No April Fool’s on the L.A. Buzz Bands show tonight – just a little Fool’s Gold to kick off my weekly local-music excursion on KCSN (88.5 FM, streaming at KCSN.org). Join me at 7 p.m. Pacific time for new music from The 88, Go West Young Man, the Lonely Wild and the Union Line, along […]
Sunday’s selections: ‣ Charlotte Martin celebrates the release of her album (and DVD) “Hiding Places” at the Bootleg. The young Mariah McManus opens. [That’s her video for “Say It Again” above.] ‣ Avant-guarde pop songstress Julia Holter also celebrates the release of a new album. Dublab presents her show at Atwater Crossing in honor of […]
Your Saturday menu: ‣ The Wedding Present, whose older repertoire still makes us nostalgically swoon, headlines the Troubadour in support of their new album “Valentina.” [Download “You Jane” here.] Tokyo’s Pinky Piglets support. ‣ USC’s charity concert Derby Days returns with a lineup featuring Theophilus London, Bag Raiders and American Royalty. ‣ RT N’ the […]
Dallas Don Burnet was a buzz band while you were still rocking to Barney’s “I Love You. The singer-songwriter has played bass for Thelonious Monster, drummed for Beck and fronted a band the L.A. Times described this way: “[They] write a bunch of catchy, nearly perfect pop songs, then mess them up with a lot […]
Norwegian songstress Ane Brun is known for her sophisticated takes on alternative folk, which can range from ethereal ballads to rambunctious stomps. It’s taken a while for Brun to release a follow-up to 2008’s “Sketches,” but the first two singles from “It All Starts With One” already tell us that time was not wasted. The […]
Your Friday Fixings: ‣ Races celebrate the release of their debut album “Year of the Witch,” which just dropped this week on Frenchkiss Records, at the Echo. Living Things and Incan Abraham join the party. ‣ Ghostly International’s star and avant-pop artist Matthew Dear headlines tonight’s installment of First Fridays (a week earlier than usual) […]
At first you wonder what an angry, frustrated old man is doing in a video for Vanaprasta‘s feel-good pop-rock tune “Self-Indulgent Feeling,” but when 1:11 mark hits (nice timing considering this band’s obsession with numbers) the dour protagonist takes a jolly turn – certainly not the last mood change in the story. Directors Scott Beck […]
[Check out these new songs from three massive albums we anticipate this year…] Japandroids, “The House That Heaven Built” – When we last saw Japandroids play an FYF Fest set, they revealed a few new songs as they were busy recording their long-awaited follow-up their 2009 debut “Post-Nothing.” We finally have a taste of the […]
So much to draw from, and, seemingly, so little time. The music of L.A. four-piece Luna Is Honey is like a filter that’s retained bits and pieces of everything that’s been poured through it – ’80s New Wave, R&B, shoegaze and ’90s alt-rock, to name a few. The latter two figure influences prominently on the […]
Thursday’s things: ‣ The Warped Tour Kickoff Party goes off a Club Nokia, with performances from Dead Sara, Falling in Reverse, Matt Toka and two surprise guests (Warped Tour veterans). ‣ NYC-based singer-songwriter Jay Brannan brings the sharp songs on his sophomoe album “Rob Me Blind” (out this week) to the Hotel Cafe. That’s his […]
