The Portland Cello Project, the six-year-old string ensemble that has covered the likes of Radiohead, Justin Timberlake, Kanye West, Rihanna and even Pantera, has expanded its palette to tackle the latest music from Beck. The 42-year-old songwriter, of course, released his latest effort, “Beck Hansen’s Song Reader,” as a book of sheet music. And the […]
The full-length by L.A. quartet Hands won’t arrive until April 30, but their fans now have a little something to tide them over. Their new 7-inch for White Iris finds the art-rockers a bit less arty – “I Want to Know” shelves the band’s characteristically labyrinthine programming and beats in favor of more organic instrumentation. […]
How many drummers does it take to make a rock video? Loads, if you’re Nico Vega. The L.A. rockers enlisted the help of roomful of skins-pounders to make the video for “Beast,” a song that originally appeared on their 2009 album but was granted a second life owing to its use in a video game […]
Each of the four songs on Wires in the Walls’ new EP “Leap, Timber, Leap” is a mini-epic, a snippet of musical cinema that, in between the twinkling guitars, serene melodies and lustrous production, conveys the timeless tug-of-war between melancholy and hope. It’s a refinement of pop-Americana the Los Angeles quintet of Warren Sroka, Denton […]
Your Thursday possibilities: ‣Â M. Ward gives a concert at the Orpheum Theatre – a makeup date for the October show he was forced to postpone because of illness. Karen Elson and Soul-Junk support. That’s Ward’s video for “The First Time I Ran Away,” above; the song is off his seventh solo albu,, “A Wasteland Companion,” […]
The Hectors seem as if they come from three-generations-ago Silver Lake – their single “Cold Star” was one of the highlights of the “International Pop Overthrow: Vol. 9” compilation (2006), and the sweet “I Drove All the Way From Bridgeport to Make It With You” is on one of our 2007 mixtapes here somewhere. But […]
Last time we took note of an Unknown Mortal Orchestra music video, it was because of its kooky Wes Anderson vibe. This time, the video for “So Good at Being in Trouble” involves “McLovin’” wearing pantyhose on his head and smashing things with a baseball bat. Although the Venice Beach-based clip perfectly illustrates the psychedelia […]
Salt Petal’s sophomore release “Sea Monster” is the rare album that imbues the full range of emotions – unbridled joy to aching melancholy – with a full range of sonic influences. The Los Angeles quintet’s musical stew simmers with indie-rock, Brazilian tropicalia, Mexican folk, Cumbia, Argentinian dance and some good ol’ soul – all held […]
It’s a steamy day last July in Hollywood, and Michael Sean Fitzpatrick is looking bleary-eyed but satisfied. The Fitz in the Fitz & the Tantrums had just entertained a small cadre of journalists at a listening session for five new songs from the band’s sophomore album. “We had two months to write 32 songs, which […]
‣ Emeli Sandé, splendid last summer in a turn at the El Rey Theatre, returns to the venue tonight for a show featuring Emily King. ‣ The Pharcyde does a sold-out fan appreciation show at the Key Club. ‣ The co-headlining tour featuring Delta Rae and ZZ Ward lands at the Troubadour for the first […]
