For two decades and nine albums, Gruff Rhys had captained the good ship Super Furry Animals, the whimsical Welsh provocateurs, as well as engaged in sonic explorations (pun intended) of his own. His new project, “American Interiors,” began with his discovery that he is a descendent of Welsh explorer John Evans, who in the 1790s […]
More than five years passed between the first time we saw IO Echo – shout-out to the long-ago Indie 103.1 series at the Viper Room and the late photographer Andrew Youssef, who documented the night on his Amateur Chemist blog – and the release of their debut full-length “Ministry of Love” last year. The wait […]
London duo Public Service Broadcasting wowed us at SXSW with their unique, sample-heavy dance music, which is synched to archival films and PSAs and spattered with synthesized vocals, guitar, banjo, keys and drums. It was one of those the-nerds-have-won moments – smart beyond gimmickry. In 2013, the duo, who go by the names J. Willgoose, […]
Since their first U.S. tour last March that saw them playing 300-capacity rooms, the 1975 have enjoyed a rise in popularity that can only be described as meteoric (they even opened for the Rolling Stones). Their relentless touring behind their year-old debut album has seen the Manchester band (Matt Healy, Adam Hann, Ross MacDonald and […]
As the son of guitarist and former Syd Vicious collaborator Steve Dior, Los Angeles artist Jez Dior played in bands in his youth, but it wasn’t until a cousin introduced him to Eminem’s “The Eminem Show” that his attention turned to hip-hop. His first mixtape was 2013’s “Scarlett Sage,” released on his 21st birthday and […]
Gang of Four is now down to Gang of One – guitarist Andy Gill is the lone founding member after the departure (again) of vocalist Jon King after the 2011 reunion album “Control.” And while one could fret that Gill risks tainting the post-punk pioneers’ legacy by plowing forward 35 years after the landmark album “Entertainment!,” […]
It’s easy to slap a big fat “emo†label on Modern Baseball, the Philadelphia-based band currently making waves in their college town. However, their sophomore album “You’re Gonna Miss It All” stretches further than one genre. There is a little bit of everything here, with hints of nerdy soft rock and pop punk, even folk […]
L.A. quintet Milo Greene are teasing their sophomore album “Control” by unveiling one song per month leading up to the Jan. 27 release, as if to gradually introduce the notion that their folk days are behind them. Their explorations in indie-pop find a sweeter spot – at least, sweeter than the first sampling – with “Lie […]
Singer-guitarist James Poulos and drummer Mark Reback constitute one-half of the glam-punk-indie-rock quartet Black Hi-Lighter, who have released two full-length albums since the spring of 2013. In an audacious display of prolificacy, Poulos and Reback have detoured to form Brooklyn Pets, the latest L.A. band to be named for a New York City borough. Brooklyn […]
The striking new video for the Bulls’ languid debut song “Come Unwound” is more about becoming unbound. But you can give them a little rope here – the Evan Mathis-directed video features the work of Kinbaku artist Master K of LA Rope Dojo. Kinbaku is a Japanese style of consensual bondage, and in the video, model […]
