Ears Wide Open: Bigelf, the Marches

Kevin Bronson on
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[Heard on the local beat …]

L.A. quartet Bigelf is described as “30 years behind and five years ahead of what’s happening,” and I’ll buy that. Fronted by Laurel Canyon-bred Damon Fox, the foursome channels Black Sabbath into a sprawling, gnarly mountain of sound – and while you’re not liable to find many of the hipsterati fawning over their vintage prog-rock, rest assured Bigelf has its well-deserved supporters. Their latest album “Cheat the Gallows” came out on Linda Perry’s Custard Records.

||| Download: “Money It’s Evil”

||| Live: Bigelf headlines the Key Club on Thursday.

The Marches’ album “4 a.m. Is the New Midnight” is a little like a teenager’s bedroom – strewn with clutter. But move a pile of dirty socks here, and maybe a stack of books there, and you’ll find that $20 bill you lost three months ago. The band’s eclectic mix of blippy electro, caustic synths and bass- and horn-heavy Motown reveals some soul in their machines; think of it as dance music for robots with really bad dance moves. Jazz … trip-hop … indie … It might be a test, but boring, it ain’t.

||| Download: “Bad Touch”

||| Live: No dates scheduled.