We moped quite a bit in 2012 when Black Flamingo went quietly into the night – the band’s dreamier-than-thou 2011 EP “Luau in the Graveyard” juggled the sunny-but-dark aesthetic many West Coast shoegazers have tried since. The band’s members have scattered, most working on projects that are well worth your attention. But it turns out […]
There may have been 202 local albums released this year (yes, 202), but sometimes you can’t get have a successful finale without putting out a little teaser first. EPs are often overlooked when making year-end lists, but we at BBLA HQ believe the preview is just as important as the finished product. Short releases are […]
[It’s that time of year … when our inbox is full of holiday songs. We’re sorting our mailbag and will share one a day, all week:] It’s becoming something of a tradition for Eastern Conference Champions – craft a holiday original and gift-wrap it in time for Dec. 25. Last year, it was “Nuclear Christmas,” […]
Orange County beach-goth miscreants the Growlers have certainly earned their beer money this year. In January, they released the 15-song full-length “Hung at Heart,” and in November they followed up with an album-length EP, “Guilded Pleasures.” In between those releases, they toured the globe. And somewhere in there Taylor Bonin made videos for the songs […]
Techno wizard John Tejada has a long and estimable resumé as a DJ, producer and entrepreneur. Satin-voiced Kimi Recor is known for her work in projects such as Black Flamingo and, recently, Draemings (the name under which she is recording a full-length). Together, they are Bavaria – the name deriving from the fact that Tejada […]
It’s that time of year. I’ve spent the last few days rifling through blog posts, sorting an iTunes folder with more than 300 songs in it and sequencing the next three weeks’ worth of Buzz Bands LA Shows on The Independent FM. You know, I’ve made the list and checked it twice (which, this year, […]
Yuna’s smoky vocals earned her a spotlight in her home country as a singer-songwriter early on, but it wasn’t until Pharrell Williams took her under his wings to produce the seductive anthem “Live Your Life,” that the Malaysian singer began to garner praise her sophisticated delivery. Putting a Southeast Asian spin on pop music, Yuna […]
Sympathetic Frequencies aspire to belong to that shrinking subset of indie-rockers who regard their songs as more than just four minutes of escapism. The band – singer-guitarist Trevor O’Neill joined by guitarist Daniel Berkman, keyboardist Annie Aboulian, bassist Benjamin Borland and drummer Cory Coverstone – just released their first EP “Possible Oceans,” which was produced […]
It’s been a rip-roaring 2013 for the Record Company, one of a handful of emerging L.A. bands seemingly hellbent on bringing vintage blues to the jaded indie masses. Chris Vos, Alex Stiff and Marc Cazorla played a ton of small shows, and some big ones, and released a follow-up EP to 2012’s “Superdead.” The new […]
Nice and slow is Kevin Morby‘s new motto. The bassist for Woods and co-founder of the Babies sets out on a solo endeavor with his debut “Harlem River,” and it’s a velvet-smooth ride. As an homage to New York City, his home for five years until he recently relocated to Los Angeles, the songs that […]
