1.
DAVE HOLLAND & KENNY BARRON
Summarizing the accomplishments of Dave Holland and Kenny Barron does neither justice, but their pasts are worth mention. The bassist and pianist, respectively, have amassed expansive catalogs as sidemen and bandleaders, much of which reads like a who’s who of jazz legends. Holland contributed to Miles Davis’ early forays into fusion before forming Circle with Chick Corea and Anthony Braxton. Barron cut his teeth in Dizzy Gillespie’s band, worked frequently with Yusef Lateef and Ron Carter, and in 1980, scored Spike Lee’s Do The Right Thing. Holland played with Thelonious Monk; Barron paid tribute to him with Sphere. Both worked with Stan Getz. That’s the reductive sampler.

The depth and variation of Holland and Barron’s collective résumé is better reflected by their present work. Poised and polished, the duo is balance personified. Each gracefully explores the melodic and rhythmic aspects of his instrument, adding generous complements and intriguing counterpoint. Their communication is understated but clear. Having contributed individually to the evolution of jazz for more than 40 years, neither has much left to prove. That makes the casual ease of their pair all the more poignant. FRIDAY, APRIL 26, AT DUKE’S REYNOLDS INDUSTRIES THEATER. $10–$38/8 p.m.

2.
LOS VIGILANTES, LAS ARDILLAS
Davila 666 might be Puerto Rico’s best-known garage band following the success of 2011’s Tan Bajo. Now, Davila 666’s countrymen and buddy bands, Los Vigilantes and Las Ardillas, seem primed for a similar stateside breakout. Both arrive with freshly pressed singles via the garage-rock stalwart Slovenly Records, serving punk en Español that brims with infectious hooks. Las Ardillas summon Johnnies Thunders and Ramone on the fantastic bubblegum of their latest, “Linda Niña,” while Los Vigilantes scuff the polish off early ’60s teen-idol doo-wop. Raleigh rock primitives Black Zinfandel open. THURSDAY, APRIL 25, AT SLIM’S. $5/9 p.m.

3.
THE SOUND OF HOPE
This “triple benefit” gathers a bumper crop of local talent to raise funds for the North Carolina chapter of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society and two families facing mounting medical expenses. The two shows will help the family of late local music fan Niko Harlan pay for his hospice care, while also alleviating the cost of surgeries for Ian Bruce, the 3-year-old son of area sound engineer Robbie Bruce. Friday’s bill promises the expansive post-rock of Gray Young and The Bronzed Chorus, plus folk-rock from Birds & Arrows. Lake Isle and Rogue Band of Youth Open. Saturday boasts alt-rock favorites Hammer No More The Fingers, folk-rockers Lonnie Walker, plus Wesley Wolfe, Organos and the new Wool. FRIDAY–SATURDAY, APRIL 26–27, AT TIR NA NOG. $8/9 p.m.

4.
THE SNAILS, ART DEPARTMENT, THE LOLLIPOPS
What began as the fuzzy, hooky bedroom recording project of precocious young songwriter Iggy Cosky has quickly grown into one of the Triangle’s best new bands. Pushing hard into Cosky’s choruses, the five-piece incarnation of The Lollipops affords Cosky’s pop smarts a welcome jolt of energy. Their effervescence is well-suited to this bill; they join headliners The Snails, a new, low-key pop band fronted by Future Islands’ Samuel T. Herring, and Art Department, another Baltimore act that races tangled twang and sugar-buzz vocals across unfussy backbeats. SATURDAY, APRIL 27, AT KINGS. $6–$8/9:30 p.m.

5.
WAX IDOLS, TV GHOST
Discipline and Desire, the second album from Oakland, Calif., band Wax Idols, takes a dark, moody turn after the relative rollick of their debut, 2011’s No Future. The band’s new goth-gaze approach is a good look: Hooks emerge from sheets of shoegazer guitar and Joy Division thrum. Still, they’ll have a hard time following their opener, the paranoiac post-punk outfit TV Ghost. The Indiana act’s mutated surf guitar, Suicide-like throb and spookhouse-synth accents place a sharp-cornered labyrinth around manic frontman Tim Gick. He stalks the stage like a reanimated Lux Interior. Flesh Wounds open. SATURDAY, APRIL 27, AT THE PINHOOK. $8/10 p.m.

