With her sultry flair that isn’t far from the smooth sounds that make both Sade and Billie Holiday so appealing, songstress Hindi Zahra has been gaining fans among critics – acquiring the Prix Constantin (France’s Mercury Prize) in 2010 – and listeners of folk, jazz and soul since her self-titled EP in 2009. Zahra now […]
Christian Velky started Good Luck Bear as a solo project about five years ago, but his melody-rich pop seemed to find its full sound when Hoyt Adams and Leonard Tucker joined the lineup. The trio now boasts an album titled “The Nearest Faraway Place,” which includes indie rock tunes influenced by everything form surf-pop to […]
The beautifully haunting harmonies of the Chapin Sisters (who now consist of Lily and Abigail Chapin) first floated onto the scene when they released their “Oh, Hear the Wind Blow” EP and their debut full-length “Two” shortly after during 2010. They’ve taken some time off after the departure of member (and half-sister) Jessica Craven. However, […]
Robert Fleming could probably recommend a good cabernet, or wax poetic on the bouquet of that 2009 Sauvignon Blanc, but it’s what’s fermenting in his Silver Lake bedroom that’s equally tasty. The 28-year-old singer-songwriter (day job: the wine industry) makes music under the name Victory, and his first one-man excursion into pop territory is an […]
Jonathan Bates’ formidable foray into electronica – chronicled in our posts on “Huggin & a Kissin” and “Capsize” – comes to fruition this week with the release of his project Big Black Delta’s “BBDLP1” (in very pretty vinyl, apparently). The former Mellowdrone frontman’s bombastic take on ’80s synth-pop has turned more than a few ears […]
Sleeper Agent’s elastic garage-pop seems transported from another era, before anybody needed face paint or glowsticks to have a good party. The sextet out of Bowling Green, Ky., fuses rubber-band guitar riffs, pogoing-ready rhythms and shout-along choruses in a delirious collision of pop hooks and rock attitude. Thankfully, singer Alex Kandel and bandmates Justin Wilson, […]
From the moment Kristin Gundred (aka Dee Dee) and her Dum Dum Girls mates jumped into the girl-group fray, it’s been a battle of style vs. substance, with neat bangs and black mini-dresses usually coming out on top. The quartet’s sophomore album, “Only in Dreams” (out Tuesday on Sub Pop) changes that – it’s sturdy […]
The songs of Vanish Valley come from a lot of different places – geographical locales, yes, but harder-to-access regions like the head and the heart too. They’re the brainchild of Andrew McAllister, whose leathery voice suggests he spent a minute or two in Austin’s dive bars after moving there from the Northwest. McAllister, a film […]
[A weekend special: Here are three local bands who have gotten the remix treatment.] Saint Motel – “Puzzle Pieces (Junk Remix)” – Indie rock outfit Saint Motel gets a danceable but darker remix from Junk. Heavier beats warp the vocals and rhythm while also touching on the dark subject matter hidden in between those peppy […]
Primer: “Baby Hawk (Part I of III)” Everything about Rademacher’s ambitious trilogy “Baby Hawk” seems to spell gloom. The sometimes-Fresno- and sometimes-Silver Lake-based indie rockers are taking on the trials and tribulations of being indie rockers in a three-album series (revolving around the mythical band Baby Hawk). Topics on the table: artistry, careerism, “success,” integrity, […]
