• Chalk Dinosaur doesn't stomp into a room like that other Dinosaur band and shred everything in sight.

Rather, this local band fronted by multi-instrumentalist John O'Hallaron sneaks up on the listener with wistful, jangling melodies that any Death Cab for Cutie fan can relate to.

Chalk Dinosaur, playing Saturday night at Garfield Artworks, just released an 11-track debut album, showcasing O'Hallaron's tuneful songwriting, and influences ranging from the Beach Boys to Weezer to Of Montreal.

Chalk Dinosaur formed in the spring of 2008 as a vehicle for the prolific songwriter (currently working on a film and media studies degree at CMU) with brothers Matt and Rich Bradford on bass and drums, respectively. The band also added keyboardist and backing vocalist Harrison Wargo, sprung from the touring band The Morning Light.

"Harrison adds a slightly different style and he can play the piano well, so the music has definitively has changed in that respect," O'Hallaron says.

The album was recorded in Wargo's basement studio and mastered by Roger Seibel (Death Cab, Modest Mouse, Pavement), whom O'Hallaron found on the Internet.

Chalk Dinosaur and Professor Purple open for Austin indie-folk artist David Israel at GA at 8 p.m.

"We've had a chance to play for a bunch of bands we really like coming through Pittsburgh," O'Hallaron says, noting the likes of The Wooden Birds and Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin, "although there are occasional shows we're pretty much playing for the bartender. Overall, it's going really great."

• Singer-songwriter Cherylann Hawk, leaving town soon to pursue new musical adventures with her Akron-based band thePhoenix, will play her last show as part of Pittsburgh jam-band theCAUSE at PD's Pub in Squirrel Hill on Saturday night. Opening at 9 p.m. will be Women on Top, featuring Hawk, Jill Simmons, Ali Schelin and Patti Spadaro. Cover is $5. Hawk will continue to play host of the Acousticafe Open Stage Tuesdays through Dec. 15 at Magoo's in McCandless. ... Crunchy post-punk band The Crow Flies, welcoming old friend Matt Marcus for the weekend, will play its annual reunion show Saturday night at Gooski's in Polish Hill. ... Also on Saturday, Club Cafe presents the 1st Annual Vintaga Fest featuring three styles of Americana with The Neon Swing X-Perience (swing), Slim Forsythe (honky tonk) and the Jason Martinko Revue (rockabilly). It begins at 8 p.m.

• Arguing about indie-punk sensation Jay Reatard has become a popular pastime for music snobs on the Internet.

Seems that with his move to Matador he's become too polished and power-pop for fans committed to his earlier, thrashier teenage punk.

I thought he lived up to the hype in his first-ever Pittsburgh show Monday night at the Brillobox, especially considering that he's still breaking in a new rhythm section.

The 29-year-old Reatard was a ball of energy, with shaggy hair flying everywhere as he negotiated guitar parts both spastic and epic. As promised in the interview he did with the PG, the new trio was up to the task of capturing the up-and-down dynamics of new songs like "I'm Watching You" and the soaring "There Is No Sun."

Although there were some words exchanged with the people dancing close to the stage, there were no punch-ups as there have been at some of his shows. Maybe it was a Monday night thing.

Pittsburgh-based opener Kim Phuc came on harder and heavier with a set that kept the threshold at bruising levels.

Critics Andrew Druckenbrod and Scott Mervis talk about music on "The Beat," available exclusively at PG+, a members-only web site of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Our introduction to PG+ gives you all the details.