Remember the first time you played “Spin the Bottle?” Some were more experienced than others, but the anticipation during the game is always innocent and sweet. Act As If‘s Joshua Martinez-directed music for the track “Oh My My” captures that moment perfectly under some soft lighting inside and bright sunshine outside. The L.A. band, whose […]
Chasing Kings’ debut album “Nice Guys” has been simmering on the stove for about a year now, and the big news today is that it will finally be released Oct. 2. It’s an adrenaline-charged stew of pop hooks, shifting tempos and subversive humor from a band that’s paid its dues in Los Angeles and documented […]
Some may recognize Ben Cassorla as the guitarist in Gamble House. Others may have seen him on tour with the Belle Brigade or play in Bryce Dessner’s side project Clogs. His new band Cassorla, also featuring members Ross Garren on keys and harmonica and Brian Carmody on drums, however, has been getting some attention thanks […]
El Ten Eleven exist in rarified air. Two guys, so technically proficient they sound like four, or five, or six. Two guys, so adept at instrumental music (call it post-rock, experimental, whatever) they create a language of their own. Two guys, so surprising onstage it’s borderline spectacle. Guitarist/bassist Kristian Dunn (he of the double-neck weapon) […]
By Steve Baltin The Sunset Strip Music Festival officially kicked off last night at the House of Blues with a presentation and tribute to the Doors highlighted by some wicked playing by Doors keyboardist Ray Manzarek and guitarist Robby Krieger. Joining an all-star band that included Matt Sorum on drums and Billy Morrison on bass, […]
Nothing too complicated here: The first song from GRMLN is a wistful, hazy slice of pop nostalgia straight outta the garage of Japan-born, SoCal-reared Yoodoo Park. “Coral” is simple and pretty and leaves you vaguely longing for an ocean breeze, or more of GRMLN’s tunes. The latter will arrive on Oct. 23, when Park’s debut […]
It’s been a long road for Tommy Walter, but the multi-instrumentalist (and co-founder of Eels) is on the brink of releasing his third album as Abandoned Pools. “Sublime Currency,” due Aug. 28 on Tooth & Nail Records, follows 2005’s “Armed to the Teeth” and 2001’s “Humanistic,” two releases that while critically well-received fell prone to […]
More than five years after their uneasy parting of the ways, Grandaddy has returned to the stage, and on Monday night at the Fonda Theatre it felt like a triumph – even if the man who closed up shop, songwriter Jason Lytle, sounded a bit tentative about the whole process. “So this getting back together […]
Audio-engineers-turned-synth-pop-maestros Father Tiger got ambitious with the video for the single “Shell,” off the L.A. duo’s first EP. The clips stitches together more than 5,000 images processed through Instagram (including 400-plus fan submissions), dozens of original pieces of art and a bunch of iPhone footage. It’s the work of director/editor Jeff McHale and artist John […]
Oh, this is rich (so to speak). L.A. rockers Silversun Pickups have sent Mitt Romney a cease-and-desist letter asking that the GOP presidential hopeful stop using the quartet’s 2009 single “Panic Switch” at his campaign stops. The statement from SSPU frontman Brian Aubert: “We don’t like people going behind our backs, using our music without […]
