Amy LaVere may look familiar if you’ve noticed her acting in films such as “Walk the Line” and “Hustle and Flow.” However, her most charming method of telling a story is through her Americana-pop. The singer-songwriter from Memphis, Tenn., follows up her album “Anchors & Anvil” (produced by the late Jim Dickinson) with “Stranger Me,” […]
Whether Dead Sara’s song “Weatherman” is an oblique reference to the long-ago radical left group the Weather Underground, the band will leave up to you. It is, says singer Emily Armstrong, about “having your own voice and being heard. Standing up for your rights, and taking back what is yours. Freedom!” Oh, that freedom could […]
Dum Dum Girls release yet another promising track from their forthcoming album “Only In Dreams,” due Sept. 27 via Sub Pop. Progressing from their simple, jangly and heavily reverbed tunes from the previous album, “Bedroom Eyes” is another mighty stride towards more of a power-pop sound that showcases strong vocals from frontwoman Kristin Gundred, aka […]
Just in time for this year’s FYF festivities: FYF Fest and Analog V. Digital, a collaboration between former L.A. photographer Benjamin Hoste and Lomography, has come together for a nice recap of the local music scene through particular lenses used last year. Featuring photography and perspectives from musicians and fans – in addition to some […]
There are singers, and then there is Ruby Friedman. The L.A. songstress comes at you like a weather front, a thunder-and-lightning barrage of soul and nerves, capable of wrapping more drama into a phrase than most singers do in their autobiographies. Since we last visited with the flaming-haired diva, her Ruby Friedman Orchestra has completed […]
Australian pro surfer-turned-musician Ry Cuming had some great instincts when it came to trying his hand at music. Making a splash in a different industry with his raspy falsetto and soul-anchored choruses, Cuming’s songwriting outstrips those trite, beachy sounds most are used to hearing from other fellow pro surfers. His piano- and guitar-based tunes go […]
Although it’s still 2011, Domino artist Cass McCombs has already scheduled a second album titled “Humor Risk” for release on Nov. 8 this year. Teaming up again with producer Ariel Rechtshaid, the Foreign Born bassist who has produced McComb’s “Wit’s End” and “Catacombs” in addition to albums for Glasser and We Are Scientists, the new […]
Jon Pebsworth has been known as “Pebs” since he was a kid, and it’s this moniker he chose for his newest incarnation as a scratchy-voiced troubadour. As he shows on his debut album “Sweet Surrender” (out independently Sept. 20), it’s a role he inhabits well – he has logged plenty of miles as vocalist for […]
Tunes from 50 up-and-coming Los Angeles artists are available for download courtesy of a nationwide promotion that will send one band to Texas next spring to perform at a SPIN magazine event at Austin’s premiere festival. And every download is a vote. Pop Up Live is the brainchild of SPIN, the snack company popchips and […]
You have to hand it to Ben Heywood. When the frontman of the L.A. indie-rock band Summer Darling found himself confronted by writer’s block last year after the release of his band’s well-regarded album, he didn’t break out by dashing off some 3-minute pop ditties. He dug deep. He imagined a chaotic, environmentally devastated American […]
