Actress-singer-songwriter Soko possesses a certain mystique that she translates into lo-fi, highly relatable narratives that belie her celebrity in her native France as a movie performer. Her January release for Community Music (Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros, Alex Ebert, Aaron Embry) was titled “I Thought I Was an Alien,” 15 songs that cast the […]
“I am still hot,” laughed the legendary Booker T. Jones, explaining to the crowd Tuesday night at the El Rey Theatre that despite his age, he and his sound are very much still on fire. “Sound the Alarm,” the new album from Booker T and friends, was titled with this reality in mind. Recap and […]
‣ Ozomatli is the special guest at the 10-year anniversary celebration of the weekly club night Afro Funké at Zanzibar. ‣ One-man soul storm Bernhoft, the Norwegian singer who live-loops piano, guitar, beat boxing and vocals, visits the Troubadour, with Sun Rai opening. That’s Bernhoft’s video for “C’mon Talk,” above. [See our missive on Bernhoft […]
The iconic tourist trap known as the Santa Monica Pier is fast becoming Los Angeles’ hottest concert venue. Aloe Blacc [pictured at the 2012 Silver Lake Jubilee], Allen Stone and Michael Rose of Black Uhuru (with the production duo Sly and Robbie) will head up a new two-day, soul/reggae event called the Beach Ball at […]
Ballerina Black’s music – like the ’80s post-punkers and ’90s alt-rockers from which they draw – is the sonic equivalent to the light at the end of the tunnel. Frequently, that tunnel is dark, and for the L.A. quartet, it has been long; singer-guitarist Bobby Moynahan and various compatriots have been at it for about […]
The Vaccines apparently spent some time in Los Angeles. Their new song “Melody Calling” sounds like it. The prolific London quartet, just getting into a busy run of summer festival performances, made the new song at Eldorado Studios in Burbank with producers John Hill (Rihanna, M.I.A, Santigold) and Rich Costey (Muse, Franz Ferdinand, Arctic Monkeys). […]
The current wave of retro psychedelia has its serious adherents – artists who seek a more organic environment for their messages – as well as its nostalgia-mongers. The latter group, of course, faces the challenge of evoking nostalgia for a time period they know only through its music and other cultural artifacts, which frequently proves […]
Nika Roza Danilova, aka Zola Jesus, has always marched to the beat of her own drum. The pint-sized, opera-trained vocalist’s knack for producing songs that were icy, hypnotic and melodramatic shone in the gothic-tinged synth-pop of her breakthrough album, 2011’s “Conatus.” So it’s not a shock that Danilova goes a step even further with her […]
Wednesday’s show menu: ‣ Mavis Staples visits the Fonda Theatre behind her new Jeff Tweedy-produced album, “One True Vine.” Mark Olson opens. ‣ Robert Plant brings his Sensational Space Shifters to the Shrine Auditorium, with Grace Potter & the Nocturnals opening. ‣ British singer-songwriter David Ford plays the Bootleg Bar behind his new album “Charge,” […]
Sisters Jessica and Jennifer Clavin, now enjoying success as Bleached after putting Mika Miko in the rear-view mirror, have been the pin-up girls for punk and cool since releasing early singles such as “Searching for the Past” on Suicide Squeeze. From riding motorcycles to crowd surfing, their lackadaisical attitude and scuzzy melodies won even more […]