Music Forecast 10.16-10.22: The Oh Hellos, Vacationer, Ryan Adams, and more

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40 Watt Dreams

Katie West’s ceaseless creative output is a little unnerving. When she isn’t writing songs and performing with her husband, Mike West, in the quirky duo Truckstop Honeymoon, she’s churning out spirited folk tunes for 40 Watt Dreams. What began as a solo project about a year ago has now been fleshed out to include four other band members (including her husband), with songs that rock a little harder than Truckstop Honeymoon’s backyard jams. In September, West released a new album with 40 Watt Dreams, After the Show, and though there’s some tenderness (“You’re All I Need,” “My Somehow”), it’s mostly an album that bares its fangs and snarls with electricity. We’ll take it, Katie.

Friday, October 17, the Brick (1727 McGee, 816-421-1634)

Vacationer
On record, former Starting Line singer Kenny Vasoli sounds like a guy you’d trust with your children. With his new band Vacationer’s latest release, Relief, Vasoli soars above happy-go-lucky synth-pop beats. His lyrics are all sepia-toned portraits of summertime and bittersweet love. You can almost imagine him, between the joyous lines of “Paradise Waiting,” twirling around with toddlers, wearing fairy wings. But Relief isn’t just bubble-gum sheen. Vasoli plays to his strengths, and that means making songs that sound like the score for a terrible, tropically set Adam Sandler–Drew Barrymore family flick. But this is one soundtrack that you’d be glad to own.

Monday, October 20, the Riot Room (4048 Broadway, 816-442-8179)

Ryan Adams

For his 14th studio album, released in September, Ryan Adams decided that it was time to self-title. What is he trying to tell us? Did he run out of ideas for album names? Or could it be that the 11 songs speak to who Adams is more than any other record? If that’s the case, rejoice, fans of Tom Petty: Adams’ latest is full of 1980s and ’90s rock homages. But Adams is also a heavy package of emotions. He has always been a sensitive soul, and he has sifted through his deepest feelings here and paired them with his as-usual stellar songwriting. If you’re new to the Church of Ryan Adams, there’s no better place to start. Some of us (me) have already decided that his Monday-night Uptown show is one of the top Kansas City concerts of the year. So make an effort.

Monday, October 20, the Uptown Theater (3700 Broadway, 816-753-8665)

SBTRKT

The new album from electronic-music project SBTRKT, Wonder Where We Land, is crazy good. Producer and mastermind Aaron Jerome has composed it like a grown-up adventure story, and each song is a trembling page turn from a dark, new avenue. Singer Sampha is with him for much of the record, his low voice elevated by atmospheric synths and layers of trip-hop beats. Wonder Where We Land gives us music to dance to, sure, and it’s certain that the Liberty Hall crowd will dance Tuesday. More than that, Wonder provides an immersive experience for the listener — a twisted, slightly dark and wholly enjoyable jungle from which to try and climb out.

Tuesday, October 21, Liberty Hall (644 Massachusetts, Lawrence, 785-749-1972)

The Oh Hellos

In 2012, a virus infected pockets of the country that led to a frenzied craze for spirited banjo tunes and earthy harmonies. English imports Mumford & Sons led the outbreak, releasing one of the year’s top-selling albums, and the group’s cause was helped along by the Lumineers, whose self-titled debut gave us the eye-twitch inducing “Hey Ho.” Then there was Texas duo the Oh Hellos, whose Through the Deep, Dark Valley, despite all the sonic similarities, didn’t shoot it into the Mumfordian stratosphere. This is good news for anyone wanting the same folk-rock experience without the hype — and the high ticket prices. Ready yourself for swelling choruses when the Oh Hellos hit the Bottleneck Friday.

Friday, October 17, the Bottleneck (737 New Hampshire, Lawrence, 785-841-5483)