Ears Wide Open: Courtenay Green and the Red Scare

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The music of L.A.’s Courtenay Green ping-pongs between the confessional (and even confrontational) pop of ’90s songstresses such as Natalie Merchant and the carefee confections of ’80s girl groups. It’s clever, maybe sassy (though if it’s sexist to use that adjective, I humbly apologize), and very self-aware – in her video for “Beyond Therapy,” after all, she fairly accurately projects the song into a karaoke environment. The follow-up to this year’s “Mixed Message” EP is the single “Devil in the Details,” in which fuzzy guitar riffs share a trampoline with frolicky keys and synths. Pop on.

||| Download: “Devil in the Details”

||| Live: Green plays the Knitting Factory with the Lugnuts and others as part of the KROQ Battle for Los Angeles.