Singer-songwriter Gabrielle Wortman’s last two releases of earnest, polished pop earned her a modicum of attention – especially for the squishy anthem “Don’t Let Me Lose Control.” The New York-born, UCLA-educated songstress wasn’t even 21 when her 2009 album was released, and her 2011 “Voodoo” EP was adrift in production. Fresh off being named the […]
IAMEVE is not a newbie, but the new incarnation of Tiff Randol, the New York-bred, L.A.-based singer-songwriter whose pop confections historically have come with the piquant aftertaste of perspicacity. Adopting a new personality as Eve Ami, Randol is a quarter of the way through releasing a new album, “The Everything Nothing” – she’s doing so […]
IO Echo – the long-incubating project of Ioanna Gika and Leopold Ross, who first burst onto the L.A. scene in 2007 – will release its debut album “Ministry of Love” on Sept. 11 via L.A.-based IAMSOUND Records. Long known for their mesmerizing mix of ’90s shoegazing and Gothic post-punk (they were first embraced by Indie […]
The debut EP from L.A. duo Father Tiger rockets you back to the days of Pet Shop Boys, Erasure and OMD – bright, bouncy melodies that marry analog synths and robot beats and embrace the notion that any road to romance leads through the dancefloor. Collaborators Greg Delson and John Russell have gotten plenty of […]
The vocalist of new L.A. duo Wanderhouse may look familiar. Marie Moreshead is known for her gentle, melodic folk, which originated in Portland, Ore., but her new project with producer/co-writer Doctor Rosen Rosen (who has also recently been working with Meg Myers) presents a musical backdrop that is slinkier and smokier than what most have […]
On one hand, you have to doff your bowler hat to Kris Hutson and Pearl Charles, who as the Driftwood Singers embrace traditional folk music with tender loving care, crafting dark but uplifting tales with little more than voice, guitar and autoharp. On the other, you wonder what motivates southern California-bred art-schoolers to look and […]
“Nobody is original,” Ryder Bach wails in “Doing Things,” but damned if the brains behind Body Parts isn’t trying. The L.A.-based experimental pop quintet is all sharp edges, steep curves and biting humor on its album “On Purpose,” released last year. If it weren’t so precise, Body Parts could be construed as pop’s answer to […]
Deap Vally is not only the best band ever to form in a needlework class, but the L.A. duo’s take on blues-rock gets sharper and steamier with every lick. Although singer-guitarist Lindsey Troy and drummer-singer Julie Edwards have little in the way of formal releases – the single “Gonna Make My Own Money,” available on […]
You know the concept of vocal control, right? Justin Taylor’s voice has vibe control. Taylor – aka Jutty Taylor, aka Jutty Shark – was last (and still heard) heard fronting the breezy pop of Blacks&, whose April EP won hearts and ears. Taylor’s new project with his Finnish friend Jaakko Manninen is called Jutty Ranx, […]
