MONDAY

When Chicagoan Edith Frost was recording her second Drag City album, Telescopic, in a nearby Virginia studio with Adam & Eve (Royal Trux) at the producing helm, the lowdown was that folkie Frost was making a “rock ‘n’ roll” record. It was cause for some concern because Frost’s stunning modern country-blues debut Calling Over Time had an acoustically colored, sparse, controlled environment that her songs, tender and sorrowful, seared right through to the undefended heart. Turns out that Frost has just loosened up slightly, letting some freaky sounds, occasional acid guitars, and simple country drumming settle up against her still artfully crafted folk. Psychedelia, which was only present in a few chords and within the natural spaciness of her voice on Time, describes opener “Walk on the Fire” and much of Telescopic. This new installment finds Frost listening to her head almost as much as her heart. On “The Very Earth” she offers to “let you prove your heart is colder than mine” and she wonders if she’ll “cast aside these pages” on “Are You Sure?” Then she’s “Falling,” and beginning again is entering a dark, dreamlike phase, embracing irreversible fate. Frost summons mystical feeling from her mesmerizing elfin voice. With such power, she will surely cast some kind of spell tonight but I’m afraid its effect might be one of temporary sadness, infinite regret, and kaleidoscopic confusion. With Archer Prewitt, Sam Prekop, and Retsin at 8:30 p.m. Monday, Nov. 9, at the Black Cat, 1831 14th St. NW. $8. (202) 667-7960. (John Dugan)