“I swear that I am a good man / So why don’t you love me back?” implores Foxing‘s lead singer Conor Murphy. The lyric is from “Rory,” the emotional centerpiece of their album “The Albatross;” it starts out with just a few naked piano chords but builds into a waltz and finally into an eruption […]
With each song to emerge from Kan Wakan’s debut album “Moving On” – whose release is now only one week away – we’re beginning to think that none of 2014’s albums-of-the-year lists will be complete without it. The L.A.-based septet – the brainchild of composer/multi-instrumentalist Gueorgui Linev, guitarist-producer Peter Potyondy and singer Kristianne Bautista [pictured] – arrived in […]
The U.K.’s Jungle was one of the most buzzed-about bands at SXSW 2014, with only a few songs under their belt, and they have yet to release a full-length. But they’re about to kick off a headlining North American tour with an L.A. date this summer. In anticipation of the tour, they’ve just released new single “Time,” […]
Roll the Tanks’ new album “Broke Til Midnight” sounds as red-white-and-blue as a backyard barbecue, so today feels like an excellent day to share. The quartet of singer-guitarist Danny Carney, guitarist Aaron Stuart, bassist Mike Wakeman and Joe Sirois signed to Epitaph Records in April, bringing with them 13 spine-stiffening songs cut from the cloth […]
We’ve name-checked Emma Ruth Rundle as one of the creative influences in the bands Red Sparowes, Marriages and the Nocturnes, and even as a contributor to Drab Majesty, but her solo debut “Some Heavy Ocean” (out this week via Sargent House) reveals the singer-guitarist as force herself. Indeed, “Some Heavy Ocean” is some heavy stuff, […]
Potty Mouth is an all-female punk quartet, but members Ally Einbinder, Phoebe Harris, Victoria Mandanas and Abby Weems will warn you to be more cautious before slapping the “riot grrrl” label on on them. Hailing from Northampton, Mass., the home of rock heroes like Dinosaur Jr. and Thurston Moore, Potty Mouth’s music is heaven for those who […]
The L.A. duo Linus Young has a rebel aesthetic, boy/girl harmonies and slow-burning songs that are ever-so-rough around the edges. Comprised of members Joseph Walker and Iris Belson, Linus Young joins the likes of In the Valley Below in offering sultry vocals, light percussion and moody atmospherics as a sexier alternative to duos like the […]
L.A. duo DWNTWN’s roots as folkies shine through in their latest single “Missing You.” Yes, tucked in among the whooshes of their electronic production, breathy girl/boy vocals and dreamy synths are a lovely tickle of banjo and coat of strummed acoustic guitar. It all makes for a drop-dead-pretty pop song, even before you see Lenny […]
Army Navy’s veritable wellspring of jangling guitars and dulcet melancholy is flowing again. The L.A. trio of Justin Kennedy, Louie Schultz and Douglas Randall have announced that their third album, “The Wilderness Inside,” will be out July 15 (via their own Fever Zone Records). It follows last August’s EP “Crushed Like the Car,” whose title […]
Sometimes all you need is a sad voice and fuzzy, buzzing guitar tone to remind you that the simplest recordings can move you the most. Elliot Smith, Bright Eyes, Sparklehouse and Slowreader have all bent and twisted many hearts with emotions on their early material, and L.A.’s Jack Stansbury – aka Princess Reason – may […]
