What a year. More than 140 Los Angeles-sired albums passed through the Buzz Bands LA headphones this year, not counting EPs, mixtapes and singles. Judging from the detritus at my desk – handwritten lists, stacks of CDs, press releases – and my unopened emails, there were a lot more out there. It came in all […]
It’s suddenly feeling like a long holiday weekend … ‣ The first day of Hard Summer 2012 goes off at L.A. State Historic Park with Bloc Party, Boys Noize, Bootsy Collins, Miike Snow, A-Trak and more. Are you going? Recommended reading: The “Getting Here” section of Hard’s website. Riding the Metro is free today with […]
Incoming: Hard Summer 2012, the New L.A. Folk Fest, Kelly Clarkson, Neon Trees, Andy Clockwise, the Ruby Friedman Orchestra, Tenacious D, Jason Falkner, the Mynabirds, Best Coast, Tears for Fears, TV on the Radio, Grouplove, Real Estate, the Belle Brigade, Beachwood Sparks, the Bangles, Tempest and more. Above: Chrysta Bell, the singer who collaborated with […]
See if this makes sense: Beachwood Sparks were ahead of their time at going back in time. When the quartet first emerged in 2000 with a self-titled album, it marked a revival of the cosmic California folk of Gram Parsons, and that release and 2001’s “Once We Were Trees” proved worthy additions to that music’s […]
Color me eager to hear new material from these 10 artists:
From the depths of my reporter’s notebook (yeah, I still carry one): ‣ Swervedriver’s recent blast from the past at the Echoplex felt like a class reunion. Could’ve sworn I recognized two dozen faces from their great performance a couple years ago at Coachella. And it’s not out of the question that Adam Franklin and […]
Painted Hills, “Painted Hills” (Bird Song/Parasol) – Singer-guitarist Josh Schwartz’s solo project (formerly known as Bolero) splashes down with a well-crafted batch of paisley psych-pop that feels like the soundtrack to the best possible hippie dream. Schwartz, who has played in Beachwood Sparks, Further and the Tyde and has toured with John Cale and the […]
Happy news for the ears of older-guard fans in the L.A. scene: “Farmer” Dave Scher is releasing his first solo album “Fast Forward to the Good Times” (Kemado Records) on Aug. 18. Scher, the guitarist in Beachwood Sparks and All Night Radio, has played alongside the likes of Elvis Costello, Jenny Lewis, Jonathan Rice. Guests […]
It seems like Paul Larson has been a familiar figure on the Silver Lake scene before there was even a Silver Lake scene. Larson, the lead singer and principal confessor in the Minor Canon, made an album with Jimmy Tamborello (Dntel, the Postal Service) and Chris Gunst (Beachwood Sparks) during the Clinton Administration, and has […]
Nailed down your plans for New Year’s Eve yet? The Times has exhaustive guides of options for ringing in 2009 — I went through two plates of hors d’oeuvres just reading them, then got a stomach ache over the ticket prices. Not one to partake of any of the dance-music massives (and not one to […]
