The Hearers

The Hearers‘ chunks of country dominate a disorienting atmosphere, like a chamber ensemble in one of the late Johnny Paycheck’s nightmares. The Hearers set up an acoustic throb, then drop in found sounds, synthesized mayhem and lyrics from the improbably simple (I just want to kill the other guy) to the impossibly surreal (The train along your backside will die someday—again). The nine-piece group creates soundtracks for movies everyone’s afraid to make. Ol’ Yeller (pictured), on the other hand, specializes in the kind of three-minute rock songs that Minneapolis exports so well. Its sound is still grounded in country rock, but there are Kinks moments mixed in with the Byrdsian harmonies. This show could go a long way toward defining the range encompassed by the phrase “country-influenced bands.”