MP3 Weekender: NOMO, Robbie Fulks

NOMO (MySpace)

(George Waldman)

MP3: NOMO, "Nova"

When: Tonight, Off Broadway, 8:30; Vintage Vinyl, 5 p.m.
Sounds Like: "Nomo transcends fickle trends, "world" music comparisons and cheap hipster spirituality by laying down a propulsive mix of tightly wound funk, lush horn lines and exploratory improvisations. The band's latest full-length, Ghost Rock, manages to channel the past without sounding overly retro by incorporating electronic loops, homemade percussion instruments and the spontaneity of Brian Eno's oblique strategies, rather than relying on obvious throwback production techniques from the '70s." (preview) -- Shae Moseley

ROBBIE FULKS (MySpace)

MP3: Robbie Fulks, "Fixin' To Fall"

When: Saturday, July 26, Lucas School House
Sounds Like: "He can scramble the honky-tonk template as perversely as Porter Wagoner or Eddie Spaghetti, but his ambition defies his novelty jones and devours genres with a snarl and a goofy grin. His irony would be annoying if his talent weren't so irresistibly uncouth....Onstage he's a manic, carnivalesque entertainer, hopping off the apron to lap-dance Beatle Bob or covering Cher's "Believe" as if he were singing "The Grand Tour." He's still the biggest, and often the best, weirdo in roots rock." (link) -- Roy Kasten