Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow. This actually means there will be a release show for DRGN King’s Paragraph Nights (which is our February Album of the Month and you can read our review HERE) at PhilaMOCA this evening – better than six more weeks of winter, right? DRGN King’s ever-growing member-count is a big part of what makes this new album special, and it is said by vox Dominic Angelella that “there are many stylistic shifts.” With that be told, there is going to be a lot of musical variation in one set, making it a release show that you won’t want to miss. Leading up to the reveal of Paragraph Nights will be performances by the über-dancey Dangerous Ponies, NYC’s Walking Shapes, and pumped-up Philly youngsters Idle Idols. PhilaMOCA, 531 N. 12th St., 8pm, $7 – $10, All Ages – Brandi Lukas

The Great Unknown celebrates the vinyl release of their latest record, So Strange and Loud, tonight at Johnny Brenda’s. The album captures a level of heartfelt intimacy, while still also supplying the freedom of the open air. It’s as though you’re taking a ride in an old horse drawn wagon. At times, the rich vocal harmonies and the twangy guitar hit you like sunlight on an overcast day. However, at others, the sky darkens, and one begins to notice the bumps in the road and the danger in the dark harmonica cries in the distance like animals lying in the brush. The Great Unknown paint a full spectrum of rural Americana from the heart and into the soul. KC Jones, who plays eclectic style of music that touches on electronic/ambient sounds while also demonstrating a rougher rock side, will be joining in the festivities having recently released his first full-length album Sounds From The West, a title inspired by Andrew Wyeth’s painting “Cristina’s World.” The powerful and sultry vocals of Ali Wadsworth will open the evening. Johnny Brenda’s, 1201 N. Frankford Ave., 9:15pm, $10, 21+ – Michael Colavita

Somewhere between the first and last tracks on DRGN King‘s Paragraph Nights (Bar None), the album’s spiritual grounding reveals itself with startling clarity. After nearly an album’s worth of psychedelic, maximalist indie-pop, with all the attendant touches of pleasure-loving and Altamont Sunrise-watching you could hope to hear, “Warriors” finds frontman Dominic Angelella asking “We heard about the house you built – did you find your way back home?” This is not the carefree euphoria of teenagers. Rather, Angelella and his bandmates are channeling a more mature, collectively-oriented freedom, one that’s shared by other adults who know what it’s like to create, struggle, triumph and grow through supporting one another. At a time when pop music is so often aggressively self-involved, it feels almost revolutionary to invoke such familial comforts. This is undoubtedly the most emotionally affecting line of his on Paragraph Nights, the question held aloft on a soft background chorus of triumphant whoops and yelps, as if offering the emotional support of a whole gang. Have you made your house a home? Are you at peace? If not, Angelella wants you to know, here we are for you.

As with Angelella’s other projects, DRGN King’s overture is engineered with exceptional confidence and talent, even throughout its spacey interludes and everything-but-the-kitchen-sink tendencies. The sound is so dense that it can seem like DRGN King have always been a full band, with each member contributing a monolith of effects from the get-go. Not so; DRGN King was born a two-piece. Angelella’s songwriting duties often ride sidecar to the encyclopedia of effects, phasers, synths, and atmospherics offered by producer Brent “Ritz” Reynolds and the myriad of performers recruited to asseble this debut.

“Warriors” is a leisurely, beat-inflected strut, and one of the most radio-ready songs on the album. It’s a standout for the band as a whole, and when broken down, for individual members. Its bassline is a thing of sheer delight, and Ritz, who cut his production teeth on the Roots and Peedi Crakk, uses his designation as the hip-hop mind of the group for one of the most exciting parts of Paragraph Nights. “I got a bad, bad feeling they’re gonna take it all away….Warriors, out to play, and no one stay inside/The beautiful, the young, the brave.” Rather than a lament, Angelella’s exhortating people to level with themselves before it’s too late in life.

The moss-covered piano intro gives way to “Wild Night,” childlike wonder personified. After this bit of luminous electro-pop, Angelella slows things down for couple of sultry garage jaunts. “The Cardy Boys” is full of Mercury Rev-style nostalgia, as well as the same sort of lush production values given to Mercury Rev and Flaming Lips by Dave Fridmann. Tame Impala is another, more contemporary touchstone; their folkloric sonic tapestries and easygoing lyrical persona is instructive if you’re hellbent on finding a comparison who have succeeded in the mainstream.

“Barbarians” is a fittingly primal nightlife anthem. “Down in the trenches with barbarians” – who are these barbarians, specifically? Of any alluded-to group on Paragraph Nights, Angellella makes them sound like the most fun, going by hip-thrusting guitars and space-age synths.

