Sometimes misfortune can lead you down unexpected paths. So it was with singer-songwriter Brandi Emma, whom we last spotted aiding and abetting Charlie Clark on his new EP. During a time she was injured and not able to play guitar, Emma found herself hanging out with friends Steven Evanne Heinstein and Thomas Schobel in Schobel’s […]
Far be it from us to nitpick anybody’s release strategy, but in teasing their forthcoming full-length debut, L.A. quartet Hands leaked two songs before finally unveiling the new version of “Brave Motion” this week. Make no mistake, “Brave Motion” is the single, folks – the best entrée into the deliriously polyrhythmic, densely textured and vocally […]
The urgency of the synth-wielding post-punk bands of the 1980s provides the undercurrent for “VIVA,” the first full-length from L.A. Girlfriend. The nom de tune of Loyola Marymount product Sydney-Allyson Banta, L.A. Girlfriend can be playful and alluring but, as her flirtations with the would-be suitors in the Dustin Muenchow-directed video for “Gentlemen” suggest, there’s […]
Will Courtney makes time stop. Or, at least, the bear-huggable singer-songwriter slows the world down to a manageable pace. Courtney, known as Brother Will to the many friends he has made in the many places he has lived (he’s received mail in Austin, Nashville, Los Angeles and now Santa Fe, N.M.), crafts folk music that’s […]
It’s been nearly two years since our ears were graced with KING‘s EP “The Story.” The soul trio of twins Paris and Amber Strother, along with Anita Bias, came out of nowhere in June 2011 with three breathtaking tracks, and even opened up for Prince, but went underground soon after. We can only hope KING […]
Since we premiered the first song from Western Lows back in January, the L.A. trio’s debut album has found a nice home. “Glacial” will be out June 4 via local imprint JAXART Records (whose recent releases include Incan Abraham, So Many Wizards and Steffaloo, among others). Western Lows, of course, is the new vehicle for […]
As he showed on last year’s “America,” electro alchemist and provocateur Dan Deacon abides few boundaries. And so it is with his newest recording, a limited-edition 7-inch made for Record Store Day (April 20). “Konono Ripoff No. 1” is described as an homage to the Grammy-nominated Congolese band Konono Nº1, another group that like Deacon […]
Local folk-rockers Olin & the Moon are a pretty tight crew – and their sweet Americana has always sounded like it – so there’s a pretty good chance there would never have been a David LaBrel solo project if not for that fateful night over a year ago at Harvard & Stone. That was the […]
“Falling” … It’s kind of what everybody’s done for the sisters Haim, who since last fall’s “Forever” EP and November’s “Don’t Save Me” single have taken both sides of the Atlantic by storm and tried to find time to work on a full-length release. The latest single “Falling” came out in February, but this week […]
Jangle-pop maestros Army Navy are at it again, plotting their third album (due later this year) and generally parting any clouds that block your musical blue skies. As singer-guitarist Justin Kennedy and mates have done since their sparkling 2008 debut “Army Navy,” the trio trades in chiming chords and boy-and-door verve, their early work recalling […]
