Photograph: Courtesy of Kranky

(Le) Poisson Rouge; Fri 21

Remember the looks on the faces of those divers in The Abyss when they beheld the luminescent aliens for the first time? If you’ve ever longed to experience that sensation in real life, a Stars of the Lid show is an excellent bet. Core members Brian McBride and Adam Wiltzie met in Austin in the early ’90s, and ever since, they’ve busied themselves crafting some of the most majestic drone music imaginable. Pitched somewhere between the ambient and classical realms—and appropriately, incorporating both electronics and strings—the outfit’s aesthetic is best described as sacred. Stars of the Lid pledges allegiance to no particular doctrine, other than a love for David Lynch, whose work is often alluded to in the outfit’s composition titles. But its stately, hovering aural constructions, heard most recently on 2007’s And Their Refinement of the Decline (Kranky), rarely fail to conjure a sense of profound wonder. Live, the group’s longtime visual collaborator, projection artist Luke Savisky, bathes the stage in color, abetting a uniquely synesthetic experience.

Considering the band’s penchant for sensory blurriness, it’s fitting that Wordless Music is behind tonight’s performance. The curating entity, responsible for a slew of highly compelling bills throughout ’08, prides itself on muddying genre distinctions. Tonight pianist Jocelyn Bonadio—performing solo pieces by Bach, Shostakovich and Cage—and the atmospheric Nashville duo Hammock are on hand to prime attendees’ aural palates for the glorious noise to come.