It isn’t hard to grasp the concept behind El Ten Eleven’s new Adam Hauck-directed video for “The Sycophants Are Coming! The Sycophants Are Coming!” – after a few years of slogging through the surf, the Los Angeles duo is finally and justifiably making waves with their fourth album “It’s Still Like a Secret.” “Things have […]
[Birthday greetings to Jim Adkins of Jimmy Eat World …] Tonight’s top 3 shows: ‣ Colorado’s Candy Claws (that’s their video for “Silent Time on Earth,” above) visit the Bootleg Theater, supported by Chain Gang of 1974. Candy Claws’ latest album “Hidden Lands” offers some pretty compelling lush orchestral pop – we gave you a […]
Tonight’s top touts: ‣ Spanish electro-rockers Delorean bring the party to the Troubadour. ‣ Good Americana with Brian Wright (who has a new album “House on Fire”) at the Bootleg Theater. ‣ And locals rule at the Viper Room, where Useless Keys, Twilight Sleep, Nightmare Air and Fictionist rock out. And the rest of the […]
[Bronson is lost in the desert somewhere this week. We’re picking up some slack, so these posts might look a little different than usual:] Top 3 shows tonight: ‣ Deerhunter (above, the video for Diplo and Lunice remix of “Helicopter”) at the Music Box ‣ Apples in Stereo and Fol Chen at the Echoplex ‣ […]
Regrets, Buzz Bands has a few. One from 2010 was missing the Local Natives/the Love Language shows in September at the Music Box. The former band, of course, was a known quantity here, but the openers, a five-piece from North Carolina, are a lot of fun too. Their album “Libraries,” released on Merge in July, […]
This happens sometimes: You like the side project more than you like the real deal. Such is the case with Taylor Locke & the Roughs – the four-piece anchored by the Rooney guitarist, along with Chris Price, ex-Like bassist Charlotte Froom and drummer Mikey McCormack. In April, Locke released “Grain & Grape” (including the track […]
The big, chiming folk rock of Fullerton quintet the Steelwells went over big at this year’s Orange County Music Awards – the band scored two victories, including best song for “El Capitan.” And there was a nice bonus: Akorn Entertainment got behind the song and produced a very topical video starring some very cardboard characters. […]
Top 5 local shows on a night of interesting local shows: ‣ Frank Fairfield and Simon Stokes – along with members of Spindrift performing as Boy Scout Jamboree, Triple Chicken Foot, Vaud & the Villains, Amanda Jo Williams and Olentangy John (that’s his video of “O! Be Joyful,” above) – perform tonight at the Echoplex […]
For those of us who for decades could never get enough of Chrissie Hynde’s voice, there is her new collaboration with Welsh singer-songwriter JP Jones, JP, Chrissie & the Fairground Boys. They’ve made a pretty good album, “Fidelity!,” and they’ve made made an even better backstory – a 59-year-old rock legend and a 31-year-old folkie […]
Please, please, please: More ambitious music like Glasser, less lo-fi girl-group detritus. Cameron Mesirow’s debut album “Ring” [see previous post] engages on a lot of levels and seems to get more enchanting with each listen. The album, produced by Foreign Born’s Ariel Rechtshaid, melds warm, looping electronica with orchestral flourishes from strings, woodwinds and bass. […]
