8/17: Adam Zucker and the Atypicals at Grog Shop

Singer-songwriter Adam Zucker’s music exists in that post-adolescent field of waning romanticism, where time bends down purple streets and characters fill late-hour bars, losing their youth and minds to the chemical indifference of adulthood. Soloists pour toward impossible couplings, partners stretch nostalgically away from each other. Song titles on last year’s The Western Glow alone tell the tale: “Going Home,” “Chasing Tomorrow,” “Let’s Get Lost (the Drone),” “Your Island.” With a largely acoustic aesthetic, augmented by lyrical electric guitar lines and chord-heavy keyboards, and deep, congested vocals reminiscent of Conor Oberst, Zucker’s album is a moody exploration of the hungry anxiety excreted by modern life’s scheduled inertia. With the Atypicals — keyboardist Jacob Bergson and drummer James Muschler from the Cleveland Jazz Project — Zucker’s music drifts into even darker psychological realms, often recalling the slow-motion storm-cloud spiral of Pink Floyd’s majestic self-destructions. Bergson and Muschler are accomplished young musicians who steam with inventiveness yet never lose sight of the music they serve. Oojis Whack and Arlo & Otter open at 8 p.m. at the Grog Shop (2785 Euclid Heights Blvd., Cleveland Hts., 216.321.5588). Tickets: $6. — Matt Marshall