Leftover Cuties doll up vintage jazz-pop for the speakeasies of 2011, and in their hands it’s easy to hear why this sound never grows old. With her sultry pipes and precise phrasing, singer Shirli McAllen recalls plenty of lounge singers who got too big to play lounges (and also brings to mind Suzanne Santos of […]
Not only have L.A. sextet White Arrows picked up a lot of steam in recent months, they’ve proven themselves to be a little bit broader than the “electro Strokes” label with which they were immediately tagged. Frontman Mickey Schiff and bandmates work a little psychedelia and blues into the palette, and as White Arrows’ live […]
Beware, dog lovers. The Belle Brigade (who we profiled about a month ago) just released a video that takes their anthem “Losers” to another personal level. The optimistic doctrine, via soft harmonies building up to a crash of drums and a triumphant chorus, has become the favorite closing number for fans at live shows with […]
The icy electro of Hang Glider sounds as if it’s manufactured by those legendary ghosts in the machines – you know, the ones who are doing the remixes for the next Terminator dance party. Hang Glider is, in fact, the home-studio ministrations of L.A.-based Mike Puretz, who sings, plays all the instruments and does all […]
Les Blanks’ Americana-infused indie-rock is the stuff of hard riffing and even harder drinking. Their 2008 album “Shoot the Horse” earned a lot of favor in Silver Lake circles, but it’s taken three years for Josh Caldwell, Parker Todd Brooks and Brian Soika (now joined by Keith Waggoner and Jonathan Hylander) to make a follow-up. […]
The name Brady Erickson may sound familiar. Any fan of his former band Sunday Drivers could tell you that their 2007 EP, “Archetypes” boasted a dark new wave rock sound that easily nestled itself into a niche of bands like Killers and Interpol. Erickson’s pipes are now the centerpiece of a new project called the […]
No mystery, judging from their name, what DNA runs through the blood of the Riverside quartet the New Division – although they could have called themselves “Joy Order,” we suppose. It’s what songwriter John Kunkel does with the ’80s electro and post-punk influences that’s special: He sprinkles his songs with fairy dust and light touches […]
He’s My Brother She’s My Sister – the band built around Lemon Sun frontman Rob Kolar and his thespian sister Rachel – is as much about the spectacle as the songs. Costumed, crazy and even a little bit cartoonish, the Kolars – joined in the core group by tap-dancer Lauren Brown and delightfully mad cellist […]
On top of producing more than a handful of records for local artists (including William Reid from the Jesus and Mary Chain), Josiah Mazzaschi has been working on music under the moniker Light FM for 10 years now, and he’s not stopping anytime soon. Even through numerous changes in lineups (which included Smashing Pumpkins’ current […]
Over the past three years, Francisco the Man has released music in dribs and drabs, with each EP expanding on the SoCal band’s vision. Here’s an endorsement for the band to release music more often: The indie-rockers’ newest two-song single goes for epic and hits it, at least with “Broken Arrows,” a cinematic 6-minute excursion […]
