Who:Â Local Natives at the Outdoor Theatre In 3 or Fewer Words: Natives at Sunset. Memorable Because: Things got personal when Local Natives opened their set at the Outdoor Theatre with “You and I.” The L.A. quintet could have easily played this stage the last time they were on the Coachella bill, but the crowd spilling […]
Who:Â Dam-Funk on the main stage In 3 or Fewer Words:Â Funky happy people. Memorable Because:Â It takes some gnarly keyboard manipulation into fooling you there is a guitar on stage when there’s not, but funk maestro Dam-Funk had a groove that was twice as heavy as his light crowd. Although, paired with positive messages in songs like […]
Who: IO Echo in the Gobi tent. In 3 or Fewer Words: Gobi of love. Memorable Because: After rushing through security checkpoints to make the early sets, the BBLA staff hit the Gobi Tent just as one of our favorite local bands took the stage. And Ioanna Gika’s sparkling, white kimono-inspired wardrobe alone was worth all the […]
Los Angeles has a typically strong presence at this year’s Coachella, so we thought it’d be nice to have a soundtrack of SoCal-based artists for the desert. Enjoy, and see you there. After the jump, the titles:
Dear Coachella: This post could be about 38 bands long, but I’m just afraid of getting RSI. I know it’s become fashionable to take potshots at your lineup – I have no idea what warped sense of entitlement that comes from. You have a nice product, and the excellence in the 2013 lineup runs deep. […]
Cold War Kids spread their wings on “Dear Miss Lonelyhearts;” it’s worth getting deep into the L.A. indie-rockers’ fourth album for the electro-based track “Loner Phase,” for instance. The first single “Miracle Mile,” though, is a synthesis of everything Nathan Willett, Dann Gallucci, Matt Maust and Matt Aveiro do well – Willett’s pleading vocals conjuring […]
For Justin Warfield, remixing the new Depeche Mode single “Heaven” was truly a labor of love. “I love that band so much, no matter how much I hear the records they’ve almost become standards to me, and I never get sick of them,” says Warfield, the voice of post-punk revivalists She Want Revenge. “No matter […]
Gifted remixers who’ve aroused expectations on the strength of collaborations with Mayer Hawthorne, Major Lazer, Phoenix and Passion Pit, among others, Los Angeles duo Classixx aim to further impress with their first collection of original material “Hanging Gardens” (due May 14 on Innovative Leisure). Generously making their remixed brilliance available for DJs looking to infuse […]
You can almost hear the floorboards of the saloon creak during Pony Boy’s new single “Greatest Unknown,” singer Marchelle Bradanini’s continuing adventures in casting dark spells over vintage Americana. Bradanini’s Old West soundscapes are places there might be cowboys and there might be aliens, and there certainly are mysterious heroines who can stop either in […]
It’s been more than two years since psych-folk band Young Hunting unveiled their velvet atmospherics, and after a long tour schedule and studio time, their debut full-length “Hazel” is en route June 4 via Gold Robot. There’s melancholic beauty in early tracks “Rust” and “Into Your Mind,” as well as lighter ballads such as “Sweet Bird” […]
