Radar Bros., “The Illustrated Garden” (Merge) – “I want you, I need you / Right now, my life’s on a cereal box,” Jim Putnam sings on “Quarry,” and you’re not sure whether he’s entranced in a moment of morning reverie or fretting over his bio. It’s probably not the latter – Putnam has been making […]
Florida quartet Surfer Blood, coming off a strong week of shows at SXSW and still riding the buzz they earned with their 2009 album “Astro Coast,” has top billing in Saturday’s Waved Out Music Fest, being presented by Aquarium Drunkard at the Echo and Echoplex. Depending on your tastes, you can go festival-crazy this weekend […]
[Can’t remember a busier weekend for good stuff. Really. So wish Stefani Joanne Angelina Germotta – that’s Lady Gaga to you – a happy birthday, and I’ll see you at a show:] Tonight: Metric, who played a surprise set Thursday night at a charity gig at the Roxy, headline the Palladium. Codeine Velvet Club and […]
[Happy birthday, Elton John. Meanwhile, in L.A., my head’s going to explode from the overwhelming selection of good-to-great shows tonight:] First, two indie bands with new albums I highly recommend: The Morning Benders (with Miniature Tigers and We Barbarians supporting, play the Troubadour; and the Deadly Syndrome [Chris Richard, pictured] celebrating the release of “Nolens […]
Renowned for a coruscating live show, Auckland, New Zealand, three-piece Kerretta follow in the post-rock footsteps of fellow Kiwis Jakob. Blistering sonic attack is tempered by waves of layered guitar melody reminiscent of Flying Nun legends Bailter Space: harmony and dissonance combined. No meandering here – fiery instrumentals delivered with prowess. ||| Download: “Maven Fade” […]
Devendra Banhart hits L.A. for his first proper show since the release last fall of his first major-label album, “What Will We Be.” As Devendra Banhart and the Grogs, he’s touring with the same group of musicians who made the album – guitarists Noah Georgeson and Rodrigo Aramante, bassist Lucky Remington and drummer Greg Rogove. […]
Patrick Park’s third album “Come What Will” arrives in April, and the L.A. singer-songwriter previews some of it tonight; he’ll be backed by a full band at the Hotel Cafe, where Spring Summer opens. … San Francisco quartet Lovelikefire, which has played a lot in L.A. the past few years, visits the Silverlake Lounge behind […]
The post -SXSW onslaught of great shows begins tonight, when Norwegian rockers Serena-Maneesh hit the Troubadour. Their new album “S-M 2: Abyss in B Minor” comes out Tuesday. Supporting will be Brooklyn’s the Depreciation Guild [pictured], which has a new album “Spirit Youth” coming May 18. … Speaking of new album, L.A. trio Oliver Future […]
Tonight: The Spires and the French Semester play a release party with Early Dolphin at Echo Curio. … The El Rey hosts a benefit for the David Lynch Foundation with ’60s folk icon Donovan, Sublime vet Jack Maness, Global Sound Lodge and more. … The Gaslight Anthem‘s Brian Fallon and Cali-punk poet Joe Sib take […]
It’s Austin and it’s Spoon. If Britt Daniel couldn’t get elected mayor of this music mecca, he’d at least be toasted as the crown prince of its indie constituency, at least judging from the adulation showered on the quartet during its 75-minute performance at the outdoor stage at Stubb’s. The heaping helping of home cooking […]
