Happy news for the ears of older-guard fans in the L.A. scene: “Farmer” Dave Scher is releasing his first solo album “Fast Forward to the Good Times” (Kemado Records) on Aug. 18. Scher, the guitarist in Beachwood Sparks and All Night Radio, has played alongside the likes of Elvis Costello, Jenny Lewis, Jonathan Rice. Guests […]
Sean Tillman’s party band persona, Har Mar Superstar, will release “Dark Touches,” its first album in five years, on Oct. 13. I’m not big on tongue-in-cheek dance music – in fact, Tillman’s pop album as Sean Na Na a couple years back far outstrips his work as Har Mar – but there are very few […]
The Black Lips, Lucero, No Age [pictured], Lightning Bolt and the Thermals will be among the acts playing Sean Carlson’s FYF Fest (formerly known as the F Yeah Fest), scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 5, at Los Angeles Historic State Park in downtown. The lineup, announced today, includes locals such as Darker My Love, Dios, Avi […]
Over the course of three-plus years and three releases (two EPs and a single), Mere Mortals have cultivated a gritty-but-pretty take on Britpop, one that in another city and perhaps another era might earn them the keys to Madchester. Alas, L.A. tends to take bands like the Mortals for granted, seeing as they’re not chasing […]
Orange County-based garage rockers the Willowz have announced that their fourth album, “Everyone,” will come out Oct. 6 on Dim Mak (via Downtown), and the first single from the record, “Repetition,” is a two-minute stomp that’s more White Stripes than Stooges. It’s been two years since the Willowz released “Chautauqua,” but frontman Richie James Follins […]
[Folky flavors for your Tuesday …] The music of Trevor Beld-Jimenez – the guy behind Tall Tales and the Silver Lining – somehow sounds as if it comes from “up the coast.” The Ventura=based singer-songwriter in June released “The Understanding” on Beehouse Records (home of the Spires), and the album showcases Beld-Jimenez’s affection for breezy […]
[A couple full-album downloads for your Thursday:] A little synchronicity from a recent trip to my native Midwest: Stopping by the Firebird club in St. Louis to take in a solo set by Adam Franklin, I caught the opening set from St. Louis trio Glass Waves. Their languid, shoegazey rock went down like a cold […]
[New and notable from L.A. bands:] Preppy indie-poppers Princeton are gearing up for their debut release, “Cocoon of Love,” due Sept. 29 on Kanine Records. The band’s two EPs have revealed their music to be sweet and very college-educated (though its name is derived from the street in Santa Monica where the group grew up), […]
[New and notable from the L.A. scene, one in a series …] I have been remiss in keeping you updated on the exploits of Learning Music, the moniker under which John Wood releases his tunes. Back in February, I wrote about his ambitious subscription series, Learning Music Monthly, through which Wood releases one album per […]
For several years, AM has been one of the hardest-to-Google, easiest-to-listen-to singer-songwriters in L.A. Now the New Orleans-reared artist has signed to Filter US Recordings, which on Aug. 11 will release his sophomore album “Future Sons & Daughters,” the follow-up to 2007’s “Soul Variations.” AM’s music is typically something-for-everybody (or every soundtrack), weaving threads of […]
