The Whimbrels are a power art-rock band with lineages to some of the most influential and raw music New York City has produced – loud art with a back beat. The sound is dense, rhythmic, hard and sweet, with hooks and riffs that pop out at unexpected moments. Their three-guitar lineup features Arad Evans (Glenn Branca Ensemble), Norman Westberg (Swans) and Luke Schwartz (Glenn Branca, Wharton Tiers), along with bassist/vocalist Matt Hunter (Savak, Dusty Fates) and drummer Steve DiBenedetto.

A Whimbrels show involves racks of guitars tuned in different and unconventional ways, with the players constantly switching between them. There are counterpoint choirs, dueling e-bows phasing against each other; chunking, poly and cross-rhythmic interludes, soaring arias of distortion from Westberg and Evans’ melodic and inventive guitars.

The New York Times once said Arad Evans was “on an index of creative or experimental electric guitar-based music in America – young lords of the wild in the post-rock tradition.” That description fits The Whimbrels perfectly. You may need earplugs.