Lou Barlow + Wye Oak

A wedding of pre- and post-Pitchfork generations, tonight’s bill brings something old and something new. There’s little doubt which camp Lou Barlow falls into. The college-rock vet was vital to the Dinosaur Jr. reunion; his songs were among the strongest on the post-reconciliation recordings, visibly free of the insecurity and angst that powered his lo-fi whimperings for years in Sebadoh.

After dropping a solid solo effort last year, Goodnight Unknown, Barlow borrowed Mike Watt’s backing band the Missingmen to kick up the vibe of his live show. From the sound of his latest for Merge Records, = Sentridoh III, it’s a winning combo. The EP’s title references his tape-hiss-happy cassettes issued under the same handle, almost like a paean to the ’90s. When the trio powers through a revved-up reworking of the slacker anthem “Losercore,” it’s as if Barlow’s kissing off the miserable alt-rock era he left behind.

Labelmates Wye Oak work exclusively as a duo. Though their sophomore platter was winkingly titled The Knot, bandmembers Jenn Wasner and Andy Stack are not married, nor are they a couple. That their relationship status isn’t “complicated” has no bearing on the platonic pair’s dreamy mini epics, pairing jangly indie with analog odds and ends like tape loops. The Baltimore buddies even toss in the occasional head-scratcher, blowing harmonica over throbbing shoegaze on “Emmylou” off the new EP My Neighbor/My Creator.

Wasner’s calm, caressing croon would make for a heart-wrenching duet with Barlow, but the guy seems far too happy these days to descend into his formerly characteristic melancholy. Likewise, the Merge family must be beaming.

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