Pepper Rabbit’s orchestral indie-pop overflows with exuberance, especially when the duo of Xander Singh and Luc Laurent plays it live – Singh is like a neighbor who shows up on your doorstep with a bag of goodies and heart full of largesse. His back of tricks, of course, includes horns, woodwinds, keys, guitar, ukulele and […]
I’ll start this item with full disclosure: I’ve been friends with John Girgus since I wrote this piece about Aberdeen’s “Homesick and Happy to Be Here” for my former employer over eight years ago. The album has held up well, and with bands such as the Pains of Being Pure at Heart and the Radio […]
Top 4 ways to keep that summertime adrenaline pumping: ‣ Jets Overhead have jetted in from Canada – that’s their new video for “I Should Be Born,” above – and since I’ve advocated for them before, I’ll do it again. They play the Roxy on a KROQ Locals Only bill (hmm, KROQ now reaches all […]
My iTunes library categorizes “Home” – the first single from Glasser’s forthcoming debut “Ring” – as “post pop.” Let’s hope it’s not post-anything. The warm beats, complex instrumentation and soaring vocals seem to immediately fulfill the promise of 2009’s EP “Apply,” which introduced one-woman orchestra Cameron Mesirow to the world. The album, out Sept. 28 […]
Indie mockumentary “The Scenesters” seems to have all the makings of a Buzz Bands favorite – lots of music by familiar people (the Airborne Toxic Event, the Cribs, Le Switch, the Franks are among those populating the soundtrack), plenty of laughs, a little mystery and some dead hipsters. Yes, it’s only a ceremonial burning of […]
Kids, don’t try this at home, no matter how devoted you are to the Tribe of Kevin Barnes. Of Montreal’s video for “Coquet Coquette” features a lot of carnage at the band does battle with cannibals and a witch doctor on a deserted beach. The first single from the band’s new album “False Priest” (out […]
There’s something sexy about Wisconsin garage rockers Jaill. “That’s How We Burn,” their debut for Sub Pop, falls somewhere between ’80s pop-punk and stoner dance-rock territory, blending dishy hooks, back-up harmonies and a whole lot of references to weed. Lead track “The Stroller” plays like the perfect soundtrack to start Saturday night, in a fast […]
Radars to the Sky remain one of those best-bands-you’ve-never-heard phenomena that populate the L.A. landscape – people with days jobs and families and lives who somehow find the juice to write and record original material, instead of maybe playing in that AC/DC cover band for beers on the weekend. It’s slow going sometimes (the first […]
Fresh off a three-day gig at the World Expo tour in Shanghai, Newfoundland rockers Hey Rosetta are preparing for a U.S. tour supporting fellow Canadians Hot Hot Heat. Featuring brooding lyrics behind soaring instrumentation, the band uses violin and cello along with traditional rock guitars, piano and drums. Their first proper album “Into Your Lungs” […]
The first question, as we convene for what has become a biannual lunch at Oinkster in Eagle Rock, is: “When did one of my favorite shoegaze bands wake up and decide they wanted to sound like the Byrds?” Rob Barbato and Tim Presley of Darker My Love laugh. “We always did …” Barbato says. “… […]
