For the sixth installment of the Uncanny Valley of the Heart’s Delight, hosts Corpus Callosum bring Oakland gospel-folk group Whiskerman in to headline. Band leader Graham Patzer is perhaps best known as the younger brother of the two Judgment Day string players. Whiskerman—which actually has big brother Lewis on cello—is so vastly different from the string-metal math sounds of Judgment Day, it might shock fans who know the groups’ connection. Yet what they do have in common is a similar spirit of musical boundary-pushing, albeit expressed completely differently.

At first glance, Whiskerman could be best described as gospel-inspired Americana, but its texturing with strings and pianos really enhances the sound, giving what is simple and earthy at its core, a complex, harmonious overtone.

As a songwriter, Patzer captures the straightforward, storytelling approach present in folk music, right down to the lyrics, which tend to be stories about fictitious characters. Yet, the music is inherently moody and layered, which is not due solely to nuanced arrangements. Patzer voice and choice of melodies consistently hit different emotional triggers simultaneously. He embodies the joy of soul music and the sadness of the blues at once.

Also on the bill are the Spirits of Red City, who are an experimental, minimalistic acoustic group, and of course show hosts Corpus Callosum. They will be performing a particularly special set. This is their homecoming show from their first US tour, and they’re bound to get a little bit emotional.

WHISKERMAN performs Tue, Aug. 14 at Anno Domini in San Jose, 7pm; all ages.

When Laura Weinbach laments that “I’m Not Really In The Christmas Mood This Year,” on the song her group Foxtails Brigade released in December, she expresses a sentiment often felt, but rarely expressed in song—Christmas isn’t what it used to be. The San Francisco band will bring their holiday tidings of bad cheer to Anno Domini Gallery on Friday, as the latest in Corpus Collosum’s “The Uncanny Valley of the Heart’s Delight” series.

Accompanied by a soft bed of melancholy stringed instruments and a Rat Pack sophistication, it (and the rest of Time is Passed, Foxtails Brigade’s Christmas album) plays like the lonely, gloomy answer to A Jolly Christmas from Frank Sinatra
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The deeper theme is the inherent sadness of growing up and seeing the world for what it really is and no longer through a child’s eyes. (“rain freezes to snow/all children grow old/and though the new year begins/a sweet little dream ends”) The fact that Weinbach has such a soft child-like voice, only punctuates the sentiment of watching one’s childhood slip away and not being able to do anything about it.

It’s no wonder the video quickly clocked in over 25,000 views. While not exactly viral, it did get triple the looks of any of their previous videos.

Foxtails Brigade’s previous album, The Bread and the Bait, is a no-less-sad slice of orchestral pop. The instrumentation never steers away from violins, cells, acoustic guitars and xylophones. The match of Weinbach’s masterful voice with the group’s obvious musicals skills, makes one wonder if they met in Julliard. But their songs are always balanced with the simple confessional quality of a coffee shop folk singer, making them as relatable as they are theatrical.

Foxtails Brigade performs Friday, March 30 at Anno Domini Gallery in San Jose, 7pm; $7.