Miniature Tigers/Chain Gang of 1974/Geographer/Speak

Somewhere along the path from charming low-fi bedroom-pop artist to insufferable synth-pop chillwave wannabe, Miniature Tigers’ frontman Charlie Brand got the idea he should try his hand at R&B. But the band's pasty and emasculated third album, Mia Pharoah, is filled with schlocky and unforgivable songs like the dreamy soul-minded drift “Cleopatra,” where Brand’s pallid falsetto wanders like a lost child among the interminable blippetdy-blop of analog synths. Coming off like a third-rate Of Montreal imitation, you want to shake Miniature Tigers from their ‘80s obsessions. Which is a better fate than openers Chain Gang of 1974 deserve. The brainchild of DJ Kamtin Mohager, the project bears the uninspiring and predictable imprint of melodramatic '80s bands like Tears for Fears and Soft Cell. Geographer, who are also on the bill, mix electronics, strings, and drummer Brian Ostreicher’s gentle tenor, which are more beholden to modern-day indie pop than synth-pop nostalgia. -- Chris Parker