Hearing the new single from Cardinal takes me back to the 1990s and the early days of the Internet, when music geeks (ahem) trawled Prodigy newsgroups to find far-flung but like-minded friends and share new sounds. It was via a transatlantic mixtape – a handmade cassette – that I discovered a clamorous Australian psych-pop outfit […]
Races started innocently enough. Frontman Wade Ryff, who’d been playing in the Janks, was asked by a friend to do a set of solo material he had in the works. “I thought, ‘My dream band – who would it be?’” the singer-guitarist says. “So I got on the phone and called the people I wanted. […]
Archer Black is the sound of all hell breaking loose – references to wars, bombs, triggers, guns, bayonets and other manner of ordnance all surface amid the orchestral rock on the Los Angeles band’s debut album “Forgiveness Is a Weapon” (due Jan. 3). Frontman Dustin Morgan, the longtime bassist in L.A.’s moody shoegazers the Autumns, […]
It’s just not fair that there’s this much to do on a Monday: ‣ Yelle make up the Thursday show the French dance-pop trio postponed (they were delayed by visa problems) by holding forth at the Wiltern tonight. ‣ Races celebrate the release of their “Big Broom” EP tonight, playing the support slot for Chain […]
If you’re a night owl (check) and give a hoot about good local music (check), join me at midnight for this week’s edition of the L.A. Buzz Bands show on KCSN (88.5 FM, or via the live stream at KCSN.org). I’ll have new music from NO, Monte Mar and League – all of whom we’ve […]
A story in Friday’s L.A. Times chronicled how the cast of characters vying for the GOP presidential nomination are providing a multitude of fodder for TV comedians. Turns out they’ve inspired some musical satire too. Tim Heidecker of the musical duo Heidecker & Wood (and of the TV show “Tim and Eric: Awesome Show, Good […]
Sunday’s selections: ‣ The rootsy raconteurs known as HoneyHoney visit the Troubadour for a hometown date – the duo of Suzanna Santos and Ben Jaffe released their second album, “Billy Jack,” in October on Lost Highway Records. [Get a taste of “Ohio” and “Turn That Finger Around,” and check out KCRW’s post on “LA River.”] […]
Chase your Saturday blahs away: ‣ Feist plays to a sold-out crowd at the Wiltern Theatre behind her new album “Metals.” ‣ Real Estate visits the Echoplex behind the October release of its sophomore album “Days.” The very good Slumberland Records band Big Troubles opens – go here to see their video for “She Smiles […]
Talk about perfect timing for an album release. L.A. band the Active Set has cautiously released two singles over the last couple of years, but they’ve been waiting to present “11” on just the right date – which is today, Nov. 11, 2011. Their debut also consists of 11 tracks which offer a diverse sound […]
Mika Miko’s demise in 2009 may have left L.A. fans of female punk bands heartbroken, but with former members toting their creativity in to new projects here and there, fresher hooks have risen from the ashes. Reminding the Dum Dum Girls who were here first, sisters Jessica and Jennifer Clavin (along with band members Kevin […]
