TUESDAY: To many people, the massively popular Kailash Kher and Kailasa make world music. But to millions of Indians, the Sufi-informed combination of Kher's soaring vocals and the techo-tinged sounds of Kailasa (brothers Naresh and Paresh Kamath) is simply modern folk with pop twists. Their first international CD, "Yatra (Nomadic Souls)," is what brings them to the U.S., but you can bet the place will be packed with Indians shouting requests for Kher's numerous Bollywood classics.

After the jump: Listen to all of "Yatra (Nomadic Souls)."

» Lisner Auditorium, 730 21st St. NW; Tue., Nov. 10, $25-$45; 800-551-7328. (Foggy Bottom-GWU)

After the jump: Check the video for "Paisley Pattern Ground" plus some live clips for proof of the band's style-filled substance. Plus, download a free MP3 of the howler "Gloomy Monday Morning."

» The Metro Gallery, 1700 North Charles St., Baltimore, Md.; with Title Tracks, Bryan Scary, Baby Aspirin, Wed., Nov. 11, 8 p.m., $8; 410-244-0899.

Photo courtesy Big Hassle Media

After the jump: See the video for "The Show" and several other songs.

» Rock and Roll Hotel, 1353 H St. NE; with Colin Smith, Danni Rosner, Mon., Nov. 9, 7 p.m., $15; 202-388-7625.

Photo courtesy Big Hassle

IF THE PHOTO didn't tip you off, Ensiferum's name is Latin for "sword bearing," and the band does love the heavy metal.

But the group's music is self-described "heroic folk metal," and there is no better definition for the Finnish band's mixture of galloping Nordic rhythms, chugging distorted guitars and fantastical lyrics that sound like they're ripped from the "Kalevala," the country's magnum opus folk poem.

Ensiferum is part of a small but strong collection of Finnish bands who have explored their country's long heritage, musically and lyrically, under the modern umbrella of metal. The 14-year-old group's new CD, "From Afar" (Spinefarm), is another action-packed epic, soaked in blood and grain alcohol. It's pure fantasy music for those who mark down dates for the Medieval Faire a year in advance.

Known for their complex arrangements and lengthy instrumental solos, the Nashville newgrass and bluegrass sextet is blowing into town on their Nor'Easter tour to play at Iota, joined by special guest the Junior League Band.

Check out some videos below.

» Iota, 2832 Wilson Blvd., Arlington; Fri., Nov. 6, 9 p.m., $15; 703-522-8340. (Clarendon)

Written by Express' Anne Polsky
Photo courtesy Infamous String Dusters

Although his first name, subject matter and use of reverb may remind you of another tortured songwriter, the comparisons end there. The folk-y electric guitar and quiet vocals are all his.

He arrives in town this week in support of his critically acclaimed new album, "Childish Prodigy" — and he's backed by a new band, the Violators.

» Black Cat, 1811 14th St. NW; Thu., Nov. 5, 8:30 p.m., $10; 202-667-4490. (U St.-Cardozo)

Written by Express' Anne Polsky
Photo courtesy Kurt Vile/Sarah McKay

Growing up in Falls Church, Thao Nguyen never saw live bands at any D.C. clubs and wasn't part of any local music scene. So she couldn't help but become introspective when she began composing songs as a teenager in the solitude of her bedroom.

Isolation served her well. Nguyen's deeply personal songs such as "Bag of Hammers" and "Swimming Pools" found an almost instant audience when she formed Thao With the Get Down Stay Down. The group just released its second full-length CD, "Know Better Learn Faster," and will play at the Black Cat on Friday.

"For the most part, I stuck around at home," says the 25-year-old singer-songwriter by phone during a tour stop in Minnesota. "I'm sure there were things going on, but I led a very uneventful, insulated life, and I didn't really go out to see much live music. As far as going into [the District], I tried to go to blues clubs sometimes, but I was very underage."

Nguyen did, however, get to frequent the open-mic nights held at coffeehouses in her area. That's where she cut her musical teeth and got to test out new songs and develop her somber vocal style.

Turns out they're on "Under the Covers Vol. 2," the second collection of classic rock covers by the mock duo Sid 'n' Susie, aka power-pop maven Matthew Sweet and former/current Bangle Susanna Hoffs. While "Volume 1" mixed '60s pop staples with obscurities such as baroque-poppers the Left Banke, "Volume 2" "leans more toward the well-known," according to Sweet.

Indeed, the 16 songs on "Volume 2" almost make up a best-of-'70s-radio compendium, if that's not an oxymoron. Sweet does a nice Tom Petty cadence on "Here Comes My Girl" with some gorgeous harmonies from Hoffs on the line "She is all I need tonight." Hoffs' vocals have always been more suited to harmony/duets (check out Fleetwood Mac's "Second Hand News"), but she takes a suitably raspy gender-bending lead on Rod Stewart's "Maggie May."

"Plus, we've got the girl singing 'Go All the Way,' which is awesome because that's what the lyrics are doing," Sweet beams, noting that the Raspberries' Eric Carmen told Hoffs he'd always wanted to hear a girl sing that.

The only real misfire here is John Lennon's "Gimme Some Truth"; the sensitive Sid 'n' Susie just aren't cut out for angry anti-authority rants.

When the dark-haired, tentative-voiced Toronto singer isn't onstage as a member of indie icons Broken Social Scene, pop-rockers Stars or with her own band, she thinks about hard subjects.

"What I wrestle with is that everyone I love is going to die," said Millan. "I don't really need to be breaking up with people in order to find this sad undercurrent to life. It's a static energy that's constantly surrounding me, the idea that we'll die."

The fretting started after losing her father in a car accident, and the musician remains haunted.

"I feel for the state of the human condition," said Millan. "We're all flopping around, trying to ... do all the things that are 'normal,' but we all know that people get sick and accidents happen and these terrible things happen and in order to continue every day with hope, we have to repress so many things that are horrifying."

Feinstein's newest CD, "The Sinatra Project," finds him in both of these roles, singing a dozen songs originally performed by Frank Sinatra and also unearthing some obscurities. Express caught up with him by telephone before a performance in London.

» EXPRESS: Was there an attempt on the new CD to avoid familiar chestnuts like "My Way" and "I've Got You Under My Skin"?
» FEINSTEIN: Yes. Well, I hate "My Way." Sinatra hated it, too. He quite frequently used four-letter words in his description of that song. "I've Got You Under My Skin" is such a definitive performance and recording that I saw no point in trying to copy that. So instead, I took another Cole Porter song, "Begin the Beguine," which he sang and recorded in the 1940s and interpreted it as if he had done it in the 1950s. People who hear it think that it's a vintage Nelson Riddle chart, but it's not. So, yes, I did want to avoid things that were so closely connected to him there was no leeway for a different interpretation.