The Swell Season has made the media rounds lately to promote its September album “Strict Joy,” so it’s no surprise to see the Irish-Czech musical duo in Colorado. Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglová, best known for their Oscar-winning soundtrack to “Once,” may not be a real-life couple these days, but that bittersweet back story makes for equally beguiling folk-pop. Sunday at the Ogden Theatre, with Rachael Yamagata. $30-$35. Ticketmaster.
Pacific Pride uses its spoken-sung falsetto like a soft weapon, at once invoking a looser, less robotic Brainiac and any number of early ’90s Matador bands with Anglo-pop obsessions. The Denver act releases its new CD tonight at the Hi-Dive, with openers Green Typewriters and Weed Diamond. $6.
Baroness is as punishing and arcane as the name implies, but what sets the Savannah, Ga., group apart from most hard-rock acts is its stubborn insistence on melody — and the flashes of punk and post-rock bones under its metallic skin. The band plays the Bluebird Theater on Sunday, with Earthless and Gaza. $12. Ticketmaster.
John Wenzel: 303-954-1642 or jwenzel@denverpost.com
