The Wedding Present

The Wedding Present is a bit of a contradiction – an indie rock band that has had 18 Top 40 hits in its native UK over 20-plus years.

The band’s latest, “El Rey," its first since 2005, reunites the group with producer Steve Albini, who helped the band add some snarl to its pop in the early '90s. It includes the irresistible churn and pop of "The Thing I Like Best About Him Is His Girlfriend," a crafty and somewhat mean-spirited single about infatuation. The band plays the Middle East Downstairs tonight with a Brooklyn rock band called, appropriately enough, the Jealous Girlfriends.
— Nick A. Zaino III, Globe Correspondent