Ben Trokan’s story is a familiar one to any indie band that lived in the major-label margins last decade. His band Robbers on High Street made two albums and two EPs for Warner imprint New Line Records between 2005 and ’07 before the relationship soured. “Everything ground to a halt,” Trokan says. “The label was […]
Wye Oak‘s Jenn Wasner and Andy Stacks spend a day at the carnival, and for one of their more upbeat tracks on their latest album “Civilian,” roller coasters and swing carousels seem appropriate for “Holy, Holy.” There isn’t cotton candy, but the duo from Baltimore, Md., is spending the day on the boardwalk with people […]
The Latebirds may be new to the music scene in the States, but the Helsinki, Finland-based quintet have gone quite far with their soul-laden folk-rock and ’60s pop harmonies. Earning spots on past tours with Wilco, Patti Smith and the Posies, the Latebirds finally hit these shores with their latest record, “Last Of The Good […]
Chris Pierce is winking a little bit, calling his new album “I Can Hear You.” As a teenager, the singer-songwriter suffered from otosclerosis, an abnormal bone growth in the middle ear that resulted in his going deaf in one ear. Yet it did not prevent him from earning the Ella Fitzgerald scholarship for jazz studies […]
Wednesday is “Buddy Holly Day” in Los Angeles, and on the anniversary of the four-eyed phenom’s 75th birthday he will get a (long-overdue) star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, with an invitation-only concert that night at the Music Box featuring an A-list lineup of performers including Paul Anka, Lyle Lovett, Chris Isaak, Michelle Branch, […]
A reunion between old pals can be great inspiration for new music, and that’s exactly what happened for Carlos Forster, former singer-guitarist of Bay Area-based For Stars, when he met up again with M. Ward. Old buddies from college, he and Ward reconnected in Portland after the demise of the band Forster helmed from 1998 […]
L.A. rockers the Janks have stuffed a whole lot of rock history into their sack full of tunes “Hands of Time” (out Sept. 27) – so much, in fact, their debut album threatens to split at the seams. Classic rock, sprawling glam-tinged arrangements, shimmering balladry, blues stomps, lovingly twangy folk: The Janks’ principals, brothers Zack […]
Only last year, Gary Numan was driving “Cars” down memory lane, doing an album tour to mark the 30th anniversary of “The Pleasure Principle.” Now, at an apparently invigorated 53, the new wave innovator has announced plans for not one, but two, new albums. The first, “Dead Son Rising,” will be self-released Oct. 24 via […]
Christopher J. Ewing’s new video for Letting Up Despite Great Faults’ “Teenage Tide,” with its well-scrubbed cast of ostensible teenagers, represents a pretty deft update of John Hughes’ milieu. Which makes it perfect for the Los Angeles indie-poppers’ swoon-worthy single off the band’s “Paper Crush” EP (Old Flame Records). When the video premiered Wednesday on […]
The indie blues of L.A. quintet Terraplane Sun are generations removed from the Delta, but on the quintet’s second album “Coyote” you can feel a little bit of the swamp, as filtered through five guys who’ve explored everything from classic rock to “Pet Sounds” to Motown and who call the beach their home. The band’s […]
