The Ceremonies are three brothers who hail from the San Fernando Valley and think really, really big, judging from their first single. Songwriter Matthew Cook, 21, and his fraternal twin brothers Mark and Michael, 19, find their influences in New Wave and post-punk and play musical chairs with instruments and vocal duties. Yes, “Land of […]
What comes next? Better yet, what comes “after everything?” That’s the question posed in “Heavy Feet,” the new song released today by L.A. quintet Local Natives. Over drummer Matt Frazier’s rat-a-tat’s beats, singer Kelcey Ayer waxes romantic in this Natives tune, which appears on their second album “Hummingbird” (out Jan. 29). This one’s sure to […]
The Neighbourhood’s new video for “A Little Death,” made by the quintet’s visual collaborators Daniel Iglesias Jr. and Zack Sekuler, is a button-pusher that seems a little ingratiating at the outset. (I imagine the messages – “Dudes, it’s girl-on-girl.“) Hang around for the twist, though. The sultry R&B ditty is the B-side to the […]
The resurgence of folk music in the mainstream has produced a lot of artists who sound – thematically as well as sonically – as if they’re church-going people. Some we know have even been disparaged in the press as stealth Christians. Well, there’s nothing covert about the Eagle Rock Gospel Singers, an eight- to 13-strong […]
That’s a photo of Michael Davis (of Michael Davis With Lions), above. We share that because his album-release show on Wednesday night at the Echo will be our first outing of 2013. And because he was part of Buzz Bands LA’s 2012 as well. This blog posted about almost 400 Los Angeles bands in 2012. […]
As great as this year was on the Los Angeles music scene, 2012 was only foreplay compared to what awaits in 2013. This year’s “Bands to Watch” could go on and on and on, like one of those “whoa-oh” choruses that populated our 2012 playlists. No fewer than 22 L.A. bands are signed and ready […]
Just to get you in the mood for New Year’s Eve – and we’re kinda already there, right? – Lord Huron has recorded a cover of “Auld Lang Syne.” Lord Huron’s debut album “Lonesome Dreams,” which checked in at No. 2 on Buzz Bands LA’s best-of-2012, is notable for its cinematic soundscapes, and Ben Schneider […]
When Dave Klotz and Emily Cook resurfaced in mid-2011 after taking enough time away from parenting duties to restart Fonda, indie-pop fans had another reason to rejoice. Their three albums between 1998 and 2003 nailed the Britpop-derived sound that many current indie artists mine and manipulate – noisy guitar-and-synth, boy/girl vocals, soaring melodies. Fonda’s 2011 […]
What a year. More than 140 Los Angeles-sired albums passed through the Buzz Bands LA headphones this year, not counting EPs, mixtapes and singles. Judging from the detritus at my desk – handwritten lists, stacks of CDs, press releases – and my unopened emails, there were a lot more out there. It came in all […]
The sprightly Americana of the Picture and the Frame is the brainchild of singer-bassist Rose Shawhan, singer-guitarist Rickett Baker and drummer Mark Howell – three transplants who’ve fit in well with the L.A.’s urban folkies. The trio’s twang comes with a dash of ’90s alt-rock edge. Late last year, they released the suggestively titled “Sounds […]
