Videographer Jeff Hermanson, the trumpeter in Stew & the Negro Problem, uses simple filters to good effect in the video for “Speed,” off the Silver Lake-bred, NYC-based band’s brilliant January release “Making It.” Maybe this couplet is all you need to know: “Things are moving faster now / but I miss speed.” ||| Previously: “Curse” […]
“The Way I See” – the second EP from Max and the Moon – positions the Chino Hills trio in some fashionably melodic territory. Signer-guitarist John Velasquez, joined by brothers Matt and Dillon Couchois, heaps on harmonies, hooks and melodies that recall a more mainstream-sounding Local Natives (the title track, especially) or a less folky […]
NYC’s Dancefloor Diplomacy is a 20-person collective that has introduced itself as “collage music.” The band’s 9-minute composition “We Are Ready,” recorded live, “quotes” 38 different songs. (But it is not a mash-up, a distinction discussed quite nicely here.) In tandem with Theo Anthony’s video, “We Are Ready” could easily spark a larger discussion about […]
What I’ve always liked most about the Henry Clay People is that they are one of the least delusional bands out there. Brothers Joey and Andy Siara probably had a good sense of themselves when they were teenagers, and now that they’re roaring through their 20s, making music (of all the endeavors they could possibly […]
Your Wednesday fare: ‣ Chairlift visits the Troubadour behind its highy praised second album “Something,” with Nite Jewel opening. ‣ Big noise at the sold-out fourth annual Revolver Golden Goods Awards show gathering at Club Nokia, with Marilyn Manson, Korn, Slash, Evanescence, Sixx:A.M. and more. (It’s going to be broadcast live on XBox Live.) ‣ […]
Set times have been posted for Weekend 1 of this year’s Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival, and there are going to be some tough choices for some people. We’ll weigh in more on Wednesday morning.
The deceivingly genteel folk-pop songs on Jim Hanft’s new album “Weddings or Funerals” (out today) are, in a sense, a lot about getting somewhere, either physically (“Alternate Route”) or romantically (“Lazy Love”). Then again, geography has always figured prominently in he L.A.-based singer-songwriter’s music. His 2008 debut “Backyard Waltz” revolved around his move from the […]
Things have been going pretty well for L.A. indie-pop group JJAMZ (pronounced “juh-Jamz”) comprised of Jason Boesel (Rilo Kiley, Bright Eyes), James Valentine (Maroon 5), Alex Greenwald (Phantom Planet), Michael Runion (solo), and Z Berg (The Like). They’ve recently been signed to Dangerbird Records, and their debut “Suicide Pact” is slated for a July 10 […]
So many nice shows tonight, and we’ll selfishly start with our own: ‣ It’s a jam-packed night for Buzz Bands LA’s monthly songwriter excursion at Lot 1 Cafe, headed up by singer-songwriter Ethan Gold (that’s the video for “Why Don’t You Sleep?,” off last year’s album “Songs from a Toxic Apartment”). Boys School kicks off […]
[Here’s a few electro-pop tunes we’ve come across that may help jump start your week…] Coco Morier, “Explosions” – We’ve introduced you to her catchy tunes “Journey to the Center of the World” and “Ambulance,” but since Nicole Morier was one-half of Electrocute and a co-author of tunes for Britney Spears and Junkie XL in […]
