“Every Little Thing,” the first single from Soft Swells, is a tight, tuneful day-brightener that bleeds optimism with every echoing chord, percussive jab and twinkling key. Funny, then, that the Mike Berlucchi-directed video for the song counterposes its sunny disposition against the overheated despair of the Salton Sea, but the desert does breed its own […]
[Happy August – where is this summer going? – and happy birthday to Dhani Harrison. Good shows tonight? We’ve got a few …] Monday madness: ‣ Singer-songwriter Robert Francis, largely out of the L.A. eye (but big in Europe) since releasing “Before Nightfall” in 2009, is back with a new batch of songs and this […]
Five favorite things about Tuesday’s Night With Buzz Bands LA at the Satellite: 1) Seeing Army Navy nail the material from their forthcoming sophomore album “The Last Place.” 2) Watching A House for Lions deliver a great set as frontman Daniel Norman persevered through not one, but two broken guitar strings. 3) Feeling the energy […]
[Birthday greetings today to Light FM’s Josiah Mazzaschi. And here’s tonight’s menu:] Tonight’s entirely biased show recommendations, or Things to Ponder While Listening to Gang of Four on “Morning Becomes Eclectic” (11:15 a.m.): ‣ Buzz Bands LA’s night at the Satellite features Army Navy (pictured) – the L.A. quartet returning with an album’s worth of […]
The music of Army Navy is an exercise in precision: meticulously finding the right guitar tone or harmonics, layering melodies just so, fastidiously counterposing frontman Justin Kennedy’s winsome vocals against all the jangle. The L.A. quartet’s four-minute confections are a pop classicist’s delight – not to mention a guitar savant’s dream. So it’s no surprise […]
Soft Swells, whose new single we premiered on Wednesday, has been added to the bill for Buzz Bands LA’s show next Tuesday at the Satellite. The new project from singer-songwriter Tim Williams will play the late set, replacing Hot As Sun, who were forced to cancel because Jamie Jackson is recovering from a bout with […]
In 2009, after three releases for Dovecote Records and one open-heart surgery, Tim Williams was ready to turn the page. He moved from Brooklyn to a strange, strange land, Los Angeles. “I needed to get out of New York and come to a place where I didn’t know anyone,” he says. “Sometimes you have to […]
