Kevin Bronson on November 24th, 2008

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[Fresh sounds from the L.A. scene …]

With the Fugazi-inspired art-rock of his former trio the Front now in his rear-view mirror, singer-guitarist Michael Bauer has entered the vortex of psychedelic rock. In the new quartet Useless Keys, Bauer is joined by”  Rory Modica, Guylaine Vivarat (ex-Molecules) and Michael Regilio (ex-Green and Yellow TV). The foursome has only a few recordings under its belt, but its mix of ’60s fuzz, Nirvana angst and Floydian gravitas traps you in an arresting sonic cloud. “White Noise” is anything but; in fact, I can’t even count the colors.

||| Download: “White Noise”

||| Live: Useless Keys plays Dec. 3 at Spaceland.

Newbies Cola-Cola put a fresh twist on power-pop, melding candy-coated ’60s stylings and the bombast of later purveyors such as the Shazam and Weezer with the pinprick guitar lines of indie rock. The quartet got its start behind the songwriting duo of Josh Ben-Noah and Adam Brown. With bassist Mikey Gong and drummer Chris Gregory on board, Cola-Cola produced its own debut EP (with finishing touches by J.J. Golden in Ventura) and finished with six songs that are as catchy as fleet-footed outfielder.

||| Download: “Electric Wing”

||| Live: Cola-Cola performs Saturday at Club Good Hurt in West L.A.