[I am haplessly behind on reviewing recent releases from local artists. Here’s the first installment of catch-up:] Eulogies, “Here Anonymous” (Dangerbird, April 7) – Ever since Peter Walker mushroomed into a full-band project a couple of years ago and christened it Eulogies, his music has taken on new urgency. Bandmates Tim Hutton, Chris Reynolds and […]
James Frost, who directed videos for Radiohead (“House of Cards”) and Coldplay (“Yellow”), among others, fashioned this piece for the Silversun Pickups’ new single “Panic Switch.” I’m not sure what the Pickups are fleeing, but in keeping with the general tone of their album, “Swoon” (out April 14), there is a light at the end […]
When the Gray Kid isn’t manning up in the kitchen or hanging with Daniel Baldwin, the L.A. soul man is busy finishing up “The Cost of Living,” his first album with the band he has assembled, Spirit Animal. In the meantime, he recently loaded up his website with enough complimentary music to make your hard […]
I have seen Alfred Darlington perform live and I know the colors in this video to be accurate. Or maybe I was just imagining them. Whatever, Darlington, stage name Daedelus, just released this Eli Stonberg-directed video for his song “LA Nocturn,” from a split EP he did on the new label Friends of Friends with […]
File this under spreading the music – and doing something socially conscious. The first song from Los Angeles sextet Castledoor’s forthcoming album “Shouting at Mountains” is available for free download. The track, “Hidden Treasure” can be downloaded at the Biggest Label Ever, an upstart social networking/social activism/music website. The Biggest Label Ever, along with CauseCast, […]
[Wednesday doldrums? These two videos will chase them away …] Los Angeles quintet Low Vs Diamond has a busy few months ahead: After a headlining gig Sunday at the Detroit Bar in Costa Mesa, the band heads off on tour with Jack’s Manequin for seven dates and Ben Lee for 13. The fivesome is still […]
It’s been too long since I posted a podcast, so this is Step 1 in catching up. This fourth edition of the Buzzsicle features songs from 17 L.A. artists whose names I heard in the aftermath of last month’s South by Southwest Music Festival. In my Austin wanderings, I mostly avoided L.A. bands, figuring I […]
[Sharing random but righteous additions to my iTunes libary …] Just out on Kemado Records, Marissa Nadler’s “Little Hells” makes for a sweet addition to your Americana shelf – her gleaming vocals and billowy atmospherics are perfect for breezy afternoons in the country, or quiet moments of window-gazing. The Boston singer-songwriter visits the Hotel Cafe […]
Mark this one down: The sophomore album by Echo Park ensemble the Faraway Places is due May 12. “Out of the Rain, the Thunder & the Lightning” is sneaky-catchy, with nods to ’70s power pop, soul and a few decades of pop left-fielders who make music that is somehow familiar but not too obvious. The […]
[Another installment of the new L.A. sounds series …] L.A. five-piece Vanaprasta is working on its debut album, “Healthy Geometry,” and what I’ve heard so far points to a familiar but welcome take on 1990s indie rock – gnarly guitar interplay from Collin Desha and Cameron Dmytryk, arresting rhythms courtesy of Taylor Brown and Ben […]
