Wand | Mon 29 Jan | Hare & Hounds | £13.50
Last year’s ‘Plum’ LP signalled a change for Los Angeles psych band Wand: moving away from the swampy thud and exploratory sprawl of their early days into an alt-folk melodicism that places them firmly in Wilco territory. The focus does wonders, the disjointed mania of the past channelled into killer songcraft, without losing its hairy appeal. Just four years into their career, Wand are turning into something truly special. www.skiddle.com

*Sold out: Moon Duo | Tue 30 Jan | Hare & Hounds | £13.75
Leave your preconceptions at home and prepare to have your reality shredded: the mysterious psychedelic overlords Moon Duo, formed by Wooden Shjips members Sanae Yamada and Erik Johnson, crash their space rock mothership into The Hare and Hounds. Glam, drone, intergalactic post-rock: their sonic disassembly of genre and convention is legendary. See our full preview here.

The Weather Station | Wed 31 Jan | Hare & Hounds | £8.80
Tamara Lindeman pretty much perfected enigmatic folk-pop the last time around, so last year’s self-titled record was a pleasantly bold surprise: rockier, weirder, stronger, now fully self-produced, and with a country-rock powerhouse band enabling her to hit her new electric phase with power and prowess. See our full preview here. Get tickets: www.seetickets.com

Sunshine Frisbee Laserbeam | Thu 1 Jan | The Night Owl | Free
Kaleidoscope is a brand new, monthly music and arts event, showcasing the best of local talent. Raucous kings of riotous unpredictability Sunshine Frisbee Laserbeam are the headline draw, primed with off-the-wall Brummie post-punk energy. Dirty garage-rockers The Lizards and psych-out freaks Nova support. A gallery of local visual artists and Brain Food DJ set to the early hours makes this an unmissable – and free! – debut. More details of this and all the week’s free gigs here.

*cancelled* Bite the Buffalo | Thu 1 Feb | Hare & Hounds | £7
Bath’s garage-rock outfit Bite the Buffalo bring their raw, unfiltered sound to the Hare and Hounds. The classic rock duo are now a “twice as loud” four-piece band, recreating the scuzzy grandeur of last year’s ‘Big Blind’ LP, and the appeal is big, messy and uncomplicated. seetickets.com

Black Mekon | Fri 2 Jan | Dark Horse | Free
The mysterious and elusive Black Mekon usually keep their dark scuzzy brand of garage-rock safely to themselves: an unholy symphony of distorted buzzsaw mayhem engaged in a pissing contest with the distortion dial. They’re off the leash in Moseley this Friday, and it’s free – just be aware your sense containers may explode. See our full preview here.

Abstract Orchestra | Sat 3 Feb | O2 Institute2 | £15
The 21-piece Abstract Orchestra perform a live medley of – yes – J Dilla’s most-loved tracks, along with some surprises and deeper cuts. Dilla’s legendary status goes without saying, and while there’s no shortage of tributes and compilations to occupy your mind, the Orchestra’s recent ‘Dilla’ album stands out as a unique, intoxicating invention, at once welded to the past and fittingly futuristic. seetickets.com

Odd Soul EP Launch | Sat 3 Feb | Sunflower Lounge | £6
Jazz meets neo-soul on Saturday with sextet Odd Soul celebrating the launch of their EP Movies at The Sunflower Lounge. Tight, danceable grooves contrast lush, expansive choruses, without the focus ever straying from melodic and captivating performances. Support from the funky instrumental group Trampette and Czafari, a young Birmingham talent who will be opening the show with her smooth blend of alternative RnB and soul. Read our full preview here.