Mix Picks

Girlpool, Chinatown. Formerly Los Angeles and now Philly electric guitar and bass duo of Harmony Tividad and Cleo Tucker sweeten their punk-rock sound on this plaintive, vulnerable video for their upcoming single. Opening for Alex G and Teen Suicide at PhilaMOCA on Tuesday.

George Pelecanos, The Martini Shot (Little Brown, $25) His first collection of short stories (and a novella) gives the Washington, D.C., tough-guy crime novelist and scriptwriter for The Wire and Treme opportunity to flesh out back stories of characters from his novels and plot a murder mystery set behind the scenes of a network cop drama.

Jason Isbell and Damien Jurado. Former Drive By Trucker Isbell returns on a victory lap for his Americana Awards-sweeping Southeastern, joined by under-appreciated indie songwriting vet Jurado, touring in support of last year's Brothers and Sisters of the Eternal Son. Thursday at the Keswick.

Rihanna, Kanye West and Paul McCartney, "FourFiveSeconds." The second song released from the Yeezus-Macca meet-up, after the tender, Auto-Tuned "Only One" came out Dec. 31, brings Ri-Ri in for a charmingly off-hand strummer in which the cute Beatle is reduced to an unsinging acoustic guitarist.

BeauSoleil avec Michael Doucet. Pre-eminent Cajun band from Lafayette, La., fronted by fiddler Doucet (and featuring brother David on guitar) comes to town on the first night of Mardi Gras season. Friday at World Cafe Live.