Tues, Jan 12, The Builders and the Butchers

Is 2010 the year of the banjo singalong? Or was that ’04, with Sufjan Stevens Seven Swans? OK, so the only connection between the latter reclusive composer/singer-songwriter and the Builders and the Butchers is this vague bango link, but run with it, yeah? No? Well, you should—TBATB’s ’09 album, Salvation Is a Deep Dark Well, does for rootsy Portland Americana what Stevens did for obnoxious, faux-Jesus chamber indie: make it listenable. As such, Ryan Sollee has an earthy but full-bodied tenor complemented nicely by a mix of strings, tinny acoustic guitars, bouncy keys and, yes, that darned banjo. 1050 20th Street, www.myspace.com/thebuildersandthebutchers.