Critics' Picks: Mika and more

7th St. Entry

Bridging the divide between traditional folk and a sweep of contemporary alt domains, Canadian singer-songwriter-multi-instrumentalist Basia Bulat finds her voice in the untamed fringes they share on her striking debut, Oh, My Darling (Rough Trade). She can sound brittle, etching spare tales of love, remorse, and cautious hope. But the full dimension of her voice quickly becomes apparent. Slightly husky, marbled with rich, amber streaks, and harboring a knowing authority, Bulat's voice is reminiscent of Natalie Merchant's, Sandy Denny's, and, when her band gallops into jangly overdrive on "In the Night," Ronnie Spector's. The diverse arrangements sometimes kick into epic folk-rock territory, especially when brother Bobby Bulat rumbles on full drum kit. But arch, chamber-like strings add a measure of earthy refinement, and a piano occasionally weighs in with a dose of devilish alt-jazz irony. Darling, released in Europe and Japan last spring, is just out this week in the U.S.—hence, Bulat and her band appearing at this intimate a venue is not likely to be repeated next time around. $10. 8:00 p.m. 701 First Ave. N., Minneapolis; 612.332.1775. —Rick Mason

SUNDAY 2.10

Six Organs of Admittance

7th St. Entry

2007's Shelter from the Ash (Drag City), found guitarist Ben Chasny (a.k.a. Six Organs) fusing tuneful folkie-ness and visionary raga-guitar into compact, accessible music. But just because Shelter's succinct and pretty doesn't mean it's toothless—witness the tormented guitar solo on "Coming to Get You" and the haunting vocal bridge on "Jade Like Wine." Tourmate Mick Turner's reinvented his guitar vocabulary over the last 25 years in the Fungus Brains, Moodists, Dirty Three, Tren Brothers, and on solo records. His current mode is laconic and painterly: His pieces unfurl slowly and spontaneously; soothing at first, they're sad and beautiful on a closer listen. 18+. 8:00 p.m. $10/$12 at the door. 701 First Ave. N., Minneapolis; 612.332.1775. —Cecile Cloutier

Mark Olson

400 Bar

When I grow up, I want a divorce as fortuitous as the one currently being enjoyed by Mark Olson and the Jayhawks, the alt-country superpower he helped found. Yielding more light than heat, both parties seem to be better off without one another. While the Jayhawks moved records with ever-glossier, poppier production until their 2005 break-up, Olson spent the last decade building anew his own shotgun shack, nail by rusted nail. His is a cozy sound, and his solo enterprise has seen him emerge with a lyrical insight that few might have expected from his work in the Jayhawks. Even in the thornier corners of his material, his breezy voice suggests a gleeful, indomitable grin. Sigh...both parties happily seeing other people, no need to cut the kids in half, the forbidden pleasure in outliving your ex.... Here's hoping we all get so lucky in love. $12. 7:00 p.m. 400 Cedar Ave. S., Minneapolis; 612.332.2903. — David Hansen

MONDAY 2.11

Dean & Britta

Cedar Cultural Center

As members of 1990s/2000s outfit Luna, Dean Wareham and Britta Phillips hid their songcraft behind overwhelming guitar swirls. Today, as an independent duo, the couple trade in ambling, aging-hipster pop romance and unlikely, often contradictory happenstance. Listening to 2003's L'Avventura or last year's Back Numbers, it's too easy to imagine Wareham and Phillips cavorting gingerly in some harmless CGI simulacrum of the Milky Way, exchanging knowing winks and smiles the way they exchange wry, adoring verses. Retouched squirts of synthesizer, effects-pedal burbles, and drum-machine thumps pad out sentiments dryly delivered, like these, from L'Avventura's "Moonshot": "I know a girl from a tribe so primitive/She can call me up without no telephone/See all the wonders that you leave behind, enshrined in some great hourglass." Call 'em the perfect soundtrack to a bubble bath and a bottle of fine wine, but don't miss 'em and don't leave your significant other at home; either way, you'll be sorry. 416 Cedar Ave. S., Minneapolis; 612.338.2674. —Ray Cummings