Peter Margasak’s already waxed hypnotic on tonight’s Soft Circles/Lichens show at the Empty Bottle, and I second everything he’s got to say about it. But he overlooked local openers Locks, and I suggest you don’t. Tonight’s the release party for their CD, Bad Words, which is one of those records where the amount of time it takes to explain it can exceed its actual running time. At times they recall the intimate electronics of late-90s Joan of Arc, sometimes they freak out into gawky punk with rhythmic talk-rap vocals that reminds me of the Dead Milkmen in a way I can’t fully explain. At other points they ignore the fact that they’re only two guys and shoot for a massive tribal sound that you really need at least a half dozen other musicians to pull off. They don’t reach that scale of sound, but I love them for going for it anyway. You should never let obvious obstacles keep you from attempting the monumental.