Music

Pop & Jazz

Previews by August Brown (A.B.), Randy Lewis (R.L.), Chris Barton (C.B.) and Margaret Wappler (M.W.). The Magnetic Fields Conceived as a companion piece to 2008’s “Distortion,” songwriter-frontman Stephin Merritt’s “Realism” is a folk album that aims to test the ideas of authenticity and sincerity, which have been automatically associated with the genre since the first troubadour wandered the hills with a guitar. There are times where the detachment works. The closing number, “From a Sinking Boat,” is a gorgeously sorrowful resignation. It’s an instance where Merritt’s disinterest sounds like self-protection, as if he were steeling himself for the impending loss. (M.W.) Wilshire Ebell Theatre, 4401 W. 8th St., L.A. Tue., 7 p.m. $30. (323) 939-1128.

Midlake The Texas band’s “The Trials of Van Occupanther” resurrected the much maligned trope of “soft rock” and deployed it to surprisingly winning ends. Its rock wasn’t soft -- rather, its softness rocked. With “The Courage of Others,” the band’s gone even bigger, broadening its production palette while keep its knack for instantly endearing melodies intact. (A.B.) El Rey Theatre, 5515 Wilshire Blvd., L.A. Wed., 8 p.m. $14. (323) 936-4790.

Bon Jovi “Who’s gonna work for the working man?” wonders Jon Bon Jovi on the new album by the long-running outfit that bears his name. Well, Bon Jovi is up to the job: On “The Circle,” this band of Jersey boys makes a recession-appropriate return (after appealing forays into pop and country) to its old blue-collar arena-rock style; “Work for the Working Man” even recycles the pumping talk-box groove from the band’s 1986 smash “Livin’ on a Prayer,” and lifts the factory-floor sound effects from Billy Joel’s “Allentown” for good measure. (R.L.) Staples Center, 1111 S. Figueroa St., L.A. Thu., 7 p.m. $15-$135. (213) 742-7300.

Galactic Always steeped in the second-line pulse of its native New Orleans, Galactic’s “Ya-Ka-May” calls on a multitude of Crescent City voices for a funky and original late-night travelogue. The band’s skills as a jazz-funk party act excel in rollicking guest spots from Jazz Fest favorites the Rebirth Brass Band, Allen Toussaint and Irma Thomas (whose swampily soulful “Heart of Steel” is a highlight). But it’s Galactic’s foray into “bounce,” New Orleans’ nascent hip-hop sound, that really turns heads. (C.B.) El Rey Theatre, 5515 Wilshire Blvd., L.A. Thu., 8 p.m. $23. (323) 936-4790.