George Michael was quoted after his arrest in a Beverly Hills public park’s restroom after allegedly being solicited by an undercover cop for some, shall we say. … fun, as saying, “I never was one to turn down a free meal.” As with that event, exactly what is happening in the opening scene of Years […]
You can certainly discern the folk background in this electronic collaboration. Made of Oak’s Nick Sanborn and Mountain Man’s Amelia Meath have joined forces as Sylvan Esso to elaborate on their raw like-minded momentum to produce finely layered compositions. The North Carolina-based duo is pleasantly synced on instinct, offering a genuine connection to their stripped-down, […]
Generally, remixes get us as excited as the mouthful of grounds you get with that last gulp of morning coffee – especially if the knob-twiddlers get their hands on a song that’s a modern indie classic. Like LA Font’s “Diving Man,” the title track to the local quartet’s guitar-tastic 2013 album. The forthcoming “Diving Man […]
Midwest-bred, Los Angeles-based artist Lawrence Rothman cites influences including Charles Bukowski, Cindy Sherman, house and R&B, which when taking in his work, really permeate through both his sound and his visuals. So far, he has only released the “Montauk Fling,” featuring the B-sides “Fatal Attraction” and “#1 All Time Low,” a seductive track brooding with […]
Conor Oberst sounds as if he’s in a happy place. The Bright Eyes/Desaparecidos main man today released a chipper new single, “Hundreds of Ways,” and announced that he has signed to Nonesuch Records, which will release his new album “Upside Down Mountain” on May 20. The album features production from L.A. luminary Jonathan Wilson (Father […]
This L.A.-based duo makes noise enough for four. Singer-guitarist Brian Rich and drummer Douglas Jewell slather on the menace with a heavy march of drum rolls and champagne cymbals to fill every bit of auditory space. Self-described as “gothic cantina,” the Echo and the Sound combine an aggressive mentality with blues-rock rhythms for a thick […]
The tricky thing about Blonde Summer is the name – you think you might be in for some waifish, breezy indie-pop, and, bang, the quartet of Chris Pope, Matt Reid, Stephen Kurshner and Roland Trafton hits you with a tight-fisted blast of guitar. It’s sublime, and Blonde Summer has been doing it for three EPs […]
There’s a healthy dose of sleek, old-school funk-soul in the music of Tien Nguyen, the 26-year-old songwriter simply going by the name Tien. And maybe you’ll hear a little bit of Brazil, too, with Tien having spent time between South American beaches and southern California. The Maryland native and son of Vietnamese immigrants has been […]
L.A. trio the Shrine made a big dent in the local scene (and few eardrums) with their 2012 album “Primitive Blast,” which drew equally from a host of “black” bands, most notably Flag and Sabbath. Indeed, the threesome of singer-guitarist Josh Landau, bassist Courtland Murphy and drummer Jeff Murray is not beholden to one strain […]
In the vein of Philadelphia’s the Roots or Minneapolis’ Heiruspecs, Los Angeles’ the Concepts are a hip-hop band backed by live instrumentation and a full band. They are fronted by MC Keith Kilgore, and rounded out by Zane Guindon on guitars, Justin Lenoir on drums and percussion, Kyle Newman on trumpet and flugelhorn, Nick Vanetta […]
