On the recent Kill Rock Stars-released We Brave Bee Stings And All, Thao Nguyen and backing band The Get Down Stay Down make arresting songs given to bluesy sparseness and nuanced cadence. While her wispy voice, playful melodies, and sense of childlike wonderment suggest just another starry-eyed female folkie, Nguyen’s dense, witty lyricism and subtle quirks (check her beat-boxing on “Bag Of Hammers”) reward deeper study. Opener Horse Feathers makes chamber-pop that frolics outside that genre’s stuffy drawing room with lithe, portable songs. On its 2006 album, Words Are Dead, instruments like mandolin, violin, saw, and cello often stack up for a bigger sound, but the group can also scale it back to just guitar and violin to carry its strong, crafty melodies.

Underground hip-hop’s most lyrically verbose and enunciated wordsmith swoops down on Austin’s cerebral cortex, complete with rare spots of “Daylight” amidst the Long Island, N.Y., native’s psychotic lexicon. Recently relocated to San Francisco, the Definitive Jux staple’s a year removed from his Blockhead-produced None Shall Pass, an opaque examination of those damned failed relationships. Bring your dictionary. more at austinchronicle.com

Two nights of Minneapolis duo Atmosphere on the outside stage make for some of the best live hip-hop around. As Rhymesayers royalty, MC Slug brings his no-holds-barred storytelling to life over DJ Ant’s array of beats, ranging from the backyard breaks of 2007’s Strictly Leakage EP to ’02’s morose God Loves Ugly. Their sixth LP, When Life Gives You Lemons, You Paint That Shit Gold, is a steady dose of both moods. – Chase Hoffberger more at austinchronicle.com