Fri. June 8

"My songs are dark, but you can still do the Mashed Potato to them," Nicole Atkins told Rolling Stone, when they called her one of the "10 Artists to Watch." There's a swelling, dramatic, swaying quality to Atkins's songs. They sound old-fashioned - in a (good) Roy Orbison, Johnny Cash or Loretta Lynn sort of way. Atkins likes to think of the songs on her debut CD, "Neptune City," as being like the opening of a David Lynch movie - sunny skies, manicured lawns, menace lurking. (She's no doubt thinking "Blue Velvet," not some of the more recent Lynch mind-scratchers.) Atkins, who plays Great Scott Friday June 8, is not afraid of melodrama. Not afraid of metal, either. She reportedly plans to form an all-gal metal band. Not this night, though. The Sea opens around 10 and the Long Blondes close. It's another presentation of Fenway Recordings, and its owner DJ Carbo will start the night by spinning stuff. Tickets: $10.

1222 Commonwealth Ave.,  617-566-9014 greatscottsboston.com

Thurs. June 7

 Skinny Puppy - just a welp back in the industrial rock heyday - have managed to make it to the lucky album, no. 13, "Mythmaker." To celebrate that - let's face it, improbable scenario -  the Puppies' main men, ORCRE and cEVIN KEY have come up with a concept album! These are not happy puppies, never have been. This record pounds heavy and hard, but also includes spooky atmospherics and material that explores the control and manipulation of culture, and how religion has been co-opted by the right. Vice magazine described the disc well by summarizing, " this is legitimately solid and will creep into your brain to lay tiny bug eggs." (We've always loved that image - it goes back to "Night Gallery," the Rod Serling TV show.) The band's publicists come out and state they won't be "delivering love songs, party anthems or rock-radio miasma on record and certainly not on stage anytime soon." We've seen Skinny Puppy a few times and can second that emotion, and from listening to "Mythmaker," we can't see how that'd be possible. Look, industrial rockers - go back to Throbbin Gristle or up to Nine Inch Nails - are always angry about something, but the world we swim in today offers up so many possibilites. There's something to be said for venting that frustration, and Skinny Puppy typically does this in a rather extroverted fashion. You won't leave their Avalon show Thursday June 7 with a big smile, but you'll leave thinking you've seen something intense and thought-provoking. Opening up at 7:30:  White Mice and Otto von Schirach. Ticekts: 22.50

15 Lansdowne St., 617-262-2437 livenation.com

Wed. June 6

As you may have noticed, every presidential candidate lays a claim to some religion or another. Not to do would make him or her, well, unelectable. We're that kind of country. Whether we - individually or collectively - practice any of the tenets most religions teach, well, that's up for grabs. We do know that being in favor of God - whether you're a nation or a football team - doesn't mean much "God" ain't a fan of anything, 'cept maybe hurricanes. But if you're not a fan of God, you're a godless heathen or immoral or amoral or ... a naturalist. That's what Tom Clark is. He counded the Center for Naturalism (centerfornaturalism.com) and he's written a book, "Encountering Naturalism: A Worldview and Its Uses." Clark, the host of the monthly McIntyre & Moore "Philosohy Cafe" in Somerville, is talking there on Wednesday June 6 reading from his book. Clark's is a science-based worldview, in which he gives a context for life that helps shape our belief system. As with the late great scientist Carl Sagan, God isn't part of the mix. (Sagan, who wrote one of the most influential books I've read, "The Demon-Haunted World," was offered last rites on his hospital deathbed, y'know, just in case. He said no thanks, not being one to change a belief system on a dice-roll of religion.) The point, of course, is that morality need not be religion-based; one can do the right thing without God looking over your shoulder threatening damnation, or without the worry of eternal fire determining your every move. Growing up Catholic, we had these thoughts. They still probably lurk in the dark recesses. But that's why we like Clark and his ability to talk and write about our deepest concerns without invoking the Almighty. He will be reading at 7:30 p.m. It's free and if you buy his book - or any book - afterward you get 15 % off.

255 Elm St., Davis Square, Somerville, 617-629-4840 mcintyreandmoore.com

ongoing

Charles Darwin, as we all know, proposed that nutty theory of evolution, in effect denying that God made the world in 7 days and plopped all the species down on the planet all revved up and ready to go. Well no. But there are some folks that still believe that, strange as it may seem. We live in Boston, surrounded by a fair amount of educational heft, and not too many of us take that part of the Bible literally. So, we don't expect the Museum of Science's "Darwin" to have the controversy of, say, the "Bodyworks," which it recently had up. Charles Darwin (1809-82) took a four-year voyage on the HMS Beagle and it was during that journey that he pieced together the puzzle of life's origns. The Museum of Science has what it says is the "broadest collection ever assembled of specimens, artifacts, original manuscripts and memorabilia" related to Darwin. It's in the Nichols Gallery. Related: "Galapagos," a large format film in the Mugar Omni Theater, with follows marine biologist Carole Baldwin as she explores the volcanic archipelagoand dives deep into unexplored waters to investigate oceanic life. The museum is open 9 a.m. - 7 p.m. Film is at noon, 2 p.m. and 6 p.m. Tickets: $16.

Science Park, 617-589-1100 mos.org

Tues. June 5

 Alan Dershowitz, a shy, retiring lawyer from Cambridge ... No, really, we just wanted to link those words as we're in doubt as they've ever been strung together in such a way. The Dersh - as he's sometimes called in these parts - has defended everyone from John Lennon to Claus von Bulow to O.J. and is, arguably, the best-known attorney in the country. He takes to controversy like a shark to a latex-clad surfer. He often makes us apoplectic - this, even when we agree with him. Which we do here in "Blasphemy: How the Religious Right Is Hijacking the Declaration of Independence." Dersh considers school prayer, faith-based programs, the attempt to bring Church and State closer together - all that stuff. Dershowitz looks at our history and the declaration itself, penned by that Thomas Jefferson fella, and notes there is no relation between "Nature's God" as reffered to in the Declaration and traditional Christian God of Testaments Old and New. Says Sam Harris, author of "The End of Faith": "'Blasphemy' proves that many Christians are as deliberately bewildered about the history of our nation as they are about the evolution of life on this planet. Dershowitz has done a great service in rescuing Jefferson, Adams and other Founding Fathers from the religious delusions of the Christian Right." Dershowitz ambles over from Harvard University, where he is the Felix Frankfurter Professor of Law at Harvard Law School, to Harvard Book Store Tuesday June 5 at 7 for a discussion and signing. Discussion means you get to speak, too.

1400 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge, 617-499-2000 thecoop.com