Violens

Sat., Aug. 30, 9:30 p.m., $10, with Relay, Ape School and Pink Skull, Johnny Brenda's, 1201 Frankford Ave., 215-739-9684, johnnybrendas.com.

by Kevin Pearson

rock/pop

Flora Hanitijo (CLICK IMAGE FOR LARGER VERSION)

You don't know it yet, but Violens might well be your new favorite band. Fresh from a short tour supporting Grizzly Bear, the New York-based quartet will head across the Atlantic later this year for a slew of U.K. shows, which is extremely apt for a group that clearly draws inspiration from that side of the musical pond. Formed a year ago by former members of Lansing-Dreiden, Violens combine the sound of Postcard Records (especially Aztec Camera) with the synths and pseudo-psychedelic haze that permeated British indie music in the early 1980s. Guitars chime, choirboy vocals echo and synths stab atop stumbling rhythms. While such naval-gazing nostalgia is nothing new, Violens ditch the anoraks and attack their songs with enough energy to make them complete reinventions rather than rote reinterpretations. "Violent Sensation Descends," one of three tracks released earlier this year on their debut, self-titled EP, sounds like the Magnetic Fields covering Prefab Sprout, while "Trance Like Turn" is slightly more electronic in nature, recalling New Order's chiming, upbeat take on the genre. See them now before the Brits claim them as their own.

Sat., Aug. 30, 9:30 p.m., $10, with Relay, Ape School and Pink Skull, Johnny Brenda's, 1201 Frankford Ave., 215-739-9684, johnnybrendas.com.