Nite Jewel is the nom de electropop of L.A.’s Ramona Gonzalez. She constructs arty grooves out of the same cheesy synth blurts and hand-claps heard on ’80s freestyle and pop/R&B albums by the likes of Lisa Lisa, Information Society, and Billy Ocean. Nite Jewel’s beats are understated, and Gonzalez’ vocals have a Cocteau Twins-like ethereality — meaning the music won’t help you work up a dancefloor sweat, but it does keep things interesting. Same goes for songs by Brooklyn’s
Telepathe (pictured), which crafts a similarly gauzy but somewhat unsettling aesthetic that brings to mind a more ambient Siouxsie Sioux. Nite Jewel and Telepathe perform together on Friday, June 12, at Bottom of the Hill. 10 p.m., $10; 626-4455,
www.bottomofthehill.com. —
Michael Alan Goldberg
Fri., June 12, 10 p.m., 2009
