A lot of musical traffic has coursed down Silver Lake Boulevard since that band with the confrontational name – the Negro Problem – held down the very first monthly residency*** at Spaceland in September, 1996. In the middle part of last decade, the beloved L.A. band anchored by Stew (born Mark Stewart) and Heidi Rodewald […]
Dig this: New York City four-piece the Dig – not to be confused with old ’90s faves Dig – named their band in honor of the movie “Dig,” the Brian Jonestown Massacre/Dandy Warhols documentary. (I know, that’s a lot of Digs in one sentence.) The Dig’s sometimes-atmospheric, always-hooky indie-rock only has a little bit in […]
This happens sometimes: You like the side project more than you like the real deal. Such is the case with Taylor Locke & the Roughs – the four-piece anchored by the Rooney guitarist, along with Chris Price, ex-Like bassist Charlotte Froom and drummer Mikey McCormack. In April, Locke released “Grain & Grape” (including the track […]
Moving Picture Show’s ranks have thinned since they first turned heads at their gigs by entering the stage by romping through crowds as a marching band. Keyboardist Amy Oliver moved away, leaving singer-guitarist Matt Kap, bassist Jeremy Nesse and new drummer Scott Manley to carry on their ’80s radio-inspired exploits. MPS’s second album “Studies Have […]
Ross Flournoy was bowed but not broken when his indie-pop band the Broken West disintegrated more than a year ago. “I had no idea what I was going to do,” he said of his year of stewing, soul-searching and, eventually, songwriting. “Being on Merge, it’s not like you break up your band and then you […]
Gus Seyffert is one of those magical players that seems to matriculate to the good stuff. He’s made a fine album as Willoughby, played alongside excellent local artists such as the Bird and the Bee, Mike Andrews, Charlie Wadhams and the Sweet Hurt, produced a slew of others and has an imprint of his own, […]
Free Moral Agents have segued gradually from side project to a big deal for Isaiah “Ikey” Owens, the keyboardist of prog-rock deities the Mars Volta. Hearing their forthcoming first album for Chocolate Industries, “Control This!” (due in November), you can see why. The Long Beach-based quintet of Owens, singer Mendee Ichikawa, singer-bassist Dennis Owens, guitarist […]
Singer-guitarist Johnny O’Donnell, currently stationed in L.A. after receiving mail in such locales as New Orleans, Seattle, London and South Korea, played guitar in the band Holy Ghost Revival, whose very visceral sound was described as “car crash rock ’n’ roll” by NME. Having found Seoul after that quintet’s demise, O’Donnell wrote the music for […]
Led to Sea is the musical alias of L. Alex Guy, a Seattle-based composer and violist who’s toured and/or played with acts like Mirah, Laura Veirs, and Xiu Xiu. Her debut album “Into the Darkening Sky” (Eleven Records) is a collection of stark poetry set against sparse strings and the occasional bit of precise percussion […]
Three years into his residence in Los Angeles and nearly a decade as the driving force behind San Francisco-born shoegazers Film School, Greg Bertens faced a career turning point as he set about making the band’s fourth album. “Things changed, from the lineup to separating from [the label] Beggars Banquet,” Bertens says. “I felt a […]
