Indian Jewelry

Is it considered indie-rock sacrilege to think of Houston's Indian Jewelry as a more coherent version of defunct Brooklyn freak-folkers Wooden Wand and the Vanishing Voice? Both groups consisted of a handful of core members with a rotating cast of auxiliary ones; both groups eked out fuzzy, headfuck underground rock. But WW/VV's over-prolific nature—issuing every last stoned rehearsal or performance in one form or another—suggested that quality control wasn't high on their priority list. Relatively speaking, Indian Jewelry are perfectionists, baking up distorted psychedelic brownies and only putting them out for public consumption once they're fully cooked. On Free Gold!, their latest noise-soaked, lysergic volley, singer/guitarist Erika Thrasher, drummer Ronnie Rodriguez, and guitarist Brandon Davidson prove handily that if you don't have the songs together before you fire up the amps, all the bitchin' effects pedals in the western hemisphere can't disguise a lack of preparedness. Live, they'll leave you raving and reeling. With Seawhores and the Danforths. 21+.
Fri., May 2, 9 p.m., 2008