On her first two singles as Spelles, Kathryn Barr proved she could be both fast-moving (the percussive “Bird in a Cage”) and deeply brooding (the melancholy “Out of the Canyon”). The L.A.-based Canadian goes deeper on her new single “Rib Cage,” questioning her very worth with those smoky vocals made for late-night introspection. “I try […]
L.A.-based singer-songwriter-composer Peter Barbee cut his teeth in Nashville, releasing an EP and a full-length (2012’s overlooked “Wanderings of an Illustrative Mind”) as Among Savages. Since then, he has co-written with Natalie Prass (including “My Baby Don’t Understand Me” on her 2015 debut) and sung on the Stephan Altman/Mark Foster-penned song “When You Find Love” […]
Heathers’ guitar-propelled indie-pop recalls the jangling, mostly British bands of the 1980s whose chiming chords put a happy face on their outsider mopery. The L.A. trio of singer-guitarist Michael Francis, bassist Thom Lucero and drummer Michael Wegener make it sound cool to be bummed on their new single “Tanker” too. After releasing a trickle of […]
Pop-punk rabble-rousers of FIDLAR are back, and not a moment too soon. The band — Zac Carper, Brandon Schwartzel and brothers Elvis and Max Kuehn — today announced their second full-length, “Too,” would be out Sept. 4 via Mom+Pop Music. The album, the follow-up to the quartet’s 2013 debut, was produced in Nashville by Jay Joyce (Zac […]
L.A. trio Crash Kings made their mark as the unlikeliest of shredders — their bluesy hard rock is made without guitars, although it often sounds like it, instead relying on analog keyboards and what they call “Clavinet-whammy bar wizardry.” The band — brothers Antonio and Michael Beliveau, now joined by drummer Tommy Rose — arrived with […]
Singer-songwriter Lisa Sonoda is a Bay Area native with an impressive online arsenal of cover songs — Feist, Mazzy Star, St. Vincent, Lykke Li, Of Montreal, Angel Olsen, Lana Del Rey and Elliott Smith are among the artists whose work she has tackled in her home recordings. All of which serve as reference points for the […]
The debut EP from L.A. quintet Nightjacket recalls hazy daze of Mazzy Star and 10,000 Maniacs, not to mention the feeling you can get drunk just off the night. “Eternal Phase,” due June 23, began as a collaboration between songwriters Holland Belle, whose sultry vocals take on a woozier tint than they did on the […]
While juggling careers as in-demand visual artists, Orange County-reared twins Luke and Joe McGarry have spent several years making music under the apt name Pop Noir. Their songs have reflected the post-punk styles of their birthplace in the U.K. (they covered “Temptation” two years ago), and with 2013’s “Jealousy” EP and on their new single […]
Vanish Valley’s roots-rock wears like denim — it’s sturdy, comfortable and never out of fashion, no matter how weathered it sometimes looks. On the L.A. quartet’s new album “Queen of the Concert” — their third and first since 2011 — singer-guitarist Andrew McAllister sounds at once restless and world-weary. “This record was written during a period of […]
If it’s bold these days to create synth-pop without laptops and other assorted gadgetry, someone ought to carve statuettes of Los Angeles foursome LEX. The quartet’s self-titled EP embraces the sounds of vintage analog synths, a glossy feel that, combined with singer Alexia de la Rocha’s come-hither vocals, recall the long nights and short mornings […]
