Recently I was chatting with Nick Reinhart of Tera Melos when he suggested I check out a new band with some regional ties called E V Kain. Featuring past members of Hella, Cigar and Broken Bells, E V Kain is an experimental pop-rock trio made up of Jon Sortland (drums/vocals), Brian Belier (guitar/vocals) and Jonathan Hischke (bass). Their two songs posted online (Soundcloud.com/evkain), “Yes No Maybe” and “Sun’s Holiday,” are addicting echo-y pop-based tracks with interesting enough rhythms and changes to keep this easily bored math-rock nerd thoroughly entertained. Seriously people, E V Kain is really fucking good. Think The Police meets Faraquet, if that makes any sense. Dual vocal harmonies, precise guitar picking, complex (yet not overly so) drum rhythms and some of the most bad-ass bass lines I’ve heard in a long time. I’ve yet to see E V Kain live (although I’ve found some videos of them performing unreleased tracks on YouTube), but that will hopefully change soon as they are scheduled to play Old Ironsides on Friday, April 12, 2013 alongside Major Powers and the Lo-Fi Symphony and Ol’ Cotton Dreary. The show starts at 9 p.m. and is $5, 21-and-over only. We hope to have more E V Kain coverage here in the pages of Submerge as we learn more about their release schedule, so keep an eye out for that. You can also visit http://evkain.com/ for more information.

Local promoter Brian McKenna recently confirmed the much-hyped garage-punk trio Le Butcherettes for a Sept. 14 gig at Harlow’s, and we here at Submerge could not be more stoked. This in your face, rowdy-as-fuck band had one of the most blogged-about sets at this year’s Lollapalooza, recently toured with Sacramento’s own Deftones, and will soon embark on separate stints with Iggy and the Stooges and The Flaming Lips. You don’t score gigs like those unless you’re doing something right. The Los Angeles-based group has local ties in bassist Jonathan Hischke (pictured on left), who has played with and/or toured/recorded with such local-ish bands as Hella, Agent Ribbons, Casual Fog and a ton of others as well as national acts like The Mars Volta and Broken Bells. If you’re a fan of spastic, energetic, borderline obscene live performances, you’re going to want to mark your calendars for this one, as lead singer Teri Gender Bender is known to throw shoes into the crowd, spit a lot and douse herself in fake blood–you know, the whole nine. Hischke and drummer Gabe Serbian (formerly of The Locust) get down too, which creates a sort of chaotic, yet somehow controlled vibe. It ought to be interesting seeing a (hopefully) primed and drunken Sacramento crowd react to their onstage energy. I’m forecasting much spilled beer, intermittent mosh pits and a high possibility of stage diving in Harlow’s near future. Show is $8 in advance, 21-and-over only and doors open at 8 p.m. Opening the show will be locals I’m Dirty Too and Diciembre Gris. For more information, visit Harlows.com, Abstractsacramento.com or hit up The Beat or Dimple Records to score tickets.