No idea why it’s taken me so long to post about the Stripminers. Maybe it’s because, as Brett Anderson is quoted as saying, “All our songs are totally different.” And it’s true, their debut album “Movies” appeals to any number of old-school sensibilities – punk, Americana and garage-rock – paralleling most closely the work of […]
Many of L.A.’s eyes and ears are on Hard Summer this weekend, but there’s another music festival that’s offering a unique experience. The 3rd New L.A. Folk Fest brings 30-plus artists to rustic Zorthian Ranch in Altadena on Saturday, showcasing SoCal’s robust, eclectic and DIY folk scene. On today’s Buzz Bands LA Show on Moheak […]
Matt Ellis, “Candy” – The Sydney, Australia-born songwriter trotted the globe before sinking his roots in Venice a few years ago, which has turned out to be an excellent station for his finely honed Americana. Ellis’ 2011 album “Births, Deaths and Marriages,” his fourth full-length, came soaked in pedal steel and honesty. And the 38-year-old […]
Azure Ray emerged more than a decade ago seemingly out of the ether, the marriage of two angelic vocalists trading in hazy atmospherics. Their third album, 2003’s “Hold On Love,” which brought them into the Saddle Creek stable of artists, remains one of dream-pop’s stellar cloud formations. Collaborators Orenda Fink and Maria Taylor went on […]
The Black Apples arrived in L.A. from Colorado in 2010 with a bang – the psychedelic garage-rock on their self-titled debut album sounded like a soul train being driven full-bore into a drunken re-creation of “Beach Blanket Bingo.” Native New Yorkers Andrew and Campbell Scarborough rein things in a little bit on their breezy new […]
“I want something with a feeling,” Torches frontman Azad Cheikosman proclaims in the trio’s single “I Want Something,” but as the Mike James-directed video for the song suggests, maybe he just wants something with more blood. Bandmates Eric Fabbro and Bridgette Moody get the short end of Cheikosman’s morbid fantasies in the clip. There’s bloodletting […]
To correctly write the name of this band in type, you need to press “alt” key on your computer and type “j.” ∆, otherwise known as Alt-J, may hail from Leeds, U.K., but their inventive blend of pop, trip-hop and rock has gotten their debut album “An Awesome Wave” (out Sept. 18 on Canvasback) much […]
The title track of L.A. trio Lady Danville’s “Operating” EP [premiered way back when] is an old-school pop gem – gooey-in-a-good-way melody and florid harmonies on a simple backdrop of instrumentation. In the hands of San Francisco producer/DJ Branded James (aka Brandon Whittaker), it becomes a sparkling electro track. Remixes hardly ever accomplish this, but […]
Six musicians from six L.A. bands, six songs, one hell of a mind trip. That’s how the math works out for Bright Beast, whose intrepid experimentation on their debut EP recalls myriad sonic adventurers of old. The cast of characters includes Christian Biel (the Transmissions), Nicholas Ceglio (George Glass), Chris Hernandez (the Happy Hollows), Christopher […]
“Lord Knows, the new single from Dum Dum Girls, is a languid, hazy affair that furthers the template set by So Cal quartet’s great 2011 album “Only in Dreams” – deeply personal songwriting delivered in the increasingly honed quaver of singer Kristin Gundred (aka Dee Dee). The song is the cornerstone of the band’s “End […]
