King Tuff, Morgan Nagler at The EARL

CRITIC'S PICK:
Wed., April 22
King Tuff, Morgan Nagler, The EARL - Kyle Thomas, aka King Tuff, has been here, there and back again as a rocker, then indie singer/songwriter until "as a chubby and balding 43-year-old punk weirdo" (his words), he returns as the glammy, grimy rock and roller he was back on 2008s debut. His just released Moo (also the name of this tour), harkens to those roots in a self-recorded, messy, but honest set of songs that longtime fans should love. Tuff's strangulated, nasal voice works well with this low-fi aesthetic and he sounds excited to be touring behind a pretty cool new album. Opener Nagler shares Thomas' love of that sound too, but adds some pop dust to the formula. She introduces music from an enigmatically titled new release based on a recent breakup, I've Got Nothing to Lose and I'm Losing It. - Hal Horowitz