MUSIC

Pop

Picks by Todd Martens and August Brown.

Named for a particularly existential chapter in Kurt Vonnegut’s “Cat’s Cradle,” the duo matches spare acoustic guitar and bass with sharp, unrelenting harmonies. Their records feature the uniquely charming sound Girlpool has crafted over the last few years: equal parts radical and sentimental, loud and quiet — or, in their words, "intentionally warm and soft." It’s a sound that matches the sunny, unflinching outlook of their band, and their live performances, whether in a theater or at a house, often feel as intimate as a sleepover. (T.M.) Echoplex, 1654