Music

Dysrhythmia makes the kind of highly charged, neck-breaking instrumental metal that fuels late nights spent glued to a glowing screen. Besides inadvertently creating an alternate soundtrack to Contra, Dysrhythmia inspires gape-jawed awe: These musicians are ridiculously adept at their instruments, but have also embraced an otherworldly melodicism that keeps listeners hooked — especially throughout "In Secrecy," the opening cut from the band's forthcoming sixth album, Test of Submission.

I'm trying to imagine Amanda Palmer, in Amsterdam, working on this show-stopping rocker on a ukulele. But she did, and she'll tell you the tale below. This song is from the about-to-be-released album Theatre Is Evil, billed as Amanda Palmer and The Grand Theft Orchestra. The record was produced by John Congleton and is out on September 11.

Gospel and soul music was integral to Ryan Shaw's upbringing. The Decatur, Ga., native was born into a devout Southern Pentecostal family, and at 5 began singing in church with his four brothers. Secular pop music was not part of Shaw's musical upbringing, but he eventually left for college and ultimately landed a part in the gospel musical A Good Man Is Hard to Find (Part II). That gig opened up many opportunities for Shaw, including a major-label record deal in 2006.

Now that pianist Leif Ove Andsnes is in his 40s, he's told himself that it's time to "grow up" and immerse himself in Beethoven. This comes at the same time that he's immersing himself in the life of his daughter Sigrid, now 2.

For Andsnes, seeing the world through Beethoven's eyes is one thing, but seeing it through the eyes of a child is something else altogether.

The Litchfield Jazz Festival leads off with a weeks-long camp for high-school students and New York's finest musicians on the faculty, then climaxes with a two-day festival. This year it's August 11-12 in Goshen, Conn., but here we have two sets from the 2010 festival, featuring two groups with young leaders.

San Antonio native Alejandro Escovedo co-hosts the latest installment of Latin Roots, in which he discusses the Latin character of his hometown's music since the 1950s. Escovedo's prolific rock music has always had strong Latin influences as a result of the time he spent listening to his parents' records.

Alejandro Escovedo has played virtually every kind of rock 'n' roll there is to play, from punk to orchestral to country, during a career dating back to the 1970s.

The indie-folk duo Vandaveer's first appearance on Mountain Stage, recorded on the campus of West Virginia University in Morgantown, features vocalist Rose Guerin joining singer-songwriter and guitarist Mark Charles Heidinger, who also occasionally plays bass for These United States.

For the L.A. band Lord Huron, there's far more to music than merely playing sweetly summery, rhythmically inventive pop. There's also an air of mystery: a desire to tell stories, play with identities and craft visuals to complement its sounds. The bouncy "Time to Run" is a tremendously ingratiating song, but the band's video piles on new dimensions to make it that much richer.