Philadelphia trio Good Old War seems to have struck a chord with its third album “Come Back As Rain,” which is charting well after its release earlier this month. Theirs is an easy-breezy take on folk music, with Keith Goodwin, Dan Schwartz and Tim Arnold punctuating saccharine melodies with acoustic plucking and buoyant harmonies. They […]
It’s a wicked-good Wednesday: ‣ New Zealand’s the Naked and Famous headline the Wiltern, supported by Now, Now [see yesterday’s post] and Vacationer. That’s the Naked and Famous’ video for “No Way,” above. ‣ NYC’s Yellow Ostrich visits the Bootleg Theater behind its sophomore album “Strange Land” on a night that will also feature the […]
Tuesday things: ‣ Sharon Van Etten and the War on Drugs visit the Avalon Hollywood in a double bill of two artists with gorgeous (and critically praised) albums. Van Etten’s third album “Tramp” came out earlier this year to almost universal acclaim; the War on Drugs is still riding a wave of attention for August’s […]
Did you set your clocks forward? ‣ Taken By Trees, the indie-pop venture from ex-Concretes frontwoman Victoria Bergsman, recently signed with Secretly Canadian, and on the heels of her guest stint with Swedish dream-poppers Korallreven last week, the band plays its first L.A. gig in two years tonight at the Bootleg Theater. And Korallreven (Marcus […]
In a manner, Rocco DeLuca has come full circle. The L.A. native honed his chops at a long-running residency in Orange County from 2003 to ’05 and emerged as a contender with “I Trust You to Kill Me,” the first of two albums his band Rocco DeLuca and the Burden released on the independent label […]
Robert Fleming’s bright pop project Victory sank its hooks into us last fall with “Kickers” [download it, really], and now the young songwriter/oenophile is prepping a new album of material. Lest we need a picker-upper on a sunny southern California day, however, he has released this video for “Kickers,” directed by Steven Tralongo. Be happier.
Thursday’s thicket of things: ‣ It’s been too long since we’ve heard from Crash Kings. The L.A. trio of Tony and Mike Beliveau and Jason Morris, who had a hit with “Mountain Man” off their 2009 album, have been working on a follow-up and will play a bunch of new material tonight at the Troubadour, […]
If NO‘s “Stay With Me ” hasn’t pulled on a heartstring or two before, prepare yourself for the single’s touching Ryan Reichenfeld-directed music video. Opening lines “I’m only human” initially takes on an ironic tone once you realize who the stars are, but it doesn’t take long before the sterile environment transforms into a place […]
Sharon Van Etten has tapped into something universal on her latest album “Tramps,” and director Sam Zimman employs bleached-out, kaleidoscopic effects to transport the plaintively delivered emotions into something visual and visceral. You can get lost in this one. ||| Live: Sharon Van Etten plays March 20 at the Avalon along with the War on […]
Friday fun, and we mean fun: ‣ First Fridays at the Natural History Museum roars into its third month of 2012, bringing Zola Jesus and EMA to the North American Hall of Mammals. ‣ Ohio’s Cloud Nothings headline the Echo behind their new album “Attack on Memory.” That’s the video for “No Future / No […]
