At the helm of the indie quartet Blonde Summer, Chris Pope has released three EPs of distinctly Californian, guitar-tastic (and, we might add, criminally overlooked) rock as Blonde Summer. Pope’s side project Solai, realized in his Silver Lake apartment, has a West Coast feel too – the sun- and synth-drenched nostalgia that permeates a lot […]
If you’re one of those music fans who holds to the notion that there must be something in the water in Sweden, here’s another line for your thesis: the indie-pop quintet Amason. Having been tagged a “Swedish supergroup,” the band crafts elegant songs built around the smoky voice of Amanda Bergman, who sang in the […]
The new EP from Line & Circle shimmers like a mirage from the distant 1980s – although not the new wave ’80s currently being plundered by anybody who can plug in a synth. The L.A. quintet, founded by Midwesterners Brian Cohen and Brian Egan and including Eric Neujahr, Jon Engelhard and Nick Cisik, recalls the […]
Singer-guitarist Spencer Livingston played for almost a decade in the alt-rock band the Alternates, and in the summer of 2013 he released his Peter Malick-produced solo album of evocative Americana, “Grow.” Now he has merged names and talents with singer-guitarist Alex Moore as Livingmore. After debuting under the name Alex & the Constellation, the duo […]
It’s been two years since post-punk agitators Dirt Dress released “Donde La Vida No Vale Nada,” which featured nine quick hits of insurrectionist shout-alongs. The new EP “Revelations” feels like a ray of sunshine by comparison, while still abiding the band’s compulsion to throw sonic curveballs. That’s a skronky sax in the middle of the […]
Singer-guitarist Christian Letts has spent several years as a key ingredient in Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros, contributing the beautiful ballad “Child” to the band’s 2012 album “Here.” He is stepping out under the name Letts to release a solo album, “Hold Fast,” on Feb. 17 via Alex Ebert’s Community Music (and Vagrant Records). […]
Indie-folk quartet Heaps n Heaps emerged late last year with their “Dancing on the Moon” EP, showcasing the sometimes-lilting, sometimes-exuberant boy/girl vocals of Aussie ex-pat Alisa Fedele and American Zach Moon, who had recruited John Pruitt and Ben Spear to round out the four-piece. “Berlin” is the first single from their second EP, “Like No […]
“Pisces,” the long-in-the-works album from the Sarah Negahdari side project bearing the name of the 12th sign of the Zodiac, seems born of faeries, or at least sprinkled by fairy dust. Pisces’ music has been described as the “mystical side” of the Happy Hollows frontwoman, but it’s not like her indie-rock trio isn’t a little […]
After teaming up last year to release the collaborative album “Run The Jewels,” rapping duo El-P and Killer Mike are back with their appropriately titled follow-up “Run The Jewels 2” as a free download. It’s another high-energy assault of hard, fast and fun rap, as Jaime and Mikey go tit-for-tat verbally with eloquent and intricate […]
Looking for some muscle in your rock ’n’ roll? The last volley from L.A. quartet Dorothy is like pumping iron. The new L.A. quartet featuring Dorothy Martin and her merry band of shredders –guitarist Mark Jackson, bassist Greg Cash and drummer Zac Morris – made a lot of friends fast with their first two singles, […]
