Singer-songwriter-psychic explorer Angel Deradoorian has alighted in Los Angeles, bringing with her a resumé that includes stints in Dirty Projectors and Avey Tare’s Slasher Flicks, as well as collaborations with the likes of Flying Lotus, Björk and Vampire Weekend. In seemingly ancient times (2009), Deradoorian released a solo EP, but it’s nothing like her forthcoming […]
L.A.’s Wolf Prize make spare, spooky art-pop with plenty of space for singer Tori Roggeman to curl, massage, prune or inflate every phrase for maximum impact. The trio, which debuted in 2014 with an EP titled “Glomung,” got together when Roggeman, guitarist Marisa DeMeglio (WORDS, Cardoo) and synth player/bassist Amber Elliot met when volunteering at […]
Memo to friends who host those fun ’80s club nights: Mix in a few jams from the new album by aptly named synth-pop artist the New Division and see if any of your patrons notice. The band, the vehicle for the songwriting and production of Riverside’s John Glenn Kunkel, makes synth-pop largely faithful to the […]
Late Night Friends’ debut album reconstitutes the angst and melancholy of 1990s alt-rock greats into a slightly more modern package. “What I Think I’m Not,” due Aug. 7 via Limited Fanfare Records, is the work of singer-guitarist Barrett Shuler and Jonathan Baron, along with bassist Alex Gallner and drummer Keith Roenke. Recorded with Dead Meadow […]
On past releases, Swahili Blonde — the multifarious experimental pop project of singer-songwriter Nicole Turley — has incorporated the talents of an estimable roster of collaborators, including guitarist John Frusciante, Duran Duran bassist John Taylor, Slits guitarist Viv Albertine, Devo drummer Alan Myers, multi-instrumentalist Brad Caulkins (ex-Fool’s Gold), Laena Geronimo (Feels) and Dante White Aliano (Dante vs. […]
Has it really been 20 years since a then-teenaged Ben Lee released his first solo album? Seem like a long time — but it’s a drop in the bucket to the subjects of his new video for “Big Love.” They are John and Ann Betar, the longest-married couple in the U.S., celebrating their 82nd anniversary […]
Sonny Boy Thorn makes festival-ready classic rock with big grooves and modern influences — and just enough of the latter that the band doesn’t sound like it’s aping anybody from the ’90s or before. SBT is a newly uncloseted collaboration between guitarist-songwriter-producer Christopher Thorn (of Blind Melon) and singer-songwriter David “Davie” Dennis of the dearly […]
Like Southern California kindred spirits Olin and the Moon, L.A. quartet Boroughs embraces the finery of traditional Americana, rolling influences like Wilco, Ryan Adams and Tom Petty into an inviting ball of melody and sincerity. The band finds its origins in frontman Kyle Neal’s move from his native Bakersfield to L.A., where he met guitarist […]
At one point on her debut album, singer-songwriter Lael Neale confesses, “I don’t know what I am.” At times over the 12 tracks of the deceptively titled “I’ll Be Your Man,” it’s stunning to hear her try to work it out. The first single from the L.A.-based artist, who was reared on a farm in […]
Transplanted Scotsman Charlie Clark is a man with many irons in the fire — he has at least three musical projects ongoing and books the live music at Harvard & Stone — and he has named his new band for the Majestic 12, the secret group formed in 1947 by President Harry S. Truman to […]
