Superhumanoids’ new single “Mikelah” (just out as a 7-inch on White Iris) is the L.A. quartet’s strongest yet, and “Malta” was pretty strong. The new song poses a sonic tug-of-war between Moz-like melancholy and winsome optimism, owing to the dueling entreaties of Cameron Parkins and Sarah Chernoff. Lightly coated with a sheen of synth, it’s […]
If Sunday night’s Aberdeen show at the Echo was the live valedictory of the L.A. quartet – and it might have been, given that singer Beth Arzy lives in London now and doesn’t get back to southern California much – it was a fond farewell. Opening a Part Time Punks night that featured fellow Sarah […]
Promising female trios surface every now and then, but they often seem to follow an obvious formulaic path. However, twins Paris and Amber Strother, along with Anita Bias of L.A.’s KING, have managed to step back and chill outside of the commercial limelight that fed the egos of groups such as Destiny’s Child. Brimming with […]
There’s no doubt that L.A.-based Henry Wolfe is a crooner. He’s got the looks, the down-to-earth demeanor and a voice that takes on a strong new character with each song on his latest album “Linda Vista.” The son of Meryl Streep, Wolfe instills as much charm as melody in his pensive, pointed songs, and possesses […]
Hard to believe that “Yes, I’m Stalking You” – the undeniable single by L.A.’s Dante Vs Zombies – was actually released digitally in 2009. The tune (eventually available as a 7-inch on Albino Crow) staked its claim to song of the summer last year, and it’s still cropping up in playlists in 2011. Owing that […]
Aberdeen holds a special place in the cult of indie-pop. The quartet was the only Los Angeles band to release music on the legendary London label Sarah Records. Their gorgeous, shoegazey twee-pop belied the band’s tumultuous existence (and breakup) in the 1990s, but principals John Girgus and Beth Arzy got their heads together with bandmates […]
All-female L.A. band Kissing Cousins has a name that implies an act of love, but despite the pink hearts that serve as bookends to their new video for their edgy single “You Bring Me Down,” there aren’t too many acts of kindness going on. Heather Heywood, Beth Zeigler, Alexis Woodall, Amanda Paganini (and former bassist […]
No sooner had a bunch of guys calling themselves the Bellows released their first EP back in February than they backpedaled: The Bellows? Who were all these people calling themselves the Bellows? “We couldn’t even find our own site on Google,” Harry Hayes says. “But we dig our new name. It’s ours.” It’s Irontom, a […]
Of all the bands last decade to embrace the traditional Sunset Strip’s vision of cranium-to-crotch rock, the Ringers were one of two (the Vacation being the other) who should’ve become huge. Tears were shed when the Ringers called it quits a year ago, but the Hursleys – frontman, actor and former karaoke maestro Joe and […]
Psychedelia is often paired with a slow haziness or fervent rock rhythms that jam to no end, but it’s nice to hear that the genre can also intertwine with delicate melancholy that pleasantly lingers somewhere in the middle. Azad Cheikosman, Bridgette Moody and Eric Fabbro of L.A. band Torches in Trees manage to perform the […]
