Surf’s up – and, in a manner of speaking, down – in the new video for Juliette Commagere’s song “Berceuse.” The languid ballad off the L.A. songstress’s 2008 debut “Queens Die Proudly,” turns downright haunting in director Ara Reo Mann’s video, shot in infrared on a chilly night in Laguna Beach. Commagere, by the way, […]
[Happy Cinco de Mayo. And happy birthday, Adele. Here’s your fare for 5/5/10:] Anticon soundscapist and Andrew Bird collaborator Martin Dosh [that’s his video for “Airlift,” above] hits the Echo tonight behind the April release of his fifth album “Tommy.” Supporting is local boy genius Will Wiesenfeld is his new incarnation as Baths. … The […]
One of my happier accidents at SXSW in March was running across a set by Australian duo An Horse, who’d instantly won me over the spring before with their unvarnished pop and unblinking honesty, both of which were unabashedly displayed on their 2009 debut “Rearrange Beds.” They played some new songs in Austin, but for […]
What’s in the suitcase? Lemon Sun frontman Rob Kolar finds out in the video for the L.A. quintet’s new single “Touch the Lightning.” The stop-motion film is the brainchild of Emily Wilder (night job: fronting the L.A. trio Wet & Reckless), who stitched together hundreds of photographs to create the piece. ||| Live: Lemon Sun […]
[Disclosures: Linus of Hollywood is the answer to the trivia question “Who is the first artist to appear in the Buzz Bands column?” (October 2002, for his collaboration with Tim Burgess). Kay Hanley is a notorious Boston Red Sox fan whom I admire despite my lingering bitterness over the 2004 World Series, possibly because she […]
“Let Go,” the first single off Los Angeles quintet Everest’s new album, is a shimmering little slice of optimism driven by relentless percussion, Jason Soda’s guitar riff and and a bass line that tickles the back of your neck. If it feels as if the flannel-shirted local heroes are going for a grander sound than […]
I don’t think I’ll ever be as excited about The xx as the rest of you seem to be (for my minimalist electro R&B, I will take Junior Boys), but the frenzy the young Londoners have created is very real, judging from the masses they attracted at Coachella. The xx’s coolly choreographed video for “Islands” […]
[Happy tax day. How many of you are spending your return on Coachella?] They’ve escaped Orange County for the friendly confines of NYC, but the Willowz are fondly remembered here. Their latest album “Everyone” came out in December (and maybe got lost in the pre-holiday shuffle), and it’s a howling-good collection of punky psych-rock that […]
The Morning Benders’ anthem about fleeting youth and lost innocence, “Promises,” a song about fleeting youth, gets a video treatment courtesy of directors Aaron Brown and Ben Chappell. The SoCal-bred, Bay Area-based quartet is riding high on their widely praised sophomore album, “Big Echo” – they’ve scored upcoming tour dates with Grizzly Bear, Broken Bells […]
I’m not sure what to make of the lone wolf in the video for “I Can Make You Love Me,” by L.A. electropop newbies Death Kit. But I think I’ve been him. The video comes courtesy of John Christopher Pina (Common, et. al.); the song, the band’s debut single, is kind of an all-day sucker […]
