POP MUSIC REVIEW : Grifters Deal in Arresting Spontaneity

Having gone as far as they could as a truly independent indie band, the Grifters have moved on to the big-time indie Sub Pop label for their fifth album. “Ain’t My Lookout” has more definition in its song structures and more production to its sound, and the record has quickly moved into the Top 5 on the college radio airplay chart.

But if the album flirts with accessibility, the Memphis quartet’s show Thursday at Spaceland was firmly in the tradition of its demanding, sometimes difficult, sometimes rewarding performances.

These musicians are well into their 30s, and they have the look of guys who have been at this anomie thing a long time. You do feel the weight of experience in their sound, which is sparked by the clashing, ringing interplay of guitarists Dave Shouse and Scott Taylor. There’s a dissonance-edged rise and fall to this dark, dense, rigorous music, a framework that encourages accident and maximizes the results.

At Spaceland they were casual in approach, playing one in-progress composition and then commenting, “We’ll keep working on it.” Their wry, wise-guy detachment can be insular and indulgent, but when they get their claws around you it’s an unshakable grip, both gut-level and cerebral.

The evening--the first of two nights at Spaceland--ended with an indie-rock group-grope as the members of the opening band, Brooklyn-based Rex, crowded onto the stage to up the improvisational ante.