[Here are few covers that have crossed our radar and enjoyed…] Writer, “Disparate Youth (Santigold cover)” – Scuzzy punk brothers Jame and Andy Ralph of San Diego’s Writer take on Santigold’s pop song. The guitar stabs are still there, but they’re just drowned in fuzz and drone this time around. You can watch the E. […]
Although there are many who may still be mourning the demise of local post-punk darlings Eagle & Talon, some should be happy to hear that one-half of its members are still offering new tunes. Kim Talon who served as the duo’s guitarist, is now residing in Brooklyn, but she’s got a new project called JAN. […]
Echo Park quartet Spirit Vine delves into the darker corners of psych-rock, where songs cast shadows, if not spells, and there’s danger in every drone. They turned heads with two EPs – “Golden” in 2010 and “Blue Star” last year – and this week’s news is that the foursome of singer-keyboardist Jaquelinne Cingolani, guitarist Gabe […]
Instead of throwing food in his face, Mike Goldman and Nick Sandler help Chasing Kings frontman Matt Schwartz take on different locales in the video for their latest single “Do It to Myself.” Appropriately released while Chasing Kings wraps up their national tour, the Tessa Neustadt- and Matthew Black-directed clip promotes the track off their […]
Like a lot of rock singers, Katherine Pawlak sounds as if she has issues. At full throttle, the frontwoman of L.A. trio Sad Robot sounds as if she can handle them herself. At turns sultry, playful and angry, Pawlak gives the dirty/pretty stylings of her bluesy power trio a sense of urgency. If you’re a […]
Faris McReynolds is something of a three-pronged attack, with two of his exploits directed at your ears. He’s a painter who is juggling two musical projects – indie-rock explorations as ExDetectives and electronic music as One Finger Riot. He has made two albums as each, with OFR’s latest “Fly By Life” have coming out in […]
Long-running SoCal classic rock quartet the Jigsaw Seen have it down – not a formula, mind you, but a distinct knack for finding gold in the rivers and streams of pop that you’d think would have been played out by 2012. The foursome’s forthcoming album “Gifted” (due Nov. 20) follows 2011’s “Winterland,” a concept album […]
Think the heat wave that Los Angeles the past six weeks was a blast furnace? Wait till you get a load of “Monster Wizard,” the new single from Zig Zags, The latest from the trio of chanter-guitarist Jed Maheu (the ex-Sub Pop PR man), bassist Patrick McCarthy and drummer Bobby Martin (drums) is a heavy-metal […]
Most may remember French chanteuse Laetitia Sadier as the vocalist in Kraut-lounge act Stereolab, but she’s carried on with solo material after the band’s demise in 2009. Sadier now follows up her 2010 debut “The Trip” with another solo record titled “Silencio” (out now via Drag City). Once again teeming with melodies that are sung […]
Few bands carry the Sarah Records torch so proudly as Letting Up Despite Great Faults, the L.A.-bred and now-Austin-based quartet that originally was the bedroom project of Mike Lee. Letting Up’s second album “Untogether” (out next Tuesday) rolls in like a spring breeze, sighing vocals over ’80s-style synths and jangling, fuzzed-out guitars. It’s an aesthetic […]
