The best acts to see at Basilica SoundScape

Indie-folk artist Weyes Blood applies sonic distortion sparingly and pointedly in her atmospheric, hallucinogenic tunes. With so many noise-influenced artists prone to slather layer upon layer of static, it's a relief to see someone utilize abrasive textures while also demonstrating a penchant for restraint.

^{_{Photograph: Laura Lynn Petrick}}

Released on Arbutus Records, the off-kilter synth-pop on Lydia Ainsworth's debut Right From Real continues the label's tradition of esotericism and idiosyncrasy. As Ainsworth boasts a background in film score composition, it's no wonder her production sounds so lush and cinematic.

^{_{Photograph: Jessica Upton}}

Alberta postpunk crew Viet Cong—a spin-off of Women, which broke up in 2010 at the height of its buzz—continues to accumulate rave reviews ever since releasing its debut self-titled album on the tastemaking Jagjaguwar imprint. Innovating with guitar indie-rock is no easy feat, but Viet Cong manages it by delving into inaccessibility and confrontational melodies.

^{_{Photograph: David Waldman}}

Under the alias Actress, producer Darren J. Cunningham doesn't quite create dance music so much as deconstruct it. The elemental spectres of techno, house, and bass music haunt the spiraling synth stems and sparse drum samples which make up his tunes, but only occasionally does the music dip into a groove—and when it does, the results are spectacular.

^{_{Photograph: Will Bankhead}}

HEALTH puts on a completely insane—in a good way—live show. The hard-touring L.A. quartet swarms the stage, performing what feels like a postmodern tribal ritual, mashing up art pop, avant-metal and tons of frenzied positive vibes.

^{_{Photograph: Courtesy Creative Commons/Flickr/Nick Helderman}}

The solo project of Chicago's Haley Fohr, Circuit Des Yeux, sits at a number of complex intersections, sounding like Nico-gone-Victorian-goth, making doomy folk music with noise-drone instrumentation. The newest LP In Plain Speech polishes her eccentric mix of stately strings, gritty synths, and rustic acoustic guitar into her most unsettling and heartfelt work to date.

Local outfit Sannhet synthesizes elements of prog, post-hardcore and black metal, crafting ascendant instrumentals as tender as they are pummeling. The crew's starry melodic sensibilities parallel contemporary Deafheaven—which played last year's SoundScape—but with a more forceful heads-down no-nonsense spirit.

Norwegian singer-songwriter Jenny Hval's zigzagging melodies sound as poetic as her lyrics. With the occasional hint of a bluesy vocal inflection or a vaguely hip-hop beat, her choral pop experimentalism meanders into all kinds of odd places that sound eerily familiar.

^{_{Photograph: Mads Teglers}}

Delicately melancholic singer-songwriter Perfume Genius (real name Mike Hadreas) plays fractured, fragile indie pop—or used to, at least. Forgoing his usual fare of piano plus minimal instrumentation, he adopted a glitzier synth-laden tonal palette and gutsier stage presence with last year's Too Bright.

^{_{Photograph: Luke Gilford}}

Spooky U.K. soundscapist Bobby Krlic turned heads with his stark, haunting 2013 release Excavation. Impressively, one those heads happened to be the art-pop queen herself, Björk, who brought him on as a producer on her latest album.

^{_{Photograph: Courtesy Motormouth Media}}