BUZZ BANDS

At play with Dolls

The Dresden Dolls call their concerts “Brechtian punk cabaret” -- a collision of eloquently emotional music and elegantly psychotic staging. And that might be just the beginning. Amanda Palmer and Brian Viglione, who visit the El Rey Theatre on Friday, have invited performance artists at each tour stop to ply their trade at shows. “It’s been so inspiring -- we’ve been entertained right back,” Palmer says.

Not that the Dolls need a sideshow. Their act, which features Palmer on piano and vocals and Viglione on percussion, is decidedly theatrical, with the costumed duo playing off each other’s high-energy stage antics. Says Palmer: “It reflects our passionate feelings about the theater ... about taking risks, about reaching the point where you believe the person on stage is going for broke.”

The intensely confessional nature of Palmer’s songwriting lends itself to such histrionics; “Girl Anachronism,” for instance, is a rapid-fire chronicle of a mental breakdown. Palmer calls it an “emotional snapshot from when I was still trying to figure everything out.”

She also says her nostalgia helps her as a songwriter, loading memories with powerful emotions. “I have this theory that all the personalities we have in our closets never really vanish,” she says, “they just get buried under increasing piles of shoes.”

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Randies: So retro

The Randies aren’t the first band to go with a Go-Go’s approach. But unlike many revivalists whose earnestness exceeds their originality, the L.A. quartet delivers its pop-punk with a wink and a shredded guitar riff. “It’s more about just having fun,” says bassist Siena Degovia. “It’s not like we’re breaking some new musical endeavor. I don’t think we can help borrowing from our influences.”

On their debut “At the Friendship Motor Inn,” the Randies channel a few decades of punky female-fronted bands, from the Runaways to the Muffs. There are songs about boys, relationships and ... more boys. And a paean to Kevin Bacon. They pull it off with flair.

In fact Degovia -- plus guitarists Laura Cataldo and Megan McCarter and guy drummer Kelly Cairns, look like they stepped out of 1958. “Our look is totally retro-ed out. We like that aesthetic,” Degovia says. “We’re trying to do pinup in a joking way.”

The Randies perform their peripatetic, harmony-laden songs Saturday at the House of Blues (as openers for Maxeen and the Dance Hall Crashers), Sunday at the Scene and Tuesday at Zen Sushi as part of the Kiss or Kill promotion.

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Fast forward

Young L.A. punkers American Eyes return Friday night to the Key Club -- the scene of their strong residency earlier this year -- to celebrate the release of their self-titled debut album.... The third proper album of electro-genius from laptop collagist Books on Tape is out. A record release party for “The Business End” is scheduled Friday night at the Smell, with Captain Ahab and others.