In an era of indie music seemingly overrun with whoa-whoa-whoa gang choruses, twinkling synths and retro-pop lickspittle, it’s almost a shock to the system to hear new post-punk. That’s where Cardboard Lamb dwells, the land of in-your-groin bass lines and in-your-face lyrics. The L.A. quartet is the brainchild of Colin Ambulance (driver’s license surname: O’Donnell), […]
A more danceable Depeche Mode? Bring it on. “Hang Up” is the debut EP from Glass Theory, the project of L.A.-based producer Jack Duff, who is exploring a more sensual side of EDM while continuing the proud tradition of cascading ’80s synths tamed by a commanding vocalist. With “Hang Up,” Duff aspires to create dark, […]
If pop hooks and punk energy were drinks, they’d be “Cheap Beer.” FIDLAR taps both – well, all three – in abundance, as the L.A. quartet has shown, first on its “DIYDUI” EP in April 2011 and then on the four-song volley “Don’t Try” a year later. Whether playing a proper show in a large […]
Jenny O’s sweet, sophisticated Americana seems to be equal parts heart of gold and mind of steel. The New York-born songstress has been cultivating her music in L.A., earning acclaim for last year’s “Home” EP released on Manimal Vinyl and settling in with some talented collaborators to work on a full-length. That album, “Automechanic,” will […]
Great Northern have been away a while. The indie-rock band anchored by Solon Bixler and Rachel Stolte carved out a niche, at least locally, with two albums of shimmering popgazing, “Trading Twilight for Daylight” (2007) and “Remind Me Where the Light Is” (2009). Today they unveiled the first song from their long-in-the-works follow-up – “We […]
In June, we happened upon Louis Friend – the (for now) studio-only side project that triangulates ex-Malbec guitarist Nicholas Ruth and Ken Oak and Ed Gorski of Oak & Gorski. The trio makes currently fashionable electro-pop, and judging from their EP-in-progress, it’s better than 90% of the currently fashionable electro-pop out there. Can’t get the big […]
Lord Huron’s ambitious debut album “Lonesome Dreams” won’t be out for another month, but Michigan-born Ben Schneider and his bandmates have whetted appetites with another single. “End of the Earth” embodies the epic feel of the album – expansive Americana that feels like driving into a Western horizon. While a sonic change from Lord Huron’s […]
Erica Elektra’s electro-folk is full of sharp edges, soft sentimentality and, well, electricity – the musings of a protagonist who always seems to a step ahead of whoever might be yanking on her heartstrings. The combination of organic instrumentation and beats on her debut album “That’s Intense” at first might give you the impression that […]
When does an identity crisis become an existential crisis? Somewhere in the two thrashing minutes of the Henry Clay People’s “The Fakers,” that’s where. “Our mothers and fathers gave us faces no one remembers,” Joey Siara rages in the song, from the L.A. punk-rock quartet’s equally raging new album “Twenty-Five for the Rest of Our […]
Jillinda Palmer is a staple of the Silver Lake music scene, and for many of the bands in which she’s played, she’s the glue. Her vocals and keyboard skills have helped some 15 or 16 groups (and counting) hold things together – a piano part here, harmonies there, always in the moment whether her role […]
