If the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse trade their horses for Cold War-era combustion engines, you’ll know that Viet Cong have arrived. The new self-titled album from the Canadian band howls from the hilltops with reverb-drenched bass and vocals, grindingly sharp guitars and industrial rhythms. Joy Division- and Bauhaus-style goth is given a refreshingly new […]
Rare is the younger band in these times of truncated attention spans who dares release a live album. Dr. Dog is one of those rare bands — the Philadelphia sextet have managed to capture the raw vitality of their rousing concerts on the new live album, “Live at a Flamingo Hotel.†It’s their eighth full-length album […]
Not to get all hyperbolic or anything, but Courtney Barnett’s “Pedestrian at Best” makes us believe in rock ’n’ roll. First, there’s the no-frills crunch ’n’ swagger, the work of the Australian singer-guitarist with bandmates Dan Luscombe (guitar), Bones Sloane (bass) and Dave Mudie (drums). Timeless. Then there are the 27-year-old’s shout-sung lyrics, funny and […]
A few weeks ago, we retraced the career steps of Scottish singer Terry McDermott, onetime frontman of the star-crossed rock band Driveblind who went on to settle in New Orleans, form the band Lotus Crush and gain prominence as a contestant on Season 3 of “The Voice.” Lotus Crush — McDermott along with Candlebox’s Peter […]
Mini Mansions’ latest single “Any Emotions” articulates a typical guy lament—”I can’t understand / any emotions”—but actor Colin Hanks displays the full range in director Mike Harris’ one-take video for the song. The single features background vocals from the legendary Brian Wilson, for whom Mini Mansions’ bassist Zach Dawes did session work and possesses a […]
Wednesday’s shows, listed here so we don’t get fined: â–º Resurgent Scottish garage-pop duo the Vaselines visit the Roxy Theatre behind their latest album “V for Vaselines,” the third since their reformation seven years ago. Above, the “spy” video for “Crazy Lady.” Loch Lomond opens. â–º With their album “The Great Pretenders” on the way […]
Sibling-fueled L.A. quintet Babes have a subversive sense of humor, especially when it comes to matters of the heart — having dialed the band’s “hotline” (470-BABES-77) and seen the lip gloss and monogrammed panties on their merch table, we know that. The new video for “You & Me,” a song from Babes’ debut EP, follows […]
Ready your ears and free your mind — Aussie band Pond released its sixth studio album today. “Man It Feels Like Space Again” is full of fresh psychedelic tunes, created by songwriters Nick Allbrook, Joseph Ryan and Jay Watson. The title track, “Man It Feels Like Space Again,†can only be described as if Tame […]
Show stuff for your Tuesday night: â–º L.A.-based Australian duo Intergalactix, who released their EP “I.W.S.O.M.” last August, visit the Satellite, supported by Thrift and Ghetto Blasters. Above, the duo’s collaboration with the Killbirds, “My Name Is Simon.” â–º Tijuana Panthers and Gap Dream, along with Holy Wave, Hidden Ritual, the Wolf and Sweat Lodge, […]
Director Grant Singer’s brilliant video for Ariel Pink’s “Dayzed Inn Daydreams” stars eccentric rocker Rick Wilder, once of Hollywood bad boys the Mau Mau’s and the Berlin Brats. Filmed near Bakersfield, it follows a very haggard Wilder, a past-his-expiration-date rocker working at a grocery store, as he encounters Pink, who had played the town the […]
