[Raising a glass to Juliana Hatfield on her birthday …] Five mp3s, with tonight’s corresponding shows: ‣ Polls, “Executive Toys.” The L.A. noise-pop trio celebrates its EP release at the Bootleg Theater. [See last week’s feature for more.] ‣ Jesca Hoop, “Feast of the Heart” (e-mail required). The songstress and former Tom Waits nanny celebrates […]
Interesting night ahead at the Vanguard, where the Red Bull Sound Clash pits Kid Sister against Moving Units, with the bands squaring off against each other from stages at opposite ends of the venue. The hip-hop vs. rock showdown will feature four rounds of “competition” in which the acts will show their stuff, with some […]
Tonight is the first of two nights to catch Those Darlins [download] in town when they play the Silverlake Lounge with The Grates and Leslie and the Badgers. … You know Brakesbrakesbrakes has got it goin’ on when their singer quits British Sea Power (Eamon Hamilton moonlighted as keyboardist in the fellow Brighton band) to […]
Robert Francis [pictured], whose song “Junebug” was single of the week last week on iTunes, opens for Noah and The Whale at the Roxy. Today marks the release of Francis’ major-label debut “Before Nightfall,” on Atlantic. … Should be a fun night at the Silverlake Lounge – the Monthlies head up a deep bill that […]
[Elliott Smith would have been 40 years old today. I think I will spend a meditative hour with “XO” this afternoon …] John Doe and the Sadies bring their collaboration to the Echoplex tonight behind “Country Club,” a new album of country covers (plus three Sadies’ compositions and one by Doe and Exene Cervenka). Jill […]
[Happy birthday, Juliana Hatfield, and thanks for songs.] July goes out with a bang this week, starting with some enticing shows tonight: Jarvis Cocker headlines the Wiltern behind his recent release “Further Complications,” an album that, owing to the strength of its storytelling, keeps on giving. [Cocker is giving away a remix of “You’re in […]
[Folks, today is 07/08/09, and maybe a numerologist could explain it to me, but I remember have a distinctly crappy 06/07/08 and 05/06/07. So I might not get out of bed today, even to wish Beck a happy 39th birthday.] The acclaimed Brooklyn avant-pop group Dirty Projectors hit town tonight behind their new release “Bitte […]
[Happy 40th to Flaming Lips drummer Steven Drozd. Now keep the beat while I run through tonight’s exhausting list of shows:] Give the Church credit – most bands who are still going concerns at the end of their third decade are just playing greatest-hits sets. The Australian quartet, touring behind a new album, “Untitled #23,” […]
[More L.A. releases, and surprises …] Olin and the Moon, “Terrible Town” (self-released) – Not to sound too hayseed, but this album’s like beer. Sometimes you cry in it; sometime you raise your glass. The L.A. quintet with roots in Sun Valley, Idaho, have birthed a “No Depression”-worthy recording that, while hardly straying from country […]
[It’s Jesse McCartney’s 22nd birthday today. Is he still a big deal, or is 22 over the hill in that world? In keeping with that theme …] “It’s Spooky to Be Young” is the new album by L.A.’s Meredith Meyer [pictured]. Her sophomore effort, produced by Bill Racine (Rogue Wave, Mates of State, Mark Gardener), […]
