Rock/pop

A little bit of beautiful, lilting country, some loose Southern crunch, a lot of psychedelic swirl: That's the rattlesnake shake of both of tonight's bands. For Snakes and Music's sake, the vibe is quieter, rangy and mangy. Because it's a thick but nimble rhythm laid down by ex-Jazz June bassist Dan O'Neil and drummer Jon Nigro, a canvas onto which ex-Citron guitarist Gregg Levy splays forth hillbilly crunk worthy of Buffalo Springfield. Now, add all that to Andrew Low's strange sonorous vocals leaping from loud to little, the cobalt-colored keyboards of Brent Sisk and some haunted melodies and you get the Kutztown University-based Snakes' pretty debut CD Isabelle. Magnifique! On the other side of beauty is brutality. Which pretty much describes the lumbering groove, thrashing guitars and ardent growl of Philly's Southernly metallic El Toro De Oro. The purple hues are there. But between the pummel of its rhythm, its indignant twang-twin feedback and Ralph Stollenwerk's spewing singing, the purple feels more black and blue.

Fri., June 23, 9 p.m., $8, with O'Death and Kill Hands, The Khyber, 56 S. Second St., 215-238-5888, thekhyber.com.