Mexico City power duo Cardiel live up to the title of their most recent album, last year’s “El Armagedón Afterparty.” Across nine blistering tracks, the sludge rockers unleash the fury of shredded vocal cord incantations, maniacal palm-muted riffs and concussive percussion, all with a gut-rumbling low end. This is the soundtrack of two post-apocalyptic dead-enders who don’t believe in anything or anyone, obliterating a world racked by pandemic concerns, abuse of culture and broken institutions. There’s no rest for the wicked, except during a pair of songs that toy with psychedelia and dub, as if the ozone-free sky is finally too much to take. Feb. 17 at 8:30 p.m. at the Runaway, 3523 12th St. NE. therunawaydc.com. $12-$15.
The SoundCloud bio for DJ-producer Lil Texas puts his listeners on notice: “AMERICAN HARDCORE. TURN YOUR BPM PAST 200. UPTEMPO FREAKS. SPEED IS THE ONLY OPTION.” True to his all-caps words, the Dallas-born, LA-based talent is all about the extreme end of EDM, drawing from sounds and scenes that seek to push BPMs and blood pressures to their limits. But amid buzz-saw synths and industrial-grade beats, familiar vocal samples ring out and give the listener something to latch on to. On a recent drop, a classic Rakim line — “I kick a hole in the speaker, pull the plug, then I jet” — fits Lil Texas’s MO perfectly. Feb. 18 at 10 p.m. at Soundcheck, 1420 K St. NW. soundcheckdc.com. $15-$20.
Self-described “Queen of the Underground” Kotic Couture explored her winding path to selfhood and artistry on last year’s “Late to the Party,” an album where the Baltimore MC dished out cataracts of consonants over beats that owe to eras when hip-hop made folks dance. “Tell me all you want me to know / Cry me a river, go ahead and let it flow,” she rapped on an earlier single, “Pink Durag.” “I know some days the warmth you feel is minimal / But when the curtain raised, you still gotta bring the show.” Feb. 18 at 8 p.m. at the Pocket, 1508 North Capitol St. NW. thepocketdc.com. $12-$15.