There are shades of dark, and the minimal music of L.A. trio VUM pulses in the shadowy space where mostly outlines are available. The Topanga Canyon-based threesome of Jennifer Pearl, Christopher Badger and Scott Spaulding earned well-deserved praise for their “Laura Palmer” single released last October, and they’re readying their sophomore full-length for release later […]
Your monstrous Thursday show lineup: ‣ The Under the Influence of Music Tour wafts its way to the Verizon Wireless Amphitheater featuring a lineup of Wiz Khalifa, A$AP Rocky, Smoke DZA, Chevy Woods, Joey Bada$$ and Berner. ‣ It’s the second week of the Twilight Concert Series, which brings free live music to the Santa […]
Sadie Dupuis started out in the NYC scene but took off to pursue a master’s in poetry in Northampton, Mass., and in doing so she found her musical calling there. Recording herself under the moniker Speedy Ortiz, Dupuis’ solo lo-fi bedroom project spawned the 5-song EP titled “Sports,” but it didn’t take long for her […]
Mark Lane has always been one to take his time and craft his songs. The follow-up to his 2003 album “Golden State of Mind” didn’t come until 2012, when he released “Something New.” But that’s part of Lane’s charm. Never mind that his vocals are reminiscent of Elvis Costello (although that certainly doesn’t hurt), the […]
No, California Wives aren’t from California and as you can see, there are no married women in the group. The Chicago-based quartet of Jayson Kramer, Graham Masell, Adam Schneider and Joe O’Connor does, however, marry new wave and indie rock in a glowing manner. Their debut LP “Art History” is chock-full of nice, warm pop-rock […]
Tops for Tuesday: ‣ Long-running SoCal funk maestros the Greyboy Allstars wind up a tour behind their new album “Inland Emporer,” their fourth release, by headlining the Troubadour. ‣ Australian ensemble the Cat Empire hit the Avalon behind their new album “Steal the Light.” That’s the video for the title track, above. ‣ At the […]
What’s in a name? Plenty, it turns out. In March, Australian singer-guitarist Andrew Stockdale announced that he was dispensing with the name Wolfmother – the band he had fronted during a checkered, decade-long period that included the 2007 Grammy Award for best hard rock performance. A new album, an hour-long, 17-track stoner behemoth, had been […]
Incoming: The Neighbourhood, Wolfmother, Dessa, the Greyboy Allstars, the Cat Empire, Alabama Shakes, Matchbox Twenty, Sergio Mendes, Mayer Hawthorne, Belle & Sebastian, Fol Chen, White Arrows, Meshell Ndegeocello, Wiz Khalifa, Red Baraat, Passenger, the Dan Band, Pink Martini, Chinatown Summer Nights, Dillinger Escape Plan, Matthew Sweet, Rogue Wave, Heh Marseilles, Camper Van Beethoven, Shooter Jennings […]
Here’s your massive Saturday: ‣ Psychedelic Furs is chugging away at all their summer tour dates where they’ll be playing “Talk Talk Talk” in its entirety. Today they play downtown L.A. at Pershing Square. Badwater joins them. ‣ It’s a night of hip hop at the Troubadour with Dessa [Check out out “Warsaw”] headlining and […]
This video doesn’t exactly qualify for a NSFW label, but watch the video at your own risk if you have either just eaten lunch or if you are not a fan of bugs … really big bugs. Yes, Majical Cloudz‘s video for “Bugs Don’t Buzz” is a bit sickening if you can’t get the past […]
