Music Forecast August 2-8: Washed Out, Jennifer Lopez, Enrique Iglesias, Givers

Givers
World music has gradually seeped into the rock songs that American kids write these days. I generally support the trend, and I credit the Internet. Where it once required years of crate digging and personal musical exploration to find one’s way to an Os Mutantes, a survey of ’60s Brazilian art-pop is now only an Amazon recommendation and two clicks away. Louisiana’s Givers indulge in Afro-pop tones and nerdy time signatures, not unlike Dirty Projectors, with whom they’ve toured. But there’s also some tropicalia and reggaeton in the band’s melodic sound. And, for good measure, faint echoes of Zydeco — gotta rep the home team.
Tuesday, August 7, at the Riot Room (4048 Broadway, 816-442-8179)

Enrique Iglesias, with Jennifer Lopez
Based on my calculation that less than 1 percent of our readers would struggle to decide between the two, I am recommending this show, even though it falls on the same evening as The Pitch Music Showcase. In case you’re behind on pop culture, allow me to bring you up to speed. Enrique Iglesias doesn’t have that mole on his face anymore, and he is still dating Anna Kournikova. Jennifer Lopez just quit her job as an American Idol judge, and she is still a terrible person. If you decide to attend, do me a favor and give my best to the year 2000.
Saturday, August 4, at Sprint Center (1407 Grand, 816-949-7000)

Washed Out
Along with Toro Y Moi, and maybe Neon Indian on a good day, Washed Out has risen out of the synthesized muck of chillwave button pushers and landed pretty damn close to the indie mainstream. Listen to the band’s most recent release, 2011’s Within and Without, and it’s easy to see why: The grooves pulse, the melodies connect, and there’s an artful consistency to the lush, airy production. Washed Out can pull it off live, too. A few weeks back, I watched the band — it tours as a five-piece — whip a fading festival crowd into a congregation of head-bobbing believers.
Monday, August 6, at the Granada (1020 Massachusetts, 785-842-1390)