Jon Pebsworth has been known as “Pebs” since he was a kid, and it’s this moniker he chose for his newest incarnation as a scratchy-voiced troubadour. As he shows on his debut album “Sweet Surrender” (out independently Sept. 20), it’s a role he inhabits well – he has logged plenty of miles as vocalist for […]
“Bull in the Wild,” the three-minute banger off Eastern Conference Champions’ scintillating new album “Speak-Ahh,” sprints along on an ascending bass line while Josh Ostrander spits out lyrics like a drunken beat poet. It’s exhilarating, moreso if you catch some of the imagery in Ostrander’s seemingly stream-of-consciousness wordplay. “I’m in the corner / watching the […]
Tunes from 50 up-and-coming Los Angeles artists are available for download courtesy of a nationwide promotion that will send one band to Texas next spring to perform at a SPIN magazine event at Austin’s premiere festival. And every download is a vote. Pop Up Live is the brainchild of SPIN, the snack company popchips and […]
Fool’s Gold’s sophomore album “Leave No Trace” arrived earlier this month like an umbrella drink, mixing sweet and bright African beats with the intoxicating yearning of ’80s mopes like the Smiths and the Cure. Singer Luke Top’s full-throated entreaties, sung entirely in English this time (he did some songs in Hebrew on the debut), exude […]
A mostly local Tuesday: ‣ Army Navy, with their first national tour behind their new album “The Last Place” kicking off in October, plays the Satellite on a local bill that also includes JJAMZ and the Damn Sons. [Stream Army Navy’s album and get a download of “Ode to Janice Melt” at their website.] ‣ […]
You have to hand it to Ben Heywood. When the frontman of the L.A. indie-rock band Summer Darling found himself confronted by writer’s block last year after the release of his band’s well-regarded album, he didn’t break out by dashing off some 3-minute pop ditties. He dug deep. He imagined a chaotic, environmentally devastated American […]
Australian four-piece the Jezabels got our attention at SXSW, and it wasn’t singer Hayley Mary’s leather jacket. The quartet deals in layered, arena-ready rock anthems, with Mary wailing as if she want to be heard clear from Down Under. Which, thanks to the band’s three well-received EPs, she might be. The band is working on […]
Nik Freitas, the L.A. based singer-songwriter whose new album “Saturday Night Underwater” came out in June, will headline the September edition Buzz Bands LA’s SecondTuesday songwriter night at Lot 1 Cafe in Echo Park. Joining Freitas will be Marlon Rabenreither of the Sister Ruby Band and Ben Heywood of Summer Darling– each doing solo sets […]
Final Monday of the month, here goes: ‣ Tapes ’n Tapes, the Minneapolis quartet who early this year released their third and best album, “Outside,” visit the Satellite to do a makeup show for the scotched Sunset Junction. It’s also the final night of Stone Darling residency, and while the show isn’t free (it’s a […]
Heat get to you this weekend? I hope that cool music prevailed – there certainly was plenty to go around. Pour yourself something cold at midnight tonight and tune into the L.A. Buzz Bands show on KCSN (88.5 ) for an hour’s worth of music from SoCal artists, including fresh tunes from the likes of […]
