GIG OF THE WEEK

MERCHANDISE @ THE MILESTONE, CHARLOTTE

Children of Desire is the second full-length album from Tampa, Fla.’s Merchandise. It’s a smoldering, fluid record with two songs unspooling over 11-minute run-times. Its synth-glazed atmosphere and jangle-and-throb post-punk skeleton is malleable enough to support the wandering confessional songwriting and weary croon of frontman Carson Cox. It is not an obvious outgrowth of the vicious, scathing hardcore bands — Cult Ritual and Neon Blud, among them — in which Merchandise’s members also play. Still, there’s a strident punk spirit that frames the band’s every move. Its hype-wary operations have allowed it to evolve slowly, uninterrupted since 2008, and that uninhibited development certainly hasn’t hurt the band’s idiosyncrasies and psyche-dredging lyrics. The band’s free-sample release policy (you can download and donate here) and punk-scene roots helped it forge a fan-base before any of the industry machinations — publicists, booking agents, and the like — had a say in the matter. Mostly, though, Merchandise’s punk attitude has helped ensure they’ll be judged by the strange and superb songs they construct. In Charlotte, they’ll be joined by indie-rockers Little Bull Lee; in Raleigh, hardcore punishers Last Words share the bill. —Bryan C. Reed

UPDATE: Merchandise’s show in Raleigh has been canceled.

CALENDAR

August 30

• Kovacs & The Bolar Bear w/ Bombadil @ Grey Eagle, Asheville

August 31

• Casual Curious w/ Alligator Indian @ Apothecary, Asheville
• Bombadil w/ You Won’t @ Evening Muse, Charlotte
• Uncle Mountain w/ Holy Ghost Tent Revival @ Grey Eagle, Asheville
• Andy D w/ Mechanical River @ Tin Roof, Charleston
• Thollem Electric’s Pursuit of Happiness w/ Ghost Trees @ Conundrum, Columbia
• The Bear Romantic w/ The Winter Sounds @ Snug Harbor, Charlotte
• Virgins w/ Free Clinic @ Local 506, Carrboro
• Colossus w/ Thunderlip, Demon Eye @ Slim’s, Raleigh
• Rapper Big Pooh w/ Jozeemo, Kaze @ Casbah, Durham
• Slick Rick @ Lincoln Theatre, Raleigh

September 1

• Dead Can Dance @ Durham Performing Arts Center, Durham
• Bombadil @ Cat’s Cradle, Carrboro
• Colleen Green w/ Plateaus @ The Pinhook, Durham
• Appalucia Militia w/ Chalkies, 2012 Wolves, Pig Mountain @ Milestone, Charlotte
• Ramps w/ Birds of Avalon, The Toddlers @ Krankies Coffee, Winston-Salem
• Benji Hughes @ Snug Harbor, Charlotte
• Drug Yacht w/ Le Weekend, Totally Slow @ Nightlight, Chapel Hill
• American Aquarium @ Hot Summer Nights, Myrtle Beach
• Wasted Wine w/ Coma Cinema @ Conundrum, Columbia

September 2

• Bo White & The Fuckers w/ Can’t Kids, Dave & The Strange @ Milestone, Charlotte
• Useless Eaters w/ Nervous Ticks, Black Zinfandel @ Slim’s, Raleigh
• Holiday Parking w/ Jay Manley, Burke & The Visegrips, @ Local 506, Carrboro
• American Aquarium @ The Windjammer, Isle of Palms
• Great Architect w/ The Ogetters, Miami Dice @ Snug Harbor, Charlotte
• Slick Rick @ Ziggy’s, Winston-Salem

September 4

• A Silent Film @ Local 506, Carrboro

September 5

• Bombadil @ Satellite Bar, Wilmington
• Redd Kross @ Tannis Root’s 25th Anniversary Party, Raleigh
• Rockie Fresh @ Cat’s Cradle, Carrboro
• Andy The Doordum @ Snug Harbor, Charlotte