Live Music Roundup: Wednesday, July 29

Starlight Mints

Every once in a great while, a band comes along captures the essence of its time in an indescribable yet undeniable way. Oklahoma's Starlight Mints, who are just about to put out the aptly-titled new album Change Remains (their fourth) on Barsuk, somehow manage to encapsulate post-millennial rock but do it in a way that won't sound dated twenty years from now. On paper, Starlight Mints' bubbling blend of indie-rock and champer pop, with its flourishes of lounge, disco synths, horns, high-pitched vocals, and Beatles-esque studio savvy, seems like a literal soup du jour concocted for modern listening tastes. But the Mints display such a thoroughly original -- and fun -- approach to their work that they tap-dance right past the minefield of cliches that would otherwise pin them to the present like a glue trap. Long after today's trend-chasers have changed clothes to go after the next thing, Starlight Mints will still be relevant.

Feral Children, See Me River, Brawley Banks at Neumos, 8 p.m., $7

Whoever made the call to pair Feral Children with See Me River is a quality human being with awfully good ears. As far as primal and spiritually satisfying local bills go, it doesn't get much better than this. Feral Children may be from Maple Valley, but they sound like they operate from some gloriously macabre, punk rock underworld where both Patti Smith and Vivaldi would feel comfortable. See Me River is the dark, folk-informed brainchild of Aviation Records owner/Cha Cha music booker Kerry Zettel, who is arguably one the most talented songwriters this city has at the moment. As if that wasn't enough, this is also the second-ever show for Brawley Banks, a new project featuring Justin Schwartz and Jorum Young from Cobra High original Sunnyday Real Estate/Foo Fighters drummer William Goldsmith that already has a huge, huge buzz surrounding it. HANNAH LEVIN