I thought the album “Rearrange Beds” by Australian duo An Horse was out in February, but it turns out March 17 is the physical release date. Whichever, the music of Damon Cox and Kate Cooper is crackling-good indie pop. Their North American tour starts this week at Noise Pop in Francisco, but skips L.A., for […]
Not too long ago, Funeral Party was playing backyard parties in East L.A. Hundreds of kids came; there was cowbell galore; people danced; and life was good. As the group cultivated an underground following and took its act into clubs, they seemed to be inheritors to the Moving Units’ edgy dance-punk throne. Now they are […]
Here’s a fun little DIY video from L.A. singer-songwriter Sara Lov’s cover series. Lov, whose debut album “Seasoned Eyes Were Beaming” comes out March 17, covers Silversun Pickups’ “Kissing Families,” with sideman/producer Zac Rae playing a small piano. And, yes, that’s SSPU frontman Brian Aubert joining in on tambourine. Speaking of the Pickups, their sophomore […]
Visiting Alain Whyte’s MySpace page makes you want to dash out some lyrics, grab a microphone and start singing. There, he has posted a half-dozen rock ‘n’ roll tracks that are stereo-ready – except for the absence of vocals. That’s the way the L.A.- based songwriter and producer works, and has for years with his […]
Dave Stewart (Eurythmics, if you were born in a latter decade) is offering a little Valentine’s Day gift – the title track off his new EP “Let’s Do It Again.” Of course, the song featuring singer Sierra Swan already has a commercial tie-in, so should I even say it has substantial buzz? Guess not. ||| […]
Eleni Mandell, gearing up for the release Tuesday of her seventh album, “Artificial Fire,” is offering fans a free download of the title track. It’s vintage Mandell – if there is such a thing for a songwriter who slips between rock, pop, jazz and country with a wink of an eye and wry smile – […]
Three-quarters of Avi Buffalo (“or Avi Buffalo Music,” the barefooted 18-year-old frontman tells the crowd in a voice you’re not sure has hurdled puberty yet) is still in high school, but five minutes into the Long Beach band’s set you’ve forgotten that, at their age, proms and final exams ought to be bigger concerns than […]
I’m not sure when L.A. electro-pop quartet Casxio is going to start getting the attention they deserve, but the video they just released for the song “Boiling Point” might help. It’s a stark short film with a cast of six, directed by Hilton Carter and made by his production team Fresh Kill. Casxio has consistently […]
Oliver the Penguin is not so much a band, or an album. It’s a persona – a character that sprung from the minds of musician-about-town Tommy Walter and singer-songwriter-composer Rie Sinclair. If the duo has their way, Oliver the Penguin won’t just be an album that they plan to release in March, it will be […]
It’s old-school punk meets new-school business model: The new album from Orange County veterans T.S.O.L., released in January, is available for free. Not surprisingly, the album is titled “Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Free Downloads.” Marking the 30th anniversary of the band founded as True Sounds of Liberty, T.S.O.L.’s 16th album comes courtesy of […]
