Gordon Lightfoot Book, Music and More!

Of all the Appalachia acts, Winnipeg’s Nathan is something quite unique. The group, fronted by Keri Latimer, mixes bluegrass, waltzes and mariachi horns with dark tales from the domestic frontlines. A bit like O Brother Where Art Thou? meets Diary of a Mad Housewife. “Let Them Look” tells of housecoats and flying kitchen dishes, while “You Win,” a bouncy swing number, tallies up “10 points for cursing like a raving madman, 25 to successfully make me cry.” Not quite home sweet home on the range. Apr. 10

What is it with dance-punk bands and exclamation points? There’s Detroit’s Thunderbirds Are Now!, Vancouver’s Fake Shark-Real Zombie! and, best of all, Brooklyn’s !!! These dance-crazed punks from Abbotsford, B.C. have more going for them than just perky punctuation. The band, fronted by singer Becky Ninkovic, mixes catchy B-52s-style beats with Clash-influenced politics on tracks like “Downtown Mayors Goodnight, Alley Kids Rule!” Oops, there’s another pesky exclamation point. Apr. 10

Those familiar with Nick Cave will recognize the guttersnipe sermons and nasty noisefests as reminiscent of the Birthday Party. Here, working with a few Bad Seeds, Australia’s punk poet delivers a raw slice of garage rock, full of reverb, feedback and bizarre lyrical extemporizing. “Get it On” features Cave threatening to evict the white mice, black dogs and baboons from the basement, while “No Pussy Blues” is a hilarious rant about a middle-aged guy who’s horny and hard up. Like Leonard Cohen on acid. Apr. 10