One band the Buzz Bands LA crew unfortunately missed during SXSW was Brit-rock band Cheatahs, and boy are we sorry. If this working version of their song “Fall” doesn’t tell you why, then you might not be a fan of My Bloody Valentine or Swervedriver. Cheatahs aren’t shy about their influences, and it’s admirable because […]
The physical and spiritual trysts imagined by the music of In the Valley Below seem to simmer rather than boil, the L.A. duo’s songs sending off heat waves that keep everything steamy but shrouded in mystery. After igniting flames back in 2011 with a self-released EP and following that up last year with the sultry […]
Sean Tillman is all about breaking things down – songs, genres and, especially in his guise as Har Mar Superstar, inhibitions. The diminutive man with the monster musical chops might be mistaken for a clown prince of kitsch if not for his innate ability to embrace the heart of every form he tackles. And on […]
Charlie Clark is known in the neighborhood as the scruffy, amiable host of the Thursday songwriter night in the lounge at Taix restaurant in Echo Park, but he compiled quite a resumé before moving to L.A. from his native Scotland a couple years ago. He co-founded the indie-pop outfit Astrid, was a regular in the […]
Nightmare Air’s long-in-the-works debut “High in the Lasers” is the sound of three people at the volume of 3,000 – blissful layers of guitar, bass and drums that isn’t so much shoegaze as it is sonic neurosis. It’s the brainchild of guitarist and pedal geek Dave Dupuis, who played in Film School and paid some bills […]
On Pretty Little Demons’ “Bag of Rocks,” singer Lydia Night laments that for her protagonist, burdened by the weights of the world, “the only way out is the big pine box.” Heavy stuff. Especially considering that Night is 12 years old. Her partner-in-rock, drummer Marlhy Murphy, is 10 – and, according to the press release, […]
If not a spiritual revelation – and we’re not here to discuss religion – the debut EP from the Eagle Rock Gospel Singers is a musical one. Boasting five original songs and foot-stompin’ fervor, the EP from the northeast L.A. collective abides the great traditions of the gospel blues. The black-and-white video for “What Paul […]
Buzz Bands LA returns to Austin this year for another “Dear Austin, Love L.A.” day party on Wednesday, March 13, at Opal Divine’s Freehouse, 700 W. 6th St. It’s free, no RSVP required, and runs from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. More info on our special page here. Above, a mixtape with a song each […]
The Mo-Odds’ new EP is over in the time it takes most guitar bands to tune their axes. The four songs on “Soto” ” clock in at under nine minutes, but as many in the garage-rock revival have shown, you don’t have don’t have to linger for 4 1/2 minutes to make a strong impression. […]
There’s more to the buoyant electro-pop of Pacific Air than just “Float,” the song that put brothers Ryan Lawhon and Taylor Lawhon on the map back when they were going by the name KO KO. The new single, “Lose My Mind,” is another dose of rainbow-tinted California pop that’ll be included on Pacific Air’s forthcoming […]
