Peggy Sue

Wed., Nov. 17, 8 p.m., $20-$29, with Kate Nash, TLA, 334 South St., 215-922-1011, livenation.com.

by M.J. Fine

[ rock/pop ]

Is there anything more glorious than a giddy girl group? How about a moody, doomy girl group that can't quite suppress the giddiness at its core? Meet Peggy Sue. On Fossils and Other Phantoms (Yep Roc), their full-length debut, multi-instrumentalists Rosa Slade and Katy Young supply the harmonies, the attitude and — when they feel like it — an impressive wall of sound; drummer Olly Joyce lays down the sharp, spare beats. The Brighton trio cites a slew of sonic influences that'd flummox their girl-group foremothers (riot grrrl, anti-folk, freak folk and hip-hop, to name a fraction), but the dense cacophony that defines songs like "Watchman" and "Yo Mama" isn't simply the sound of clashing elements. It's a primal force that resists any effort to map its DNA.

Wed., Nov. 17, 8 p.m., $20-$29, with Kate Nash, TLA, 334 South St., 215-922-1011, livenation.com.