Photograph: Jimmy Abegg

Ash’s Place; Thu 20
Less Artists More Condos; Fri 21
Asterisk Art Project; Sat 22

The Tennessee trio Cheap Time is abrasive and unruly, hemorrhaging guitar fuzz with liberal abandon. Jeffrey Novak, 21, sings with a mannered bile that’s fundamental to the grimy corner of music in which he has taken up residence, garage rock. Like many acts in its genre, Cheap Time employs such mannerisms to camouflage the pop savvy at its core. Would the bursts of energy constituting the trio’s self-titled debut LP prove as effective if pulled from the muck? Conversely, how would the muck fare unmoored from its melodic anchor? From the sound of things, these questions aren’t keeping the musicians up nights—they’re too busy worrying about racing through songs in two minutes apiece, or wondering where to spit onstage. This week, Cheap Time darts through the town’s fringes, including a Friday set opening for fast-rising drone aficionados Crystal Stilts.