Sorting out all the hillbilly high jinx on the new album from L.A.-based Charlie Greene is a bit like trying to remember where you parked the Caddy after a day-night bender. So here we will crib from an interview the self-professed “combustion scientist” gave to Elmore Magazine: “My new record has something for everybody. It’s […]
It’s quite possibly one of the best “albums” you will hear all year, and if not that, then at least a gobsmacking display of songwriting chops that will have you scrambling for the lyrics sheet. If there were one. The hitch is: “The Wrong Man” isn’t an album. Its 14 songs aren’t even recorded, and […]
“Answers,” the latest EP from Duniven, is a more restrained affair than either 2012’s “These Dreams” or the breakup-inspired 2011 full-length “I Need to Try for Her.” It’s almost as if singer-songwriter Patrick Thomas captured and bottled the vibe of “a long day, living in Reseda” and ignored the freeway running through the yard. The […]
L.A. quintet Line & Circle are not fast workers, but they are meticulous workers. The band – singer-guitarist Brian Cohen. keyboardist Brian Egan, guitarist Eric Neujahr, bassist Jon Engelhard (having replaced Nathan Gammill) and drummer Nick Cisik – recalls those heady days of the ’80s and ’90s when songwriters wrote anthems, not just hooks. And “Mine […]
Singer-songwriter John West was one of those feel-good stories, a regular performer on Santa Monica’s Third Street Promenade who landed a major-label record deal, worked with industry A-listers and released singles featuring Big Sean and Pusha T. When things didn’t go as planned and West got dropped by the label, he set about deleting his […]
There’s some meaning, and maybe a little bit of irony, behind the new Deluka single “Home.” The synth-pop band, built around the songwriting duo of Kris Kovacs and Ellie Innocenti, is, after all, on its third home since they formed in 2004 in Birmingham, England. Deluka subsequently departed the U.K. for New York, enjoying what […]
L.A. quartet Kiven is one of several bands around town making the hopeful claim that rock is back. And even though the quartet of singer-guitarist-keyboardist Tyler Demorest, guitarist Danny Schnair, bassist Matt Cohen and drummer Jake Reed may not exactly on the vanguard, rockists may find some tasty licks on Kiven’s self-titled album, which comes […]
There is no doubt that Morgan Kibby’s powerful vocals and harmonies have created a signature sound for her solo work as White Sea. Although she may have stolen the spotlight at numerous M83 shows (of which she is a co-writing member), her own material doesn’t shy away from growing to more bombastic levels – musically […]
If you thought Yuna‘s tunes were smooth when she worked with Pharrell, then her latest single “Falling” from her latest album “Nocturnal” should be up there with your new favorite summery songs considering it was produced by Robin Hannibal (one-half of Rhye and Quadron). With her butter-smooth vocals floating above the light disco beats, it’s […]
Nico Vega was pumping new life into the notion of the power trio long before there were blues revivalists on every street corner. It was 2006 or so when the dual shredding of Aja Volkman (with her Joplinesque vocals) and Rich Koehler (with his guitar) first jolted L.A. audiences, with (then) up-and-coming actor Mikey Pena […]
