Making one’s debut in Los Angeles can be an iffy proposition, especially if a band is saddled with a midnight set – on a Sunday night. However, Portland’s dream-pop darlings Blouse didn’t seem to have much to worry about when a massive crowd crammed itself into the Echo for a sold-out show. ||| Photos by […]
Maybe it’s because their hometown of Riverside is so far from the beach, but Summer Twins imbue their indie-pop with splashes of longing as well as rays of the sunshine. When we first heard from sisters Chelsea and Justine Brown in late 2010, they released the cherubic, rough-around-the-edges EP “The Good Things.” This week their […]
On the surface, Taylor Locke does not have it rough. He’s poster-boy handsome, dispenses guitar licks with the best of ’em and has played with Rooney for a decade or so. But Locke does wear his heart on his sleeve, and there lies the source material for the music of Taylor Locke & the Roughs, […]
Happy Wednesday, and it will be a happy one … ‣ Alabama Shakes, the Athens, Ala., quartet winning accolades for their ferocious and unpretentious fusion of Southern rock and blues, visit the Troubadour for a show that’s been sold out for weeks. Alabama Shakes’ debut album will be out April 10 on ATO Records. On […]
It’s twisted irony that Brendan Benson is more renowned for being co-founder of the Raconteurs than for his first two solo albums, 1996’s ill-fated “One Mississippi” and 2002’s “Lapalco,” both of which featured collaborations with Jason Falkner.” (If you have neither and spot one in the bargain bin, indulge.) The cult of Jack White, I […]
Young folk-pop trio Warm Weather crafts exuberant three-minute nuggets out of tingling guitars, agitated beats and a sometimes-dizzying maze of vocals. Yes, Justin Lerman, Brendan Lynch-Salamon and Ryan Pollie can harmonize, but on their first two EPs – last June’s “Dances” (available for free download here) and this month’s “Looking Through” (pay-what-you-want) – they prove […]
Stephen Brower & the Silent Majority’s 2011 album “sb/sm” is a barroom brawl of bluesy punk and classic rock, the kind of old-fashioned stomp that, washed down with the right amount beer, pumps adrenaline and clouds judgment. So the Jacob Hatley-directed video for “Robbie” – the noisy intro ends at the 0:27 mark – how […]
KCRW-sponsored shows featuring Animal Collective and Hot Chip/Passion Pit were among the dates announced today as part of the Hollywood Bowl summer slate, which will feature superstar conductor Gustavo Dudamel’s six-night “Americas and Americans” festival in August, appearances by Ben Harper (July 1), Smokey Robinson (July 20-21) and Norah Jones (Aug. 10), and Anita Baker […]
Is folk-rock over? It is, quite possibly, for Delta Spirit, the SoCal quintet who won fans with the harmony-laden “Ode to Sunshine” in 2008 and cranked up the intensity with 2010’s “History From Below.” Both were albums that wore their hearts on their flannel-shirted sleeves, Matt Vasquez’s winsome voice sending fans scurrying to locate that […]
A deliriously busy Tuesday: ‣ Wilco plays to a sold-out Palladium behind last September’s release of the band’s eighth album, “The Whole Love.” White Denim opens. ‣ Few purveyors of guitar-driven pop and heavenly jangle are as adept at plastering smiles on the faces of fans as Tommy Keene. The veteran songwriter released a highly […]
