Kevin Bronson on January 16th, 2014

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If you’ve alighted anywhere near Echo Park in the past couple of years, you probably know Rainbow Jackson, the housemates/beer swillers/rock antagonists who take power-pop and turn it into a bar fight. By way of reintroduction, they are singer-guitarist Chad Carlisle, guitarist Sam Dagger, bassist Laith Khalaf and drummer Andy Ford, and after better than a year of teasing with singles and videos, they have a new EP coming on Feb. 18. “Perpetual Summer” showcases the band’s muscular licks (Dagger is particularly worthy of his name) and finds the quartet steering clear of the consciously lo-fi production quality of most L.A. retro-rockers. In its penchant for sonic pyrotechnics, Rainbow Jackson recalls the grit of ’70s pioneers T. Rex and Badfinger, which isn’t a bad path to take if you want to have a smile on your face when the bartenders yell “last call.”

||| Stream: “Nightcrawler”

||| Live: Rainbow Jackson plays Monday night at the Bootleg as part of the Vanaprasta residency.

||| Previously: “Psycho Betty,” “Freckles,” “Flamingo Starr”

Photo by Shaughn Crawford