Popular Music, the new album from The Guests, is now available for streaming and purchase. The serious presence of baritone vocals is folded into loose, progressing, new-wave grooves. Blending ominous warnings with jangly wanderings, these songs engage with pensive lyricism, while retaining an intense danceability. The Guests will holding their record release celebration this evening at Voltage Lounge, with DJs Nightwitch, Strykk-9, and Shari Vari.

The Guests will be self-releasing their forthcoming album, Popular Music, on February 9. “Climb The Ladder” smoothly and steadily matriculates, riding a rhythmic synth-led foundation. Sleek melodies negotiate through the mystery lying in darkness. Tonight, the band is slated on a billing at Cousin Danny's that will also include Dridge, Zorn, Somnium Mori, and Deep Tissue.

Tonight, Boot & Saddle hosts a trio of bands that may momentarily cut through the daily grind. The Guests reflect a melodic, seeking sound as synths are crisply infused into casually fun yet precisely executed combinations of clean rolling guitars, smattering percussion and solidifying bass, providing the foundation for the mysteriously galvanizing vocals. That loosening new-wave/darkwave instrumental flexibility couples with a murky, captivating undertow. On this evening, one doubles downs with the hypnotically haunting blue wave of Remote Control, while the UK’s Chain of Flowers entices with their caravan of hazy-heavy shoegaze. Boot & Saddle, 1131 S. Broad St., 8:30pm, $12, 21+ - Michael Colavita

The Guests continue to help foster the darkwave/new-wave scene that is on the rise in the Philly music community. The band is made up of Sheer Mag's Kyle and Hart Seely, Christian Vogan, Florence Lin, and Alkiviades Meimaris. Check out their latest four-song EP Red Scare '16 below! It was produced by Ronnie Stone at Fishkill Correctional Facility in Pine Bush, NY earlier this year.

The Guests open up the proceedings this evening at the Church. The band, which includes Kyle and Hart Seely of Sheer Mag, instill a provocative, cleansing air, as the rolling backend extends outward, synching the synth with one's mind. However, an obscure, darkwave current looms, calling you into the shadows with an alluring, commanding voice. One is drawn toward the howl that lies just beyond the line of sight. Garage-pop quartet Marge maintain a rumbling forward instrumental core washed over vocal harmonies, creating a hardened yet accessible edge. With Talking Quietly of Anything With You due out April 15 via Double Double Whammy, the insightful, catchy observations of Free Cake For Every Creature thread the way to LVL UP. First Unitarian Church, 2125 Chestnut St., 7pm, $10, All Ages - Michael Colavita