Soundadvice

Get Out!

Oh, Carina Round, Carina Round! No woman is more aptly named. "Stolen Car," the palpitating first song on Slow Motion Addict, makes you fling yourself around the apartment in joy; "January Heart" prompts a similar response in a darker mood. Dim the lights and cue the strings — just be careful not to trip.

—M.J. Fine

Sat., Sept. 15, 10 p.m., $6, World Café Live, 3025 Walnut St., 215-222-1400, www.worldcafelive.com.

At 58, Brit pop-meister Nick Lowe has lost none of his tongue-in-cheek wit nor amazing knack for a great melody. But he's certainly not stuck in the past, as shown on his latest CD, the much-acclaimed At My Age (Yep Roc). His recent life changes — like becoming a first-time dad in his mid-50s — seem to have brought a philosophical bent to this worldly, soulful balladeer. Onstage, the eclectic Lowe charms and provokes, sometimes simultaneously, like with the countryish ballad "I Trained Her to Love Me."

—Nicole Pensiero

Tue., Sept. 18, 7:30 p.m., $25-$35, with Ron Sexsmith, World Café Live, 3025 Walnut St., 215-222-1400, www.worldcafelive.com.

• Listen to Jena Berlin's Quo Vadimus NOW!

There's raw-throated urgency and screamy earnestness to the post-hardcore squall of Philly's Jena Berlin. Exactly what you'd expect from an idealistic bunch who denounce scene politics and big-up socialism on their band page — oh, and who named their band after the two German cities where Karl Marx matriculated. The four-piece mixes melody with sturm und drang on their brand-new Quo Vadimus (Jump Start), which they release this week. Post-hardcore fans of the world, unite!

—Brian Howard

Fri., Sept. 14, 9 p.m., $8, with the Divining, Nakatomi Plaza and Dead Again, at the Khyber, 56 S. Second St., 215-238-5888, www.thekhyber.com.

Quincy Coleman

She's the daughter of Dabney Coleman, counts Dolly Parton among her fans and has had her songs appear in films like Crash and Waitress. Yet the L.A.-based Quincy Coleman remains a true word-of-mouth favorite to East Coast audiences. Her creative and diverse sophomore album, Come Closer, has an outward-looking focus, and musically, harkens back to decades past, mingling everything from gypsy swing to country.

—Nicole Pensiero

Sat., Sept. 15, 8 p.m., $5, with Adam Levy, World Café Live, 3025 Walnut St., 215-222-1400, www.worldcafelive.com.

Saxophonist Ellery Eskelin was born in Baltimore; pianist Sylvie Courvoisier is Swiss (both are now New Yorkers); and cellist Vincent Courtois is French. But even more diverse than the diversity of languages represented by their trio, formed in 2002, is the staggering range of vocabulary when they come together. They perform original compositions as well as free improv, ranging from quiet chamber jazz to screeching dissonance to sparse minimalism.

—Shaun Brady

Thu., Sept. 13, 8 p.m., $12, Rose Recital Hall (Room 419), Fisher-Bennett Hall, University of Pennsylvania, 34th and Walnut streets, www.arsnovaworkshop.com.