppression. July 29 at 8 p.m. at the Anthem, 901 Wharf St. SW. theanthemdc.com. $56-$96.
London-based singer-songwriter Archy Marshall, who goes by King Krule, wades through melancholy in his music. Marshall released his fifth album, “Space Heavy,” in June. On this album, as on his past projects, he thrives on the experimental edge, and it’s hard to box him into a single genre. This time around, though, he’s leaning out of an electronic-influenced sound and into a rockier scene — his guitars and percussion moving closer to center stage. Like on “Hamburgerphobia,” where he sings, “She kicked me out the car to heavy traffic in my brain / And it rains, and it pours all over and over again.” The drums feel scattered, mimicking the singer’s state of mind. The way his voice echoes in and out, he sounds like he’s on the verge of spiraling from the weight of it all. The album opener “Flimsier” is aptly named — the song feels like it’s swaying slowly from side to side. A wistful electric guitar comes in and Marshall sings, “It’s been holding the weight of the world.” July 29, doors open at 8 p.m., at 9:30 Club, 815 V St. NW. 930.com. Sold out.
Based in El Paso, Late Night Drive Home makes indie rock music that takes stock of young adulthood. In 2022, the band dropped “How Are We Feeling?” — and it spends the track list answering the titular question with brutal honesty. On “How to Be Normal,” vocalist Andre Portillo opens the song repeating the title over and over again — not as a proclamation but as an unanswerable question that’s torturing him. With delicate drumming and as an electric guitar tiptoes around him, he sings, “And why should I care what anyone thinks / When no one is there to comfort me / It’s not me, it’s just them.” It’s a moment of clarity in a song that is almost hazy with self-doubt. The album opens with “Awkward Conversations,” and a lively guitar slams its way to a chorus with an undeniably sweet rock melody. Portillo sings, “I’ll let you go, it’s time for me to move on / I’ll be the first one, both of us will be gone / I wish you could’ve stayed.” He’s singing through the contradictions; isn’t that what becoming an adult is all about? July 30 at 8 p.m. at Songbyrd, 540 Penn St. NE. songbyrddc.com. $15-$20.
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