New York-born, Santa Monica-reared Johanna Samuels writes smart songs about the notion of emotional truth, the most important of which might be that there is no truth, only a hope for equilibrium. Her forthright and often disquieting style, first heard on 2012’s “Giant Fantasy Life” EP, was cultivated in the cafés of New York City, […]
There are about 300 bands playing Echo Park Rising today through Sunday. There are 35 songs on the Buzz Bands LA Show today on The Independent FM. So, yeah, there’s a lot I couldn’t squeeze into this week’s “Echo Park Rising Special,” but the good news is that there will be bonus EPR coverage on […]
Call this “Say Yes,” Take 3. When resurgent L.A. sextet Afternoons finally release their full-length, “Say Yes,” on Oct. 21, it will be a milestone for band, four of whom (Brian Canning, Steven Scott, Brent Turner and Aaron Burrows) comprised the pop quartet Irving back in the early ’00s. The band, which grew to include […]
The rest of the weekend is rising right along with Echo Park: ‣ Echo Park Rising, ballooning to three days this year, kicks off with free shows at more that a dozen venues around the neighborhood, with Allah-Las, Woods and Crystal Skulls highlighting the outdoor stage at Taix and a great cast of local bands […]
UPDATED: midnight Friday We know your first thought: “Damn, that’s a [blank]load of band names on that poster.” Yes, it is. It’s Echo Parking Rising, the free neighborhood festival that rose from the ashes of Sunset Junction in 2011. It’s expanded to three days this year, Friday through Sunday, and we count 291 names on […]
A lot of the time, less is more, and Brooklyn’s She Keeps Bees have mastered that mantra on their latest album “Eight Houses.” This will be the fourth full-length released by Jessica Larrabee and Andy LaPlant, but it will be the first time they are working with an outside producer. With Nicolas Vernhes (Deerhunter, The […]
Through a shroud of darkness and smoke, Tahliah Barnett strode on stage at the El Rey on Tuesday night in a hip white Princess Jasmine-esque jumpsuit, focused and poised like an artist beyond her years, and the crowd reacted with applause and enthusiasm. A former backup dancer from the U.K., she became known as Twigs […]
A big Thursday of concerts: ‣ With their new album “The Physical World” due Sept. 9, dance-punk duo Death From Above 1979 headlines the Troubadour for a sold-out show. ‣ Imelda May [pictured] the sultry, bluesy rockabilly siren whose new album “Tribal” comes out Sept. 23, plays the El Rey Theatre, supported by the Rhythm […]
Echo Park Rising, the free neighborhood festival that has extended from two days to three days, is just around the corner. Festivities will kick off Friday, Aug. 15 and continue through Sunday Aug. 17, and Buzz Bands LA is once again privileged to be curating one stage during the festival, in the Champagne Room at Taix […]
“Colors of the Cold,” the first song on dream-weaver Rocco DeLuca’s new album, somehow runs two temperatures at the same time, at once suggesting icy and distant while glowing with the warm ambiance concocted by producer Daniel Lanois. The song is but one example of the wizardry on the songwriter’s “Rocco DeLuca,” which comes out […]