6.
CHRIS CORSANO
As a sympathetic sideman to Björk, Nels Cline, Thurston Moore and Glenn Jones, Chris Corsano’s playing is easy to overlook. It’s subtle and complementary, though it enlivens every arrangement. When Corsano performs solo, however, the true extent of his boundless approach to drumming is incredibly evident. Layering resonant tones and patient clatter, he arranges self-contained soundscapes, where alien timbres belie their recognizable instrumentation. In the modern experimental music world, he’s a deserving paragon. SATURDAY, APRIL 27, AT NIGHTLIGHT. $6/10 p.m.

7.
SHABAZZ PALACES, THEESATISFACTION
Driven by murky pulses of cosmic jazz and psychedelic mutations, Seattle duos Shabazz Palaces and THEESatisfaction are not only obvious tourmates but also Sub Pop labelmates and frequent collaborators. Their shared bills include live collaborations, too. Both represent an exciting approach to abstract hip-hop. Malitia Malimob opens. TUESDAY, APRIL 30, AT KINGS. $12–$14/9 p.m.

8.
ZOMES
The new Time Was marks a dramatic evolution for Asa Osbourne’s Zomes. The former Lungfish guitarist had previously crafted his albums alone, recording his undulating organ chords onto cassette. For this one, Zomes embraced the clearer, more spacious production of a proper studio. Swedish singer Hanna Olivegren, who joined Zomes last year, takes a prominent role, too, blessing Osbourne’s solemn swells with vocals that glide and float, like Kate Bush singing jazz. SUNDAY, APRIL 28, AT NIGHTLIGHT. $6/9:30 p.m.

9.
LAST YEAR’S MEN, THE DYNAMITE BROTHERS
Taking cues from James Brown’s spasmodic yelps, The Reigning Sound’s revisionist soul and guitar slingers’ retro-fitted blues, Last Year’s Men have always had an R&B swagger lurking in their live-wire garage rock. That’ll only be more pronounced when set next to the Dynamite Brothers’ simmering soul and low-down funk. THURSDAY, APRIL 25, AT THE CAVE. $5/10 p.m.

10.
HADEA
After the unexpected death of founding drummer Hunter Holland, the future of Wilmington metal band Gollum was uncertain. Holland’s bandmates regrouped with a new drummer, Seth Long, a new name, Hadea, and a new album, Fabric of Intention. What didn’t change is the band’s knack for fusing disparate strains of metal, linking spacey prog to death metal growls, crackling sludge to sputtering metalcore. With Brad Fury’s Dirge and Gritter. SATURDAY, APRIL 27, AT THE MAYWOOD. Free/10 p.m.

1.
THE MEN
The evolution of The Men has been swift and drastic. From the sandblasted noise-rock of 2010’s Immaculada and 2011’s superlative Leave Home, they moved toward rootsy, rangy indie-rock homage on last year’s Open Your Heart. No matter how far behind they left their hardcore roots, it seemed The Men would always retain their vital urgency. Then, though, they released New Moon, a tepid Americana record that idles between late-era Dinosaur Jr. and The Fucking Eagles. They pick up some energy on the platter’s back half, but they woefully lack the hooks and heft of their past. Hopefully, it’s a momentary misstep for the band, not a symptom of creative drainage. Organs open. WEDNESDAY, MAY 1, AT THE PINHOOK. $10–$12/9 p.m.

2.
THE SWORD
Texan doomsayers The Sword have amassed four albums of persistently middling mid-tempo metal. Wielding redundant riffs, each album yields diminishing payoffs. Their 2006 debut was timely, hitting a quickly fading taste for old-school metal within the ravenous music blogosphere (see also: Early Man). Without the urgency, heft or hooks of peers who progressed beyond mirroring Black Sabbath, The Sword got dull fast. With Kyng and Demon Eyes. MONDAY, APRIL 29, AT LINCOLN THEATRE. $14.50–$18/8 p.m.