Alexander, “Alexander” (Community Music/Vagrant) – After two-plus years of saving souls from the pulpit of the psych-folk collective Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros, Alex Ebert is still searching his own. “Alexander,” the 32-year-old’s solo debut, feels as if the songwriter is giving himself a pep talk, the overarching message being: Don’t give up the […]
Red Cortez is finishing strong. The final installment of the weekly EPs the L.A. quartet has been releasing (free) during this month’s residency includes a sparkling new track, “Over the City,” and two favorites from their lives sets, “All Ye People” and “Western Front.” You don’t have to be highly paid A&R person, or even […]
In the jubilant final verse of Wires in the Walls new single “The Ringer,” the L.A. quintet sings en masse “Hang on tight / hang on tight / things are bound to better,” punctuating their slice of driving Americana with shouted optimism. It’s fitting, considering the band is working on a full-length album, its first […]
At one moment during Local Natives’ gleeful turn Saturday night at Walt Disney Concert Hall, singer-keyboardist Kelcey Ayer gazed longingly at the grand piano in front of him, which seemed not much smaller than a lot of clubs the Los Angeles quintet played during its two-year ascent into the indie-pop limelight. “This is the first […]
Top shows to take the chill off your Monday night: ‣ Richard Swift makes magic as much as he does music. The former SoCal resident, now ensconced in Oregon and releasing music on Secretly Canadian, deals in various strains of baroque, chamber, ragtime, lounge and folk pop, making it all sound timeless. I can recommend […]
Pop music has its mood swings, but the melodrama can be addictive as sugar when tales of romance and life lessons are dipped in a coat of jangly guitars, heavy percussion and catchy choruses. Fortunately, Merge labelmates Telekinesis and the Love Language manage to sustain attention even after the inevitable crash that typically follows a […]
Mark Tulin, the bass player for 1960s psych-rock innovators the Electric Prunes and a recent collaborator with the Smashing Pumpkins’ Billy Corgan, has died at age 62. According to various news reports, Tulin on Saturday was participating in the Avalon Underwater Clean-Up when he collapsed. The Prunes, best known for their 1966 hit “I Had […]
A sprinkling of music on a night they hand out some movie awards in Hollywood: ‣ The Frustrators – the side project featuring Green Day bassist Mike Dirnt with three punk rockers from the other coast, Jason Chandler, Terry Linehan and Art Tedeschi – play the Troubadour behind their new EP, “Griller.” ‣ Love Grenades […]
Tonight’s top shows: ‣ Local Natives perform at the sold-out Walt Disney Concert Hall. Weren’t these guys gigging at the Silverlake Lounge, like, last month? Seems like. The breakout quintet will perform one acoustic set with a string quartet, then a second plugged-in set with a 23-piece orchestra. ‣ Speaking of breakouts, Young the Giant […]
This afternoon’s forecast for Los Angeles calls for chilly temperatures and light drizzle, but we’ll have the heat on at MoheakRadio for the Buzz Bands LA show, from 3 to 5 p.m. Pacific time. On today’s menu: An all-local-music program, with some tracks featured recently on this here Internet portal, along with an announcement about […]
