People have a tendency to like matching things. You can't blame them for this. But it's still a pretty boring tendency.

And it's part of the reason why so many things about modern music (and lots of other things) are so boring.

Few see that some of the best and most original stuff comes in the clash of what doesn't fit.

Take "In the Vines" by the Castanets -- who are playing at the Harrison Center for the Arts' Underground Oct. 31 -- for example.

There's a lot that doesn't match in this dark and stark music of New Yorker Ray Raposa, who continues mixing the far-flung genres of Americana and electronic noise in his third release from Asthmatic Kitty Records.

Songs that start out as simple, country-tinged, Dylan-style folk numbers quickly disintegrate into mechanical screams. Computer blips and weeping steel guitars share space. And thumping electronic beats and handclaps join shakers and twanging guitar strums.

This all blends nicely with Raposa's raspy and reverb-heavy singing about rain and trains, depression and love, roots and rootlessness.

"In the Vines" is a lovely, lonely recording.

Collaborative power

The Castanets record reminds me a little of Dylan and Johnny Cash from the past and Sparklehorse and Beck from today. In the middle somewhere, this album connects back, for me, to collaborations by ambient wiz Brian Eno and roots rocker Daniel Lanois.

It's also easy to hear a musical connection between "In the Vines" and "War Elephant," the most recent CD by Rhode Island-based Deer Tick, the band opening for and backing Castanets on the current tour.

With similarly earthy vocals and phrasing that also covers dark subject matter in a country-tinged folk style, Deer Tick's work makes a great match.

"War Elephant," though, plays it straight as very solid country rock, with varied pop-rock influences like Buddy Holly and Nirvana shining through.

What makes Deer Tick stand out most is John McCauley's powerful and clear singing voice. Some of his songs on this album, like "Dirty Dishes" and "Long Time" are catchy enough to be sing-along Top 40 hits if they still played good music on the radio.

DETAILS: When: 8 p.m. Oct. 31. Where: Underground at Harrison Center for the Arts, 1505 N. Delaware St. Tickets: $6. Info: (317) 396-3886; www.asthmatickitty.com. Note: The show, put on by Asthmatic Kitty Records, is connected with the opening of its new Unusual Animals Project Space, an art gallery also in the Harrison Center's basement.