Buzz Bands LA in Feb.: Glacier Hiking at the Echo

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Buzz Bands LA emerges from a brief winter hibernation to invite you to the Echo on Tuesday, Feb. 23, for a night of melody and merriment featuring Glacier Hiking, Haim, Kitten and Go West Young Man, along with selections from DJ Boutros Boutros-Rock. It’s an 18+ show, and gets under way at 8:30 p.m. Tickets are $8 at the door, but only $5 if you RSVP to buzzbands(at)gmail(dot)com. Watch my Twitter @krbronson for new about special promotions.

Here’s what’s in store – I’ll have more on all four of the bands in the coming days:

Glacier Hiking’s glossy, adrenaline-pumping pop-rock has been a work-in-progress for about four years now. Collaborators Ross Golan and Tommy Walter, when not busy on other projects (Golan as a songwriter-for-hire and Walter as a writer/producer), last year scrapped a plan to release an EP every three months in favor of finishing a full-length album with producer/mixer Neal Avron, who has worked with Yellowcard, Fall Out Boy, Say Anything and New Found Glory, among others.

“We feel we’ve finally found our voice,” says Golan, whose quartet also includes drummer Daniel James and bassist Yutaka Sao. “We’ve gone through a lot of phases. … But now we’ve worked hard at writing fresh music that we think represents who we are.”

||| Stream: “Stay Positive” (rough mix) [audio:http://www.mediafire.com/file/4ezxtikucyn/Glacier Hiking_Stay Positive_roughmix.mp3]

Haim’s sister act started generating buzz last year when the quintet – which includes Haim siblings Este, 23, Danielle, 20, and Alana, 18, along with Alex Fischel and Jeff Conrad – started bringing its classic take on rock to local clubs. Danielle spent part of the year as a touring member of Jenny Lewis’ band, and then Julian Casablancas’ band. Haim (Hi-EEM) has been writing new material and getting a bit of weekend studio time with producer Tony Berg.

Kitten’s urgent indie-pop sounds a bit like early Metric (if you remember what Metric sounded like in its L.A. days), with 15-year-old Chloe Chaidez’s breathy vocals (she’s an admirer of both Karen O and Cat Power) striking a balance between vulnerable and worldly.

Go West Young Man’s self-titled 2009 album, all too deplorably overlooked, is full of sticky melodies and bright imagery, showing off multi-instrumentalist Damin Suarez’s slick pop songwriting chops.