Tim and Todd Tobias have been working the local music scene for a quarter-century. Their many projects — including 4 Coyotes, Prisonshake, and GEM — span the spectrum from pop to hard rock. Their latest, Clouds Forming Crowns, even gets a little psychedelic, as the name suggests. Todd now limits his involvement to producing and playing drums, and concerts are infrequent. But the songs keep coming. Clouds Forming Crowns has released four albums since 2003, but we're still waiting for the follow-up to 2006's Race to the Blackout, which blends balls-out ballast ("Phantom Dog Black Water"), Stonesy rock ("Sea Witch #19"), and ragged expansiveness that comes off like jangly, lo-fi acid folk. Tim's nasal mumble is best suited to shambling garage rock, but he compensates for any vocal deficiencies by crafting insinuating hooks and expressively tangled peals of guitar squall. There are even echoes of Guided by Voices, another band he's played with. Clouds Forming Crowns plays live maybe once a year. So this week's show is worth hitting.
