TENDER FOREVER

>>>Tuesday, Nov. 2

Lyrics are typically secondary in electronic and dance music, but Melanie Valera's intonations on No Snare, her latest as Tender Forever, are not only emotionally resonant, but a critical part of the listening experience. While the electro-acoustic percussion on No Snare booms, chirps and rattles exultingly, it's Valera's ersatz Carly Simon-isms ("this song is not for you and is meant to be/ just a piece of something nice that you won't get to see") that really stick in the mind. No Snare is a cathartic, impeccably-produced dance record (dig the bass, claps and drum fills on "Only the Sounds You Made") that's easier to commiserate with than to boogie along to, but that's not a bad thing by any stretch of the imagination. To paraphrase Bruce Lee in Enter the Dragon, "you need emotional content" - tender sentiments and rockin' beats. - Jason Baxter

[Northern, with Pete Burr, Ghost Feet, 8 p.m., all-ages, 321 Fourth Ave., Olympia, northernolympia.org]