“I love playing with my friends and stuff, but after a while it just felt like I didn’t know how to collaborate with other people and still maintain my own voice,” says Spector, 28.

So the Bethesda resident decided it was time to pursue her own thing. She borrowed a name from a Captain Beefheart song and started up Hothead, her journey into slightly terrifying solo territory.

“Hothead is kind of like my biggest fear,” says Spector, who plays guitar, drums and bass. “I can’t hide behind other people, I can’t hide behind the drums or whatever. I have to sing, I have to do everything. It’s been this tremendous boost to my confidence.”

On Hothead’s rangy debut — out soon on D.C. label Sister Polygon — Spector bounces around from hazy garage to borderline country, focusing on somewhat traditional songcraft, in contrast to her earlier, noisier bands.

“I’m really interested in figuring out how to write songs from a really traditional point of view — folk, blues,” Spector says. “I was just like, ‘I want to sit down with an acoustic guitar and play an old-fashioned song.’”

Lyricism doesn’t get short shrift, either, as Spector explores emotional territory she skirted around in previous groups — a direct product of her transformative time in therapy.

“The sound itself I think I’m still figuring out, but ultimately it’s supposed to be a songwriting project… where I really think about the [lyrics] and try to express feelings that I feel or that people I know feel,” the musician says.

The multi-instrumentalist brings her family into the project, too, using cover art inspired by her grandfather — who loved to doodle — and recordings of her grandmothers speaking and playing music. She says the focus on family symbolizes a ruling concept in people’s lives: love.

“Honestly, every single song’s about love,” Spector says. “But a universal kind of love, not some sort of romantic or possessive kind of love.”

Spector admits that she still finds it difficult to take herself seriously in her new solo format. But Hothead’s debut has prompted her to think optimistically.

“I was like, ‘OK, I did that in three months,’” Spector says. “Think what I could do in a year.”

Hothead plays Jan. 8 at CD Cellar Arlington.

The original version of this post said Hothead’s debut arrives Jan. 15. It does not have an official release date yet. The post has been corrected.

Channels, Soccer Team, Bells≥
Friday, May 30 at Rock & Roll Hotel, $12

Baltimore rock band Channels features J. Robbins (from Jawbox and Burning Airlines) alongside bassist Janet Morgan and drummer Darren Zentek of Kerosene 454. Their recorded output in their 10-year career has been relatively minimal (one album and one EP), and their live shows seem even more rare, so this is an excellent chance to check out these almost-locals. They’ll be joined by D.C. rockers Soccer Team and Brooklyn instrumental band Bells≥. (Catherine P. Lewis)

Foul Swoops, Nic Fits, Anchor 3, and Luke Reddick
Friday, May 30 at St. Stephen and the Incarnation Episcopal Church, $5 to $10

St. Stephen’s doesn’t host benefit shows as often as it used to, but it’s back at it this weekend with an all-local lineup that will benefit UNICEF’s work to help Syrian children. The show features Arlington rockers Foul Swoops, D.C. punkers Nic Fits, D.C. indie-pop band Anchor 3, and Alexandria’s Luke Reddick (of Dudes). (CPL)

Eels and Chelsea Wolfe
Saturday, May 31 at Lincoln Theatre, $35

This is Chelsea Wolfe’s “acoustic with strings” tour leg, which I hope means the gothic-folk/rock artist plans to perform a whole set of gorgeous tunes like this special version of one of her best songs to date, “Flatlands.” Wolfe’s last album, the synth-infused Pain Is Beauty, had plenty of memorable moments (especially the thunderous “We Hit A Wall“), but I always return to the seething, lower-key Unknown Rooms: A Collection of Acoustic Songs. Here’s hoping Saturday’s show (with headliner Eels) coaxes out more of that understated beauty. (Ally Schweitzer)

Outputmessage, Paperhaus, and The Effects
Saturday, May 31 at 945 Florida Ave. NW, free

A solid lineup of local performers, free admission, and dogs? I can’t think of many reasons to miss this show, co-presented by DCist.com, which takes place Saturday in the parking lot that formally hosted District Flea. Electronic wizard Outputmessage and indie-rock mainstays Paperhaus top the bill, but new band The Effects is worth an ear, too, featuring members of Medications, Buildings, and Deleted Scenes. The dogs come courtesy of Metro Mutts, which hosts a “Canines and Cocktails” happy hour before the show. (AS)

Priests, The Shondes, and Pinkwash
Monday, June 2 at Black Cat Backstage, $10

Local punk band Priests isn’t one for social media, but it’s all over the press, both locally (on Bandwidth and in the pages of Washington City Paper and the Washington Post) and nationally. The group finally drops its debut EP Tuesday—a step up from its previous cassette releases—but its DIY ethos still rages on. Opening group The Shondes joined this lineup after being booted from the Washington Jewish Music Festival because of their support of Palestine. (CPL)

Also recommended this week:
Internationally Known Global Hip-Hop Showcase at Tropicalia (Friday); Drop Electric, The Walking Sticks, and The Raised By Wolves at the Howard Theatre (Friday); Janel Leppin’s Volcanic Ash at Twins Jazz (Friday and Saturday); Queering Sound at Pyramid Atlantic (Saturday); The Menzingers, Lemuria, Pup, and Cayetana at Rock & Roll Hotel (Sunday); Br’er, Wei Zhongle, Three Brained Robot at the Paperhaus (Monday); Louis Weeks at Anacostia Arts Center (Wednesday).

These and other show listings can be found on ShowListDC.