Photos: Alessio Neri SAN FRANCISCO — The Radio Dept.‘s set of dream pop tunes at the Independent Saturday felt polished around the edges, but the band quickly fell flat, losing its audience, failing to gain any momentum and in the end, seemingly not even trying to make any concerted effort to improve.…

Photos: Diana Cordero SAN FRANCISCO — The Frights came out swinging from the get-go and refused to slow down for the entirety of the San Diego surf-punk quartet’s Noise Pop set at The Chapel Saturday. The band kicked off its set with “You’re Going to Hate This,” setting the tone for what turned into…

Photos: Alessio Neri SAN FRANCISCO —  Some bands care about more than playing a terrific technically proficient show, and The Joy Formidable proved just that with an intimate set at Swedish American Hall Saturday that included plenty of jokes between songs — which they performed largely acoustically — that spanned the Welsh alt-rock trio’s…

BadBadNotGood performs at the Fillmore in San Francisco during Noise Pop on Feb. 23, 2017. SAN FRANCISCO —Toronto band Badbadnotgood brought their jazz-hop sound to the Fillmore Thursday evening. Despite being young, they’ve already worked with established artists like Ghostface Killah, Mick Jenkins and Kaytranada. Although their set was long, it…

Photos: Gary Chancer SAN FRANCISCO — Gaze music took over The Independent with Deafheaven and This Will Destroy You. Both bands were engaging, but the animated stage presence of Deafheaven lead singer George Clarke roused the room more than anything. The San Francisco blackgaze band showed why they’re so good at their genre.…

Tash Sultana performs at the Swedish American Hall in San Francisco during the 2017 Noise Pop Music Festival on Feb. 24, 2017. Paige K. Parsons/STAFF. SAN FRANCISCO — Tash Sultana, the young Australian upstart who catapulted to fame via their ingenuity and a little help from YouTube, hit the stage…

SAN FRANCISCO — File The Rural Alberta Advantage under the tag of good bands that are even better on-stage. Guitarist-vocalist Nils Edenloff, drummer Paul Banwatt and newer member Robin Hatch (keys) headlined a Noise Pop show at the Bottom of the Hill Wednesday and the indie folk (rock? tribal?—it’s hard…

M. Lockwood Porter photographed before a concert at the Independent in San Francisco on Jan. 28, 2017. Photo: Amanda Limond SAN FRANCISCO — The sound of singer-songwriter M. Lockwood Porter is a finely mixed blend of alt-country, Americana and indie rock sensibilities. But despite having such a strong country sound,…

Hazel English performs at the Rickshaw Stop in San Francisco during Noise Pop on Feb. 21, 2017. Alessio Neri/STAFF. SAN FRANCISCO — One glance at the lineup for the Hazel English-headlined Noise Pop show at the Rickshaw Stop Tuesday, you might see several female-fronted pop acts. But each performer offered a…

SAN FRANCISCO — “It’s been five fucking years, man. Damn. And San Francisco was the first place to sell out.” Thus began Los Angeles band Electric Guest’s triumphant return to touring, as they hit the quaint stage at the Independent. Lead singer Asa Taccone (brother of the Loney Island’s…