Live music picks for WEDNESDAY MAY 18 through TUESDAY MAY 24, 2011.

WEDNESDAY MAY 18 / THE BARR BROTHERS / DAKOTA TAVERN / 249 OSSINGTON AVE / $10 / 19+
Montreal-based folk-experimental quartet The Barr Brothers returns to Dakota Tavern after winning the heart of Broken Social Scene's Kevin Drew at their last show. Led by brothers Brad and Andrew, the band play intimate bluesy tracks like "Beggar in the Morning" off their new self-titled record.

WEDNESDAY MAY 18 / DEATH CAB FOR CUTIE / PHOENIX / 410 SHERBOURNE ST / $39.50 / 19+
Death Cab for Cutie return after three years, and it definitely feels like a long time since the band released a new record. Front-man Ben Gibbard, now happily married to indie princess Zooey Deschanel (She & Him), leads his band back onto the stage at the Phoenix in support of their new LP Codes and Keys (May 31), with Washington State's The Lonely Forest set to open.

THURSDAY MAY 19 / JENNIFER CASTLE / HORSESHOE TAVERN / 370 QUEEN ST W / $10 / 19+
"I like going into a trance with people that want to hear a woman sing her songs. I like opening my eyes and knowing it's over, and that it was good and honest," Jennifer Castle said in a recent interview. Castle's newest LP Castlemusic is clean and honest, consisting of poetic and picturesque songs like "Neverride" and "Powers". Toronto's Carl Didur and Tex Message kick off Castle's record release party.

THURSDAY MAY 19 / AUSTRA / LEE'S PALACE / 529 BLOOR ST W / $10.50 / 19+
If you're looking for electronic, then Lee's is the place to be on Friday as Austra - Katie Stelmanis' new project - play in support of their debut record Feel It Break. Trust - another rising local electronic duo that also includes Austra drummer Maya Postepski - opens before the "goddess of light" illuminates the stage with their vocal and bass-heavy tracks.

SATURDAY MAY 21 / ARCTIC MONKEYS / KOOL HAUS / 132 QUEENS QUAY E / $29.50 / ALL AGES
The Vaccines start the night off for fellow English post-punk band Arctic Monkeys, led by Alex Turner whose long hair is just about as big as the band right now. The band embarks on a massive North American tour. It's a quick stopover at Kool Haus, and then it's back to Europe for these rumpus rockers - just in time for some of its biggest summer music festivals, and the release of their fourth LP Suck It and See.

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Lead photo of Arctic Monkeys by gtdmouse.