PILE
The loud/quiet/louder rock song model endured 1990s market saturation in extremis, eventually morphing from Nirvana to Nickelback and thereby ensuring the next generation would turn to glo-sticks and synth pop. Thanks, major labels, for one last ear-fucking on your slide into irrelevance. Given that, it’s refreshing to hear a young band tap into the forebears of that formula like these Bostonians do on their excellent new disc, Dripping. The Albini-bleed guitars, tempo shifts and drum-kit mashing suggest seminal Spiderland Slint, but the undercurrent of melody is downright Doolittle-y. Other touchstones might include the blues-sludge of Pontiak run through the reverb of Built to Spill, with a touch of Sweater-era Weezer in there, too. Whatever the influences, the bottom line is that it’s nice to hear kids playing loud guitars over intricate rhythms without forgetting that, unlike today’s metal aggro-schlock purveyors, song still matters. With Lions to Lambs. $5-$7. Nov. 4, 9 p.m. Milestone, 3400 Tuckaseegee Road. 704-398-0472.

CENTER OF THE SUN
Fairly new Charlotte five-piece Center of the Sun may feature members of aggressive heavyweights Young and in the Way and Grids, but this project inhabits an ’80s-tinged mood-rock character instead. Sure, you can tell there’s metal in someone’s bloodstream: drums hit hard, while guitars summon dense, threatening storm clouds of crunch and fuzz. Yet Ally Hoffman’s clarion vocals ride these churning shoewave textures with excellent poise. It may be her lonesome, powerful melodies, and it may be the careful, focused songwriting, but something keeps this exciting band thankfully grounded — countless times, these same elements have led to pure space-rock. And that’s fine in its place, but that’s not Center of the Sun. With Scowl Brow, One Another and Late Bloomer. $5-$7. Nov. 3, 9 p.m. Milestone, 3400 Tuckaseegee Road. 704-398-0472.

THE WHIGS
Hailing from Athens, Ga., a town whose rich musical legacy we all know, The Whigs cite influences from Elephant 6 bands like Olivia Tremor Control to local heroes The Glands. With a distinctive Southern twang, The Whigs’ 2005 debut LP, Give 'Em all a Big Fat Lip, married gruff-voiced Replacements swagger to the Glands’ 3 a.m. stoned slow-motion genius. Out of the gate, Rolling Stone dubbed The Whigs the best unsigned band in America. Six years and four albums later, the band is still on the verge of “overnight” success. The long haul seems to have exacted a toll, because The Whigs have sanded down their Southern jangle and garage rock ID. Indeed, subsequent LPs play like a mélange of ’90s alt-rock styles pushed through a power-pop filter. Hooks and harmonies from the Foo Fighters rub shoulders with guitars that roll like Pavement or rumble like Guided by Voices. It’s to The Whigs’ credit that none of this sounds like pastiche, and while recent songs have even toned down the guitars, the ghost of Paul Westerberg still hovers in the periphery. Still, in grabbing for the brass ring, The Whigs have lost their sense of lo-fi mystery. With Kuroma and Heyrocco. $12-$15. Nov. 3, 8:30 p.m. Visulite Theatre, 1615 Elizabeth Ave. 704-358-9200.

JIMMY HERRING BAND
A guitar-wiz checklist: flannel shirt, nicely untucked; bogus posing, none; plowing through a blend of blues, rock and jazz like there’s no tomorrow — always. A perennial road warrior, Jimmy Herring has toured with The Dead, Col. Bruce Hampton, the Allmans and his own band, among others, and is the lead axeman for Widespread Panic. He’s an unassuming, old-school guitarist that can jam for hours and folks will stick around, collectively swaying heads, becoming one with the music. The improv-laden originals as well sinewy covers emerge from his six strings with melodic flourishes. He can roll through rockers, stroll through psychedelic blues, or explore the subtleties and technical prowess of jazz fusion, giving a good reputation to the oft-denigrated latter genre. Multi-instrumentalist Victor Wooten and his band open. $30-$40. Nov. 3, 9 p.m. Neighborhood Theatre, 511 E. 36th St. 704-358-9298.

WOLF GANG
With starry-eyed optimism and a mid-Atlantic accent, Brit wunderkind Max McElligott seeks to conquer America with a sublime union of swirling symphonics and sticky-sweet electro-pop. The singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist’s insanely insistent calling card with his Wolf Gang project, “Lions in Cages,” is an appealing mishmash of Patrick Wolf’s baroque camp and MGMT’s warmly soaring synths, and has already been featured on Gossip Girl and a General Motors campaign. Wolf Gang’s other songs don’t hit the heights of “Lions,” but not for want of trying. On “Something Unusual,” McElligott even manages to mimic Armed Forces-era Elvis Costello. Touring with a full-time band, McElligott supplements his shimmering sonic template with borrowed bits of Passion Pit, Rufus Wainwright and Hunky Dory-era Bowie. McElligott’s earnest but oddly inexpressive falsetto shoots for the vaguely psychedelic gravitas of Peter Gabriel, but lands closer to veteran glam brat Adam Ant. Wolf Gang holds promise, and is at its best when it sticks to sparkly ’80s-inflected indie pop. When McElligott and the band goes for deeper meaning on mid-tempo ballads, the result is refried Howard Jones. With Atlas Genius, and The Royal Concept. $15. Nov. 3, 8 p.m. Booth Playhouse, 130 N. Tryon St. 704-372-1000.

CHRIS ROBINSON BROTHERHOOD
Don’t let the name fool you. This isn’t New Earth Mud or the Black Crowes. With the Chris Robinson Brotherhood, the singer has found new life in a hippy psychedelic band that conjures the Grateful Dead-spawned jam scene. The swirly sonic backdrop is also splashed with blues rhythms and organ riffs inspired by the '70s Tulsa, Oklahoma, sound of Leon Russell and J.J. Cale. The Brotherhood’s rolling and rollicking good vibes find plenty of room to breathe — many of the band’s songs clock in at longer than seven minutes. The band released its first album, Big Moon Ritual, in June and quickly followed it up with The Magic Door in September. Not one to slow down, Robinson has hinted that the band could return to the studio in January. With plenty of covers — usually the Dead or Dylan — thrown into the band’s long, two-set performances, you might as well sit back and enjoy the journey. $20-$30. Nov. 2, 8:30 p.m. Neighborhood Theatre, 511 E. 36th St. 704-358-9298.