If you like Laurel Canyon music that sounds like it’s been splashing around in the pool for a bit on a hot summer day, Drug Cabin‘s acoustic songs and their hint of sun-dappled, psychedelic pop may be just what you need. The duo comprised of Nathan Thelen (of Pretty Girls Make Graves and Moonrats) and […]
Make Music Pasadena – the free, all-ages day of live performances throughout the City of Roses – goes off Saturday, and it should be a special one. Have a plan yet? ‣ Download a PDF of MMP’s map and schedule here. Or visit their page. ‣ Visit Downtown Lobby to get a customized Google map […]
See if this makes sense: Beachwood Sparks were ahead of their time at going back in time. When the quartet first emerged in 2000 with a self-titled album, it marked a revival of the cosmic California folk of Gram Parsons, and that release and 2001’s “Once We Were Trees” proved worthy additions to that music’s […]
San Fernando Valley-bred quartet Infantree are growing up fast. They arrived in 2010 with “Would Work,” an amiable collection of dad-rock with enough heart, soul and twang to make them a welcome addition to California’s folk-rock lineage. On their sophomore effort, “Hero’s Dose” (out June 26 on Vapor Records), the foursome of Alex Vojdani, Donald […]
[Covers: Sometimes the songs don’t remain the same …] Harlan, “Dirty Laundry”– Few artists inhabit the late 1970s and early ’80s with such proficiency and zeal as Harlan, whose debut EP (and recent live shows, including the Echo residency, above) revealed him as a shredder/soul man who plays it so close to the vest you […]
x x x x x x x x x x Ah, the sweet fruits of collaboration. Ken Oak and Ed Gorski (as Oak and Gorski) make “cello rock,” a strain of pop that features Oak’s big stringed instrument. Nicholas Ruth is the former guitarist/backup singer in Malbec (and now a composer, songwriter and producer) whom […]
John Atzberger sounds like man caught between times and places. As Olentangy John, he embraces the timeless simplicity and unvarnished earnestness of many of his co-conspirators in Los Angeles’ “new folk” movement while meting out shadowy songs with a postmodern conscience. He’s from Ohio, channels Appalachia and calls L.A. home (although he’s moving soon), a […]
Frank Lenz and the Buzz Bands LA record collection go way back. The O.C.-based songwriter/multi-instrumentalist has lent his talents over the years to myriads bands, including Starflyer 59, the Lassie Foundation, Pedro the Lion, Richard Swift and the Weepies. He has spent years being one of those background geniuses who make everybody around them better, […]
Sure, girl groups dancing in a salon may bring videos like this one to mind, but the music video for Haim‘s breezy funk-infused pop rock anthem and title track off of their three-song EP, “Forever,” isn’t quite as flashy (or as cheesy). Director Austin Peters gets it just right by splicing old home video clips […]
