After the demise of indie rock quintet Low vs. Diamond in 2010, we’ve followed the endeavors of former band members such as Anthony Polcino through his new solo project Soft Pipes. However, it’s been a while since we’ve heard from their frontman Lucas Field. After the band released a self-titled album that spawned majestic odes […]
Great pop music offers hooks that present melody alongside an inviting story sans the cliché, and New Zealand’s Kimbra has been able to dish out these essential goods. In sharp contrast with the repetitive and watered down tunes charting from tragedies such as Ke$ha here in the States, Kimbra’s refreshingly catchy, bright songs (along with […]
‣Fishbone at the Bootleg Bar. Fishbone at the Bootleg Bar. The end. And while you’re at it, dig further into these OGs who have musically motivated many (No Doubt, Flea, ?uestlove, Les Claypool): narrated by Lawrence Fishburne, the documentary “Everyday Sunshine” fleshes out the storied history of the iconic punk/funk band. ‣The New L.A. Folk Fest […]
The live lineup for The War On Drugs, which is the moniker Adam Granduciel records under, may have gone through several changes (initially including Kurt Vile), but the rocker from Philadelphia, PA., has been able to hold his own ground long enough to release a second studio album. In fact, “Slave Ambient” (out now via […]
Pavement fans may still be wishing for another reunion tour but Stephen Malkmus is happily touring with the Jicks in support of their latest album “Mirror Traffic.” Although he’ll always be praised for his underrated days in the acclaimed ’90s band, the nonchalance and cleverness embedded in Malkmus’ mind has only gotten sharper. Songs such […]
Waiting on the sunshine, but in the meantime let’s talk musical shop: ‣Nashville continues to bear solid musical fruit as Vandervelde parks it at the Echo tonight with harmonic folk/rock of tourmates The Fling (hello, Dangerbird Records). Locals Francisco The Man round out the bill and this combo has #win written all over it. P.S.: […]
With its runaway trumpet part (and a viola that seems to be chasing it), “Jupiter” is one of the most exuberant moments on Escalator Hill’s debut “Poplar Avenue.” The L.A. quintet, one of two bands (with the Lonely Wild) to rise from the ashes of You Me & Iowa, has been pumping out its sometimes-frenetic […]
Hey, retro rockers, Nick Waterhouse’s Wayback Machine works better than yours does. Waterhouse is a the Huntington Beach-reared, San Francisco-educated 25-year-old whose early songs make time stand still – or at least, that period of time in the late 1950s and early ’60s when soul and sweat and sweetness seemed to congeal on every […]
If the members of L.A. trio Wilding look familiar, it’s because they were formerly called Tigers Can Bite You. Performing under a name that actually references the TCBY song, “The Wilding,” Dave Woody, Dave Bowman and Andrew Platts are still together but are continuing the heavier sound they found themselves playing after keyboardist Cindy Morrow […]
Although Maria Taylor had been busy touring as one-half of duo Azure Ray last year in support of their album “Drawing Down the Moon” (after a six-year hiatus), the singer-songwriter happily went head first into writing a new solo record after suffering from writer’s block the entire year before. The self-produced “Overlook” rejuvenates the grace […]