Becky Black and Maya Miller are hardly overnight sensations, but through four albums as the Pack A.D. the duo has been consistently sensational. The Vancouver, B.C., garage-rock duo got their start back in the dark ages of 2007, predating the big wave of rock two-pieces who dared to tiptoe through the footsteps of the White […]
We’ve been closely following Papa ever since Darren Weiss, Daniel Presant and company released the mega-jam “I Am the Lion King” off their “A Good Woman Is Hard to Find” EP. Their debut full-length “Tender Madness” will be released in less than a week now, but that doesn’t stop the L.A.-based band from releasing one more audio […]
Following the demise of Chicago band Kids These Days earlier this year, on the heels of SXSW and Coachella performances and the release of their debut, Jeff Tweedy-produced album “Traphouse Rock,” Vic Mensa is stepping out on his own. The 20-year-old MC is a part of the Chicago hip-hop crew SaveMoney, also including Chance the […]
That certain trio of sisters isn’t the only family band making noise in L.A. right now. Echosmith’s debut “Talking Dreams” comes out next week, and anybody unsure that what people are calling “indie-pop” is this era’s pop-punk need look no further than this album. Convenient labels aside, “Talking Dreams” is unfailingly catchy and produced (by […]
Those Darlins‘ third studio album “Blur the Lines” may be the most low-key in their current catalog, but the fine-tuning they’ve done on their bombastic fusion of garage rock and outlaw country is at their most polished this time around. Songs like “Oh God” features Jessi Darlin in her most ponderous state while other ditties […]
Instrumental surf music, anyone? Sure, why not. Two bands featuring the talents of some familiar faces have recent releases sure to give your Woodie a woody, or at least provide the perfect backdrop to the next retro-flavored soft drink commercial. First is “Black Sweater Massacre” (released last month), the second full-length from the Reigning Monarchs […]
Considering what’s in the news today, there’s a special poignancy to Laura Veirs’ new video for “America,” a not-so-subtle condemnation of gun culture in the U.S. The song is from Veirs new album “Warp & Weft,” her ninth, which was recorded while the Portland-based singer-songwriter was pregnant with her second child. “I’m haunted by the […]
Marie Moreshead has had a busy year writing, writing and writing. Since teaming up with producer Doctor Rosen Rosen, she’s been the sweet voice coming through your headphones on songs by Wanderhouse. Now she’s begun another project where she records under the moniker Ofelia. The “Hamlet” character may initially come to mind with the name, […]
If gypsy symphonies aren’t your thing, one listen to Ghostlight Orchestra’s debut EP “Haunted by Shapes, Part 1” might quickly sway your stance. The Venice-based seven-piece band fronted by former Audiovent vocalist Jason Boyd (whose kin includes Incubus vocalist Brandon Boyd) and pianist Nikki Brown have created a majestic world where spaghetti-western and gothic density […]
We Are Augustines’ 2011 debut “Rise Ye Sunken Ships” was a bloodletter of an album peppered with vein-popping indie-rock anthems that embraced the human condition for all its wonder and warts. Now doing business as merely Augustines (their original choice for a name before a trademark dust-up forced them to append “We Are”), the trio […]
