Baltimore artist Abdu Ali is a tough one to pin down. Combining surreal poetry with droning R&B, Abdu Ali comes across as a restless experimenter, switching back and forth from rapping, chanting, singing and startling outbursts. His recent, lurching "Thornz" is as unsettling as it is oddly sensual. Elsewhere, "Machete Warz" is an aggressive slice of industrial provocation, all rattle and fuzz. The insistent beat and sci-fi keyboards of "Tornadoes in the Alley" play like a perverse club-banger. Abdu Ali almost resembles the bar-crawling nightlife version of Olympia's Arrington de Dionyso, less culturally adventurous, but no less afraid of pushing boundaries and cooking up genuinely unusual music. His Push + Slay mixtape chronicles electronic hip-hop that remains on the fringe, but draws ever closer as more mainstream artists begin to look toward the underground for inspiration.

ABDU ALI, w/ Glitterbang, Lord Baby, Mmmocean, 10 p.m., Le Voyeur, 404 E. Fourth Ave., Olympia, no cover, 360.943.5710