The true value of those best-of-the-year lists that some love to pillory is to alert you to music you’ve slept on, or dismissed too quickly. So a tip of the cap to anybody who mentioned the Fresh & Onlys, the San Francisco quartet whose cocktail of winsome jangle-pop and brooding psychedelia is stirring indeed. The […]
The Cigarette Bums describe themselves as “latchkey garage punks from all over California,” and it’s a good thing nobody’s keeping close track of them. Their rootsy squalor packs a lot of punch, and the quintet of Steven Carrera, Eamon McGinnis, Ryan Aguilar, Jaime Ramirez, and Tim Greenshields has a couple of 7-inches and three EPs […]
Every so often last year, I visited Ace Reporter’s website to check in on his ThreeSixFive Project – the Brooklyn songwriter’s seemingly crazy scheme to record a song a day for an entire year. I half-expected the man born Chris Snyder to call in sick one day, or make an excuse, or bow out gracefully. […]
[Today’s little bundle of downloads comes via three bands who are all playing in L.A. this weekend:] Daniel Lanois’ Black Dub, “I Believe in You.” The first single from the foursome’s self-titled album, which came out in November, showcases Trixie Whitley’s great voice against the subtle backdrop provided by Lanois, drummer Brian Blade and bassist […]
When we last heard from actor/director/pop explorer Adam Goldberg a year and a half ago, he was giving birth to his first album as LANDy, “Eros and Omissions.” He returns now under the whimsical moniker the Goldberg Sisters – his siblings being “vocalists” “Space Echo” and “Sister Echo,” or possibly somebody named “Celeste” – with […]
Hard to believe Lesands has been a band less than a year. The San Diego County outfit (now a trio) put smiles on faces and set bodies in motion with their kaleidoscopic take on ’80s synth-pop from the moment they stepped on southern California stages. Their reference points are many, but judging from the five […]
HT Heartache has one of those voices that can turn you into a puddle of tears, and the L.A. songstress wielded it deftly on last year’s slow-burner of an album “Swing Low,” which was produced by Gus Black with a little boost from the songwriter’s husband, Sam Johnson of Shadow Shadow Shade. Now filmmaker Michael […]
This one snuck up on me: Beloved Swedish dream-pop trio the Radio Dept. this week released a compilation titled “Passive Aggressive: Singles 2002-2010,” a great collection if you’re a fan of the band and a nice starting point if you’re just being introduced to all things twee. They’re on a North American tour next month […]
Josh Thorpe, one-half of the songwriting braintrust behind Risers, concedes there’s a certain amount of “fed-up-ness” behind the music on the L.A. quintet’s debut EP. “Is that word?” he says, stopping himself and chuckling. “Well, you know what I mean. Love and struggle.” There’s plenty of emotional push and pull in the intricately layered rock […]
This we know about Vanaprasta: The L.A. quintet approaches epic heights with its fusion of slashing guitars, furious rhythms and Steven Wilkin’s arena-rock tenor. The Silver Lakers have proven themselves at show after show. And in Dylan Bell’s video that just debuted for “Healthy Geometry,” they look ready for the big leagues. What’s still a […]
