A buoyant optimism that doesn’t resort to preening, nifty orchestral arrangements, an alliterative name – Paulie Pesh has a lot going for him. On his second EP, “Shining Stars,” the L.A. singer-songwriter straddles the ground staked out by classic songsmiths such as Randy Newman and new pop adventurers such as Andrew Bird. “I’m trying my […]
“Stomp Out the Sun,” the first album from roots rocker Jason Diaz, provides a lot of comfort food for fans with an appetite for vintage ’60s and ’70s music, but the 24-year-old acknowledges that he felt as if he were the only person on that diet when he was a teenager. “I was weirdo in […]
Delorean’s home base of Barcelona is just a short hop across the Balearic Sea from Ibiza, so it is little wonder that this indie quartet has soaked up the sounds of the Mediterranean island’s famed club scene. The uplifting piano breaks on latest full-length “Subiza” could be lifted straight from an early ’90s house record, […]
‣ Fitz & the Tantrums, with Daryl Hall? Yep. Fitz and a couple of his bandmates – Noelle Scaggs and James King – visited Hall for an episode of his Web TV series “Live From Daryl’s House.” Not only are the performances cool, but they make applesauce. Go here to watch – excellent stuff, especially […]
New Jersey native Anthony Polcino kept his own music in the background while he played guitar in the Los Angeles’ Low Vs Diamond, but when that quintet “slowed down, or fizzled out” after touring behind its 2008 album, Polcino says, he got to work in his West Hollywood apartment. ||| Stream/download: “Golden Grace” [audio:http://www.mediafire.com/file/rdnq924dn1c9qt6/Soft%20Pipes%20-%20Golden%20Grace.mp3] His […]
[Buzzbeats is an occasional feature on Buzz Bands LA authored by Rich Thomas, whose work you can find at his Mining the Landfill blog. Past entries here.] By Rich Thomas Way back in 1998, at the height of electronica’s Big Beat revolution, Japanese duo Boom Boom Satellites released a ferocious little single called “Push Eject.” […]
When we last spotted the U.K. funk-soul machine known as the Heavy, they were turning the courtyard of the Hammer Museum into a sweaty mess during July’s Also I Like to Rock series. They’re on the way back to the U.S. with a new EP due next week, “How You Like Me Now?” Included are […]
[Buzz Bands’ Southern Hemisphere correspondent checks in with a brief history of a longtime favorite, in advance of the quartet’s rare L.A. appearance this weekend:] By Keith Shackleton A week prior to leaving for a tour of Brazil, the Hoodoo Gurus issued a press release announcing that 1997 would be their last year together as […]
San Francisco’s Kelley Stoltz has a knack for ramshackle melodies. A veteran home-recording guru, Stoltz typically plays all the instruments himself and pens the kind of pop songs that stick to you like cheerful friends along for the ride. With “To Dreamers” (out this week), his fourth release for Sub Pop, Stoltz adds some extra […]
The Black Heart Procession has long had a penchant for broad cinematic strokes, and this latest offering has all the knife-edge tension of a soundtrack to one of John Carpenter’s horror flicks. The pulsing, near-instrumental “Blank Page” is the opening salvo on Pall Jenkins and Tobias Nathaniel’s new mini-album “Blood Bunny/Black Rabbit,” out this week […]
