It’s been three years since Death to Anders released “Fictitious Business,” an album steeped in Sonic Youth indie rock and Silver Lake youth attitude. While the neighborhood has bloomed with bands hawking other fashions – syrupy synth-pop, retro garage-rock, flannel-clad folk – the L.A. triumvirate of Robs has minded its original business. Singer-guitarist Rob Danson, […]
Kate Bush’s new album – and first for Anti- Records – “50 Words for Snow” comes out Nov. 21. Seven songs, 65 minutes, all “set against the background of falling snow.” And if the influential songstress’s first single “Wild Man” is any indication, there will plenty of soundscapes to navigate as well as wintry scenes. […]
As songwriters, Stew and his longtime collaborator in the Negro Problem, Heidi Rodewald, have the moves of a boxer; They lure with melody, feint with hooks and jab with couplets, sometimes mercilessly. Race, relationships, artistic authenticity – they’ve gone a few rounds with them all over the course of four Negro Problem albums (and four […]
The music of South Carolina-bred folk singer Judson McKinney goes down easy, like sun-brewed iced tea in a world of canned caffeine drinks. McKinney, who for a while made music with his wife as Judson & Mary and now has gone the eponymous route, keeps it earnest with a touch of bittersweet on his ‘People […]
It wouldn’t be surprising if you thought Electra might be the next big thing to come out of the U.K., given their heavily Clash-influenced rock ‘n’ roll. But the three-piece band consisting of Nitzan Horesh, Doron Farhi and Boaz Wolf is, in fact, from Tel Aviv, Israel. They’re also not the “next big thing,” but […]
Two Guns are back, and if not with both barrels blazing then with both aimed true. The Long Beach quintet, whom we introduced way back in Buzz Bands LA’s infancy, next week releases its sophomore album “Far People in Far Places,” made with producer/engineer Matt Wignall (Cold War Kids, Mando Diao, the Fling, Deep Sea […]
Danish pop band the Asteroids Galaxy Tour have recently announced their follow-up to 2009’s “Fruit.” Slated for a January, 2012 release, “Out of Frequency” will continue inviting listeners to go beyond their 2008 hit song “Around the Bend.” Making the wise decision to stick with their eclectic hybrid of jazz, soul and rock, the Asteroids […]
Ben Cooper, who does business as Radical Face, crafts songs that are somehow more than just words and melody. They have presence, a mystical quality that suggests they are more the sum of their parts. The Jacksonville, Fla., songwriter’s new album “The Family Tree: The Roots” (out this week), based on a strange, fictitious family […]
The Fling’s 2010 debut album “When the Madhouses Appear” established the Long Beach quintet as a band that knew its Beatles from its Byrds, and a lot of the animal kingdom in between. The harmony-laden folk rock made by Dustin Lovelis, Graham Lovelis, Justin Ivey, Justin Roeland and Joel Bond expands its scope a bit […]
[From our Dept. of Alt-Rock, tunes from three bands with new releases:] Standing Shadows, “Freakshow” (e-mail required) – The L.A. quartet of David Miltenberger, Dan Silver, Mike Green and Michael Ascolese has a new EP, and the title track bursts with searing riffage and artillery-fire percussion. They celebrate the release by play the Roxy tonight […]