The Santana-like guitar howls on “Caught Down,” the album’s penultimate number, are too prominent – and bizarrely perfect – to ignore. But just when this song is powering down, the drums weaken for a seemingly depleted conclusion, and neatly pivots into “Looking at You,” a funky hand-clapper and tambourine-shaker. It’s a total flouting of typical album structure, as if Angelella was determined to have one last moment of wistfulness before ending the album on an upbeat note. For the capstone to an album that feels like it belongs to a collective, this is an excellent way of corralling everyone for one last pump of the fist. Above all, Paragraph Nights is an album of mastery – whether technical, stylistic, or emotional, Angellella somehow knows where he’s headed from start to finish and how to keep people on board. – Alyssa Greenberg

Percussion as brisk and biting as a Siberian winter cut with mandolin twangs harkens back to days gone by at babushka’s house, sitting over a steaming bowl of homemade borscht. Vocalist Brendan Mulvihill wrote Norwegian Arms’ debut full-length album, Wolf Like A Stray Dog, during his yearlong fellowship in Tomsk, Russia.  Rich, multi-layered sounds are woven together with the help of partner in crime Dr. Awkward, a.k.a. Erick Slick (of Dr. Dog), which simultaneously blend and clash with Mulvihill’s vocals. Their quick tracks ink together to paint an icy landscape yearning for discovery, with Mulvihill, Slick and Laser Background’s Andy Molholt forging the path. Norwegian Arms will be opening for Deli NYC favorite and Brooklyn-based Buke and Gase, with Arone Dyer on the “buke” (a self-modified sixstring baritone ukulele) and Aron Sanchez playing “gas” (a guitar-bass hybrid creation). Johnny Brenda’s, 1201 N. Frakford Ave., 9:15pm, $12, 21+ – Shaylin O’Connell

Only good things can happen when crust punk and black metal find one another and unite in true goodness. This is the case with Woe, who exude a kind of infernal, baleful aura born of both our city’s ills and the first, primeval wave of black metal. They’ve been on various publications’ radars for a well-deserved reputation of being somehow cerebral and not pretentious, powerful without being in thrall to black metal’s often unbending rules. Even considering their prowess, this is a particularly good night to indulge your need for crusty darkness. It is Woe’s first show since July, and they’ll be returning with a new drummer and material. Ferocious Plague Dogs are also on the bill, as are sludge metal mystics Sadgiqacea, and the poetically named Cape of Bats. Golden Tea Haus, (Please contact one of the acts or venue for me details.) 7:30pm, $5, All Ages (Photo by Greg Cristman) – Alyssa Greenberg 

Curly Castro just premiered a smooth, new 420-friendly track called "My Beloved" (featuring Open Mike Eagle and produced by Ricky Radio) via Passion of the Weiss. It’s the first single from his forthcoming album Fidel, which will be released by Man Bites Dog Records on February 19. Well, look it what time it is – enjoy!

Resistor, the synth-pop project from Steve Goldberg, just shared his first single of 2013 called “Keep It to Yourself” (featuring Christina Shore – formerly of Work Drugs) that you can download for free. It’s a humorously cynical track dissuading someone – “perhaps himself – from sharing a sad song with the world, arguing that the world has already had its fill of sad songs.” True dat!

Congrats to Modern Baseball who recently announced that they have signed to Run For Cover Records! The Boston label will be reissuing the band’s full-length album Sports, which was originally released via local indie label Lame-O Records.

Lancaster’s The Stray Birds expand on the rich tradition of folk keeping the beloved genre alive and well. Maya de Vitry cut her teeth as a street performer while traveling across North America and Europe refining her songwriting skills. Classically-trained players Oliver Craven and Charles Joseph Muench assist in providing a sparkling web of instrumentation as a backdrop for Vitry’s charming vocals. The trio of multi-instrumentalists also has the ability to ignite the stage with down-home, Appalachian-style jams – old souls ready to influence and inspire a new generation. They’ll be headlining tonight upstairs at World Café Live with support from local Americana father-son duo Beaucoup Blue. World Café Live, 3025 Walnut St., 8pm, $8, All Ages – H.M. Kauffman

Here’s a visually arresting new music video from The National Rifle for their track "Coke Beat" off the band’s latest album Almost Endless, which premiered yesterday via The Key. It was inspired by the use of found footage in past productions and lead singer/songwriter Hugh Moretta’s fascination with macro photography. The video was edited by filmmaker Brian Carroll.

With their sophomore full-length release Love Sign, Free Energy reinforces their steadfast appetite to produce retro-oriented pop rock. However, some changes were made this time around. John Angello (Kurt Vile, Dinosaur Jr., Sonic Youth, etc.) took over the producing duties, previously held by LCD Sound System’s James Murphy. The group is also no longer with DFA Records, and has gone on to self-release the album.

From the jump, “Electric Fever” dips into the nostalgia with a slick doubled-up guitar front, and then just in case you missed the memo, the infamous cowbell makes a not so stealth entrance into the party. The following track “Girls Want Rock” has that anthem-in-the-making feel signified by its initial use of handclaps which provides an influential nod to pop-rock champions The Cars, and is realized by the chorus, “Wild life, it’s alright /all around the world tonight.”

Free Energy doesn’t try to mask their musical intentions. Song after song has that “school’s out, let’s celebrate” aesthetic appeal. The drums and bass are used in that manner building suspense and anticipation, and are culminated by an aggressive yet subliminally premeditated guitar solo.

While the album does show on a slower side with a song like “True Love,” Love Sign doesn’t deviate that far from the script. At their best, Free Energy are producing sleek party-inspired rock harnessing simple user-friendly songs that are ideally used as the soundtrack to a host of fun activities. At it’s worst, the record sounds like the nondescript background music in a Brat Pack film.

This music may not be deep from a lyrical point of view dabbling in the area that detractors call “cheese,” but it delivers in its ability to lighten the air in a room. Love Sign isn’t a cerebral album. It doesn’t break the pop-rock mold, but the band never promised that from the get-go. Love Sign is nicely packaged as a feel-good party record complete with choruses begging for crowds to sing in unison. With its catchy hooks and upbeat mentality, the album may be one of this year’s guilty pleasures. – Michael Colavita