Miike Snow and Jack Penate Double-Team Neumo's Tonight

Miike Snow and Jack Peñate play a co-headlining show at Neumo's tonight.  I was excited to hear that both of these bands were coming to town, and even more excited (like, squealing) when I realized they were playing together.  Somehow, this show is not yet sold out, which is more than a little surprising.

Miike Snow (not a typo, but a Japanese director reference) played Neumo's earlier this year, opening for Art Brut, and put on a solid, satin-jacketed, dark-yet-dance-happy set.  That should be expected of the trio composed of multi-instrumentalists better known for their day jobs.  Swedes Christian Karlsson and Pontus Winnberg work as songwriting/production team Bloodshy & Avant, responsible for Britney's "Toxic." Singer Andrew Wyatt was in a few other bands (Funkraphiliacs, A.M., Fires of Rome) and also wrote songs for the Hugh Grant-Drew Barrymore rom-com Music and Lyrics.  Whaaaa?  And yet, all together, it somehow works.  See the video for impossibly addictive track "Animal" above. 

Meanwhile on his second album Everything is New, Brit dreamboat Jack Peñate thankfully transcends the label "singer-songwriter" by combining soul and rock with hints of tropicalia and afropop. Sure, he's still singing songs about love and lust and staying up all night (see "Tonight's Today" below), but at least it's done in an interesting fashion. Peñate's songs are catchy, accessible, and radio-/advertising-/movie trailer-friendly--and for once, that's not a bad thing.

• Jack Peñate/Miike Snow at Neumo's tonight. Doors at 8pm, show at 9:30pm. Tickets are $12, 21+.