Ben Cooper, who does business as Radical Face, crafts songs that are somehow more than just words and melody. They have presence, a mystical quality that suggests they are more the sum of their parts. The Jacksonville, Fla., songwriter’s new album “The Family Tree: The Roots” (out this week), based on a strange, fictitious family […]
The Fling’s 2010 debut album “When the Madhouses Appear” established the Long Beach quintet as a band that knew its Beatles from its Byrds, and a lot of the animal kingdom in between. The harmony-laden folk rock made by Dustin Lovelis, Graham Lovelis, Justin Ivey, Justin Roeland and Joel Bond expands its scope a bit […]
[From our Dept. of Alt-Rock, tunes from three bands with new releases:] Standing Shadows, “Freakshow” (e-mail required) – The L.A. quartet of David Miltenberger, Dan Silver, Mike Green and Michael Ascolese has a new EP, and the title track bursts with searing riffage and artillery-fire percussion. They celebrate the release by play the Roxy tonight […]
Midweek madness: ‣ The Smashing Pumpkins visit the Wiltern, promising to preview some material off their forthcoming album “Oceania” (due in 2012). Fancy Space People (featuring Don Bolles) and Light FM open. ‣ Blondie plays Club Nokia behind their new album “Panic of Girls,” and L.A. trio Nico Vega opens. ‣ Devotchka does a cozy show […]
If the late Amy Winehouse had been influenced by Wanda Jackson and rockabilly instead of soul and jazz, she might have turned out to be a fast-moving rock ‘n’ roller along the lines of Australia’s Lanie Lane (pronounced “Lanny”). Her smokey yet sassy sound has earned her tour spots with artists such as Justin Townes […]
[Apologies for the delay – we’re getting our galleries back up and running.] Another year, another weekend with buttery fingers, lungs full of crisp ocean breeze and happy ears. The annual crustacean crush known as Lobsterfest came and went off the weekend of Sept. 16-18, and again the grassy expanse at Ports O’ Call Village […]
The press release says the Black Box Revelation’s forthcoming “Shiver of Joy” EP is the duo’s first U.S. release, which means this 2007 nugget on the Buzz Bands LA shelves titled “Set Your Head on Fire” must be a happy accident. Whatever. That’s when singer-guitarist Jan Paternoster and drummer Dries Van Dijck first stirred my […]
Jolie Holland’s distinctive vocals, dusky and deep-throated, are a deal-breaker for some – is the 36-year-old Texas native swallowing or singing? But in timbre and phrasing, they are well-suited for her barroom folk and its point-blank take on affairs of the heart. Her fifth album “Pint of Blood” (out this summer on Anti-) runs red […]
As frontman of the late Oliver Future, Noah Lit helped forge indie rock for sophisticates, a mission that suffered mainly for lack of sophisticates. The Austin ex-pat, along with his brother and ex-Oliver Future bandmate Joshua, isn’t dumbing it down any with his new project Noah and the Megafauna. On their debut album “Anthems for […]
A little rock, a lot of roar: ‣ It’s a hometown party tonight at the Roxy for dance-punks Funeral Party (pictured), whose debut “Golden Age of Knowhere” came out back in January. They will be joined by Nashville quartet Mona, whose self-titled debut came out in September. [Buzz Bands LA will be DJing the proceedings.] […]