There’s an endearing, shambolic quality to the folk music of John Isaac Watters – it’s as if his songs are just happening, complete with their vivid imagery, weeping dobro and pedal steel and wheezing organs. Watters, who’s also been a part of the band Coyol, is set to release his third solo album next month. […]
When Sophie Stern and David Greenbaum surfaced in January as the duo Bom Bom, their undeniably catchy pop single “Woman” was on repeat here at BBLA HQ. Now Stern and Greenbaum have finally announced a self-titled EP that includes new songs “Pray” and “Bad Man.” Although “Woman” is still the standout track and production has […]
If a human being could Make Things Better just through the sheer force of his voice, Touché Amoré vocalist Jeremy Bohm is that guy. The L.A. quintet’s third album “Is Survived By” (out this week via Deathwish Inc., home to Cold Cave, Converge and Deafheaven, among others) turns the darkness and rage usually associated with […]
Can music be intimate and expansive at the same time? Washington, D.C., ex-pat Matthew Hemerlein, now doing business as Lo-Fang, seems to have arrived at the formula. Hemerlein, a singer and multi-instrumentalist who is classically trained in violin, cello, bass, piano and guitar, debuted his first pop mini-symphony, “#88,” back in August. His signing to […]
Some videos make one feel as if they are bouncing with the beat, but the black-and-white clip accompanying Boy‘s song “Oh Boy,” makes you feel as if you are dancing with members Valeska Steiner and Sonja Glass. Sure, there are synchronized dance moves, but the off-kilter and nature-centric scenes that quickly flash across the scene […]
Kan Wakan debuted its symphonic rock a year ago, when the L.A. septet was calling itself Oren Lyons. That first single, the R&B-flavored “Forever Found,” and the band’s ensuing residency at the Echo, marked them as sonic sophisticates working from a palette of classical music, Americana, soul, psychedelia and electronica to create compositions with broad […]
Twenty-three-year-old L.A. songstress Lucy Schwartz has a fine new album, “Timekeeper” (out last month), a list of TV and movie song credits a mile long and, as it turns out, an adorable hound named Banjo. The pooch is the star of the video for the single “Boomerang,” a song made in collaboration with Matt Hale […]
Valerie June’s voice may be unusually bright, but it embodies everything she grew up with in Jackson, Tenn., then later in Memphis. Most importantly, June’s voice is her own. Her debut album “Pushin’ Against a Stone” focuses on the roots of her musical upbringing by combining a plethora of sounds including folk, blues, gospel, soul, […]
After a steady stream of releases over the last few years, Los Angeles-via-Ohio beatmaker Ted Feighan – doing business as Monster Rally – is back with his third full-length album, “Return to Paradise” (coming in October). Its first single is the shimmering and seductive “Orchids,” which begins with a dusty riff that wouldn’t be out […]
With a name like Body Parts, it shouldn’t be a surprise that Ryder Bach, Alina Cutrono, Raymond Proudfoot, and Taylor Dexter have kept it moving this year. “People” is the fourth song they’ve churned out this year and with each tune, the harmonies and textures vary in every way any fan of art-pop would want them […]
