Shoegaze acolytes Tennis System showed on their 2011 album “Teenagers” that they could play both sides of the noise game – gnarly, high-intensity dissonance on one hand and layered, painterly pop on the other. The quartet’s new single “Such a Drag” might just be next-level pretty, though … gorgeously harmonized guitars, notes bent in yearning […]
Thirteen years ago, the alternative hip-hop group Deltron 3030, composed of rapper Del The Funky Homosapien, producer Dan “The Automator” Nakamura and DJ/turntablist Kid Koala, released their self-titled debut, a forward-thinking hip-hopera concept album set in the dystopian future of 3030 as the hero Deltron Zero rebels against the evil suppression of the new corporate […]
The Blood Arm earned a reputation as hell-raisers in their early days in L.A., their outlandish party anthems and acrobatic live shows whipping club crowds into a frenzy even though their music didn’t quite leave enough of an aftertaste for the quartet to blow up. They’ve always wanted to be everything at once – lovable […]
‣ Everybody should know “Boys & Girls” by heart now, right? Alabama Shakes [pictured] comes back through town in the middle of a long tour behind their acclaimed debut album, playing Hollywood Palladium with Fly Golden Eagle and Hurray For the Riff Raff. ‣ Mayer Hawthorne celebrates the release of his third album “Where Does […]
Everything I can imagine writing about Fever the Ghost’s acid-drenched psych-pop involves hallucinogenic drugs. Or what was on the turntable that one weekend you experimented with them. (Ahem.) Or how influences like the Seeds, the Electric Prunes, Procol Harum, the Doors and David Bowie run through the L.A. quartet’s music, which is sonically like aiming […]
Electro acts such as Classixx, Tropicool, Viceroy and Plastic Plates – along with DJ sets from the likes of the Juan Maclean, Poolside, Miami Horror and Neon Indian – highlight the lineup for Splash House, a weekend mini-festival in Palm Springs. It’s the joint venture of LED, Private Label and the Pacific Festival, the summertime Orange […]
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 […]
If they got into the kitchen more often, the Greyboy Allstars could be top chefs in the funk-soul-jazz world. The long-running ensemble has worked around their individual careers to make four albums in the 20 years since they began boogaloo-ing for San Diego DJ Greyboy back in the 1990s. Their latest concoctions are the mouth-watering […]
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 […]
