New month, new residencies and all that: ‣ British electro sensations Rudimental, whose appearance at this past weekend’s HARD Summer coincided with the U.S. release of their album “Home,” play It’s a School Night at Bardot, along with Mother Falcon and the Melodic. ‣ Art-rock quintet Kiev, finishing up their debut full-length “Falling Bough Wisdom […]
Incoming: Phish, Rudimental, Palma Violets, Cimorelli, Mac Miller, Action Bronson, Savoir Adore, One Direction, the Preservation Hall Jazz Band, James McCartney, Hanni El Khatib, the Heavy, Sierra Leone’s Refugee All-Stars, the Veils, Lorde, P.O.D., Hall & Oates, Grizzly Bear, Willie Nelson, Lyle Lovett, Superhumanoids, Foals, the Living Sisters, Mia Doi Todd, the Standells, Train, Emeli […]
‣ HARD Summer Festival continues over at the Los Angeles State Historic Park with Justice (DJ set), Empire of the Sun [that’s their video for “Alive” above], Flosstradamus, Azealia Banks, Crystal Castles, Bassnectar, Dillon Francis, Baauer, Claude Vonstroke, Busy P and many more. ‣ Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros headlines the Hollywood Bowl where […]
In “Sea Monster,” L.A.’s Salt Petal has one of those sleeper albums that shouldn’t be slept on, a collection of melting-pot tunes that imagines, perhaps, what Los Angeles should sound like. The quintet swivels between folk and indie rock with tropical and Latin influences, tastefully accented with accordion and trumpet. Both of the latter instruments […]
As with the Mezzanine Owls and other previous projects, singer-guitarist Jack Burnside mines a curious duality on “Glacial,” the debut from his new trio Western Lows. In the fore is a wash of noisy guitar and beneath, only occasionally surfacing, is the soft-spoken Burnside, a shoegazing bard if there ever was one. In the genteel […]
Dear Boy, the new L.A. quartet fronted by singer-guitarist Ben Grey, wraps its post-punk influences in pop sheen. If Grey isn’t the poster boy for romantic longing – as director Baley Wynn’s slick video for the first single “Oh So Quiet” suggests – he is at least a worthy spokesman, and Grey will probably have […]
Just scratching the surface, really, of Thursday’s highlights: ‣ The Sunset Strip Music Festival kicks off at the House of Blues with a Tribute to Joan Jett, who joins past honorees Ozzy Osbourne, Slash, Motley Crue and the Doors as the recipient of the Elmer Valentine Award. Joan Jett & the Blackhearts will perform as […]
The last time we referenced “Soft Swells” and “summer” was last August, when the L.A. quartet released its undeniable single “Summer Song.” Songwriter Tim Williams and gang again play to their strength in the video for “Lifeboats,” a song off the band’s mood-elevating 2012 debut that gets a new life on Soft Swells’ new “Lifeboats” […]
Director Suzie Vlcek’s video for Silversun Pickups’ “Dots and Dashes (Enough Already),” which stars Elise Eberle and Allie Teilz, follows the arc of a teenage crush. The song’s lyrics suggest where the mini-drama is going: “I’m already wondering ‘what am I?’ / I’ve already learned a bit of sin” and “The edge of the big […]
Have a terrific Tuesday: ‣ Sebadoh’s first album in 14 years, the self-produced “Defend Yourself,” comes out Sept. 17, and Lou Barlow, Jason Lowenstein and Bob D’Amico are back on the road, kicking off their tour tonight at the Bootleg Bar. Above:Â the video for “All Kinds.” [Also see our post on the “Secret” EP.] […]
