Wild Eyes hail from west of the 605, but the music on their first two releases – the “Deep Sky” single and last month’s “Blue Haze” EP – finds its roots in the more melodic British shoegazer bands of the late ’80s and early ’90s. Frank Quattro, Eric Padilla and mates got together in high […]
Don’t let the last name fool you. If Erika Spring looks familiar, it’s because she’s Erika Forster, one-third of the sweet synth-pop trio Au Revoir Simone. The Brooklyn songbird, however, has recently flown off to work on her own material. With Violens’ Jorge Elbrecht lending a hand with production, Forster’s candied vocals get an eclectically […]
Of the recent wave of young artists exploring vintage music, few pull off the blues with such aplomb as L.A. trio the Record Company. Singer-guitarist Chris Vos’ sublime vocals (and his aw-shucks attitude) and the tight rhythmic backing of Alex Wood and Marc Cazorla only tell part of the story – there’s a timelessness, and […]
Highlands like things big and mysterious, dark like the Black Angels, strange like A Place to Bury Strangers. The Long Beach quartet of Scott Holmes, Chris Figlewicz, Beau Balek and Travis Cheney, bonding over a mutual of love My Bloody Valentine (of course), pile on layers of guitar, distortion and reverb in the best shoegazer […]
If the orchestral sweep at the beginning of “Forever Found” doesn’t make your heart skip, the rest of the song’s labyrinthine 4 1/2 minutes – with its restless rhythms, arching strings and ascensive vocals – will send it into overdrive. The song is the first outing for the L.A. sextet Oren Lyons (ostensibly named for […]
[Auckland, New Zealand-based writer Keith Shackleton, an occasional contributor to Buzz Bands LA, is a native of the U.K. who was around for The Beat – known as The English Beat in the U.S. – and all the other music he discusses in this essay:] By Keith Shackleton Late-’70s British post-punk music can be characterized by […]
Oh, those thorny power chords from the 1990s. They roar on in the music of L.A.’s Diamonds Under Fire, the collaboration between singer-guitarist Vanessa Silberman and drummer Jessica Goodwin. Diamonds Under Fire surfaced with a full-length album last year that recalled myriad favorites from that decade, in all its angst-y glory, and their post-grunge pop, […]
[Buzz Bands LA welcomes new contributor Bradley Haering, who’ll be sharing some discoveries of the hip-hop variety.] If DJ Screw produced for Death Row circa ’93, it would sound like Florida native SpaceGhostPurrp. Somewhat of a surprise was his signing to 4AD, not really known as a haven for rap. Nevertheless, his debut full-length, “Mysterious […]
Lesands have never been shy about their embrace of synth-pop. Early songs such as “Pretenders” to “Easy To Please” revealed Austin Taylor Tirado’s effervescent fascination for ’80s dance music. But it’s been over a year since the trio (which also includes Joel Plotnik and Michael Lee) released their “Sweet Skin” EP, and a few things […]
The title track from Kitten’s forthcoming “Cut It Out” EP (due Aug. 28) revealed the L.A. quartet’s dreamy, sensual side. On “Japanese Eyes,” though, singer Chloe Chaidez and crew rock out, with the teenaged siren channeling all the New Wave frontwomen who were carving their legacies before Chaidez was born. For her part, Chaidez says […]
