Happy Halloween – hope everything’s ghoul with you: ‣ Zola Jesus, the Wisconsin-bred, L.A.-based purveyor of brooding darkwave, brings her small frame and big pipes to the Echoplex as her fall tour behind the release of her debut album “Conatus” nears an end. That’s the video for her song “Vessel,” above, directed by Jacqueline Castel. […]
The three-day Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival Sept. 30-Oct. 2 at Speedway Meadow in Golden Gate park had more than its share of highlights: M. Ward came out with Conor Oberst and did a Monsters of Folk cover; Amy Millan of Stars came out with Broken Social Scene to do “Anthems for a Seventeen Year Old […]
Even for those who think that the music of Bon Iver is akin to merely a good book – and not the Good Book – there’s was worshipful atmosphere on Sept. 20 when Justin Vernon and crew blew in from Wisconsin, his improbable rise from backwoods troubadour to headliner/Kanye West’s bud/Minister of Introspection reading like […]
Before I get all giddy about tonight’s LA Buzz Bands show on KCSN (88.5 FM) – and I am giddy – some thank-yous are in order. First, thanks to everybody who contributed to KCSN’s “Pump the Power” pledge drive (you can still donate here). And second, tip of the cap to Mark Sovel, aka Mr. […]
Chris Hackman and Shawn Day have covered a lot of ground since they first met in high school in Sheridan, Wyo. Their music as Greenhorse sprang from an online collaboration started in 2009 while Hackman was living in L.A., Day in London and the trio’s third member, Joel Saur, in South Africa. Their EP “Happiness” […]
Show choices for the Eve of Hallow’s Eve Eve: ‣ Thee Oh Sees have their second album of 2011, “Carrion Crawler/The Dream,” en route on Nov. 15 [check out “Carrion Crawler” and “The Dream” on Pitchfork], and the San Francisco quintet plays tonight at the Ukrainian Culture Center. ‣ Also in town from the Bay […]
Saturday night’s all right for frightening: ‣ KCRW’s Masquerade ball returns to the Park Plaza, featuring performances by Mariachi El Bronx, Dengue Fever (pictured) and Milagres along with DJ sets by Moby and Andre Allen Anjos, the frolicking of the circus troupe Lucent Dossier, live art and more. ‣ Night 2 of the HARD Haunted […]
Think of today’s Buzz Bands LA show on Moheak Radio as sort of a bicoastal exchange. Matt Dyson of the Boston-based blog Dysonsound joins me at the Wavaflow Studios at 3 p.m., and we’ll trade off playing music things we like. I’ll be debuting a bunch of new music that arrived while I was on […]
Gorgeous and gentle atmospheric pop music is always a guarantee from L.A. artist Michael Orendy, aka Frankel. He’s intoxicated us with sweetly swelling orchestrations on his two previous albums “Lullabys for the Passersby” and “Anonymity Is the New Fame,” and he’s preparing to offer his latest collection of gems in form of “Sugar Twists Like […]
It’s been too long since we’ve heard from Nico Stai, who has teased with talk of a full-length album since his last EP a couple of years ago. Stai will preview material from that forthcoming record on Nov. 8 when he heads up the lineup for Buzz Bands LA’s SecondTuesday songwriter night at Lot 1 […]