Philadelphia Weekly

Dungen

Mon., June 12, 8pm. $12. First Unitarian Church, 2125 Chestnut St. 866.468.7619. www.r5productions.com

It's hard to believe that if Roky Erickson had Gustav Ejstes of Dungen's back-story, he would've been even cooler, but 'tis the case. For it's a vivid landscape painted with farms and forests, Swedish pastoral splendor and a multi-instrumentalist father with a badass record collection of '60s Swedish psych-rock. While listening to Dungen, your naive pea swims with visions of sheep, fields of never-ending green and potent mushrooms. Ejstes' bio and the music he creates are a perfect musical you-dropped-your-peanut-butter-in-my-chocolate moment, one giving young Gustav no other option than to be the psych-folk hippie he is. (Brian McManus)

Buzzcocks

Wed., June 14, 8pm. $15. With Adored + Choke. North Star, 27th and Poplar sts. 215.684.0808. www.northstarbar.com

Nearly 30 years after releasing the Spiral Scratch EP-arguably Britain's first punk release, a hip DIY manifesto of sorts and one that would irrevocably alter the history of British music-Buzzcocks, against the odds, remain a viable proposition. The godfathers of smart, literate, witty chainsaw pop, their recently released Flat-Pack Philosophy has been hailed in many quarters (that means you, Pitchfork people) as a (near) return to former glories. It's not. But it by no means tarnishes their glorious legacy. They remain a killer live act, plus-and it's a huge plus-any band responsible for the three-minute blast of transcendent glory that's "Ever Fallen in Love?" deserves your undying love and respect. (Neil Ferguson)

Eels

Mon., June 12, 8pm. $18. With Smoosh. Theater of Living Arts, 334 South St. 215.922.1011. www.theateroflivingarts.net

Sensations often experienced at an Eels show: despair, hopelessness, abject failure and amazement that someone who's been through as much as Mark Oliver Everett still manages to put out music in the first place. Everett's the notoriously melancholic lead singer and creative mastermind behind Eels, and for the last 10 years or so he's let his audience in on his own personal hell. Cynically or not, Everett's travails have produced brilliant music. There are the commercial hits like "Novocaine for the Soul" and "My Beloved Monster," and there are albums like last year's Blinking Lights and Other Revelations, a quiet epic that seemed to signify some sort of light at the end of Everett's proverbial tunnel. (Doree Shafrir)

Country Teasers

Wed., June 14, 8pm. $8. With Times New Viking, Pissed Jeans + No Wife. Khyber, 56 S. Second St. 215.238.5888. www.thekhyber.com

The unpredictable, confrontational but never boring Country Teasers put on a show that's one part ranting post-punk, one part dissonance-frazzled country and one part bar fight. Their 2005 live album is ruptured right down the middle by a disgruntled audience member begging them to stop, but let's hope they hang on this time to sing songs from their new Yoda-vs.-the-fascists epic The Empire Strikes Back. The rest of the bill's fantastic too, starting with the out-of-control rampage of Allentown's Pissed Jeans and slipping in some fractiously melodic, dirt-encrusted punk from Times New Viking. (Jennifer Kelly)

Mondo Topless

Sat., June 10, 9pm. $7. With Brimstone Howl + Plastron. The Fire, 412 W. Girard Ave. 267.671.9298. www.iourecords.com

Fourteen years and four albums in, Philly garage revivalists Mondo Topless are as rousing as a months-old buzz band on Take It Slow, just released by Pittsburgh's Get Hip label. With Sam Steinig's commanding growl and jumpy organ front and center, the quartet bops along in no danger of taking itself too seriously. In fact, you can almost hear the grins during the shameless rally cry of "Beer" and the call-and-response of "Stupidity." The songs are short and simple, packed with surf-tinged riffs and wooly distortion. Throwback pop like this isn't going to change the world, but it sure is fun. (Doug Wallen)