Music

Previews by Ann Powers (A.P.), Richard Cromelin (R.C.), Casey Dolan (C.D.), Randy Lewis (R.L.) and Don Heckman (D.H.).

Brett Dennen Dennen’s voice, incongruous with his Dennis the Menace looks, sounds like Paul Simon with nodes but warmly lingers in the mind. And as a lyricist who is mindful of the scansion of a line, Dennen respects language. (C.D.) Barnum Hall Theater, Santa Monica High School, 601 Pico Blvd., Santa Monica. Tue.-Wed., 7:30 p.m. $25-$29.50. (310) 458-5939.

Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin The Ohio band has pulled together all previous loose strings on its latest release, “Pershing,” and managed to keep the lovely pop melodies and innocence that always distinguished them. Dark feelings will be pushed aside. Expect bliss, expect joy. (C.D.) The Echo, 1822 Sunset Blvd., Echo Park. Tue., 8 p.m. $8. (213) 413-8200.

Cloud Cult This Minnesota collective makes music the organic way, literally: Leader Craig Minowa is a farmer and environmentalist, and he and his mates (including painters who create artwork onstage) aim for a familial sound – but this is still a pop band, with hooky songs and bright drums and an arresting emotional directness. (A.P.) Knitting Factory, 7021 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood. Wed., 8 p.m. $10. (323) 463-0204.

Diane Schuur Jazz singer “Deedles,” as she is known to all her fans, has made a dedicated return to jazz in her latest album, “Some Other Time.” As the CD title suggests, the songs trace to the standards Schuur heard as a child, and she offers them in tribute to her mother, who died when Schuur was only 13. Always an entertaining singer, her work on the album suggests that she intends to move beyond the blandishments of pop, and deliver on the jazz promise so present in her early work. (D.H.) Catalina Bar & Grill, 6725 Sunset Blvd., Hollywood. Thu.-next Sun., 8:30 p.m., 10:30 p.m. $20-$35. (323) 466-2210.

Tina Dico When the Danish Dico sings, she owns the stage (and there have been many stages lately for this perpetual road-hog). Her introspective songs might be considered as another cog in the wheel of the confessional singer-songwriter machine were it not for a voice that inspires double-takes. The low registers may remind some of Tracey Chapman’s simmering contralto, but there’s a no-nonsense insouciance when she goes high and renders the listener agog. (C.D.) Hotel Cafe, 1623 1/2 N. Cahuenga Blvd., Hollywood. Thu., 9 p.m. (323) 461-2040.

Christian McBride and “The Movement Revisited” Bassist Christian McBride, the L.A. Philharmonic’s creative chair for jazz, has programmed a potentially intriguing jazz happening in the form of a tribute to Malcolm X, the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., Rosa Parks and Muhammad Ali. Special guest narrators will recall the words and the lives of these African American icons in a musical setting provided by McBride, a big jazz band and the voices of the St. James Sacred Nation Concert Choir. (D.H.) Walt Disney Concert Hall, 111 S. Grand Ave., L.A. Fri., 8 p.m. $35-$95. (323) 850-2000.

Crowded House “Time On Earth,” the reunion album from one of the most delightfully catchy pop-rock bands of the ’80s and ’90s, is full of songs not unexpectedly somber after the 2005 death of original drummer Paul Hester, but with singer and songwriter Neil Finn’s unfailing way with life-affirming melody fully intact. (R.L.) Orpheum Theatre, 842 S. Broadway, L.A. Fri.-Sat., 8 p.m. $42-$52. (877) 677-4386.

Kathleen Edwards The Canadian singer-songwriter kicks things up a notch with her third album, “Asking for Flowers,” both expanding on and sharpening her observational tunes that hover between heartland rock and Americana country. (R.L.) Troubadour, 9081 Santa Monica Blvd., West Hollywood. Fri., 8 p.m. $15. (310) 276-6168.

The Proclaimers Scottish twin rockers Craig and Charlie Reid, known for their electrifying live shows, merge sociopolitical rage with doctrinaire-free Christian faith in strikingly powerful ways on their new album, “Life With You.” (R.L.) El Rey Theatre, 5515 Wilshire Blvd., L.A. Fri., 8 p.m. $24. (323) 936-4790. Also at Coach House, 33157 Camino Capistrano, San Juan Capistrano. Next Sun. $18. (323) 936-4790.

Robyn This twentysomething Swede is a favorite of critics and Perez Hilton for her self-aware, slightly strange Europop. Her latest, self-titled album, which took a while to come out in the States, proves that club-friendly indie artists don’t have to be sloppy or idiotically sarcastic; Robyn has heart and a brain. (A.P.) The Wiltern, 3790 Wilshire Blvd., L.A. Sat., 9 p.m. $20. (213) 380-5005.