Friday, March 31, 2006
Irving's show at King King was the event of the month. Not only to celebrate the release of their new CD Death in the Garden, Blood on the Flowers, but what a lineup of friends they put together that night. Lavender Diamond, Great Northern, and Army Navy filled out the bill. Aubert from SSPU also joined in on the fun. Had a great time and the band never sounded better. Irving returns to town on 5/7 with Essex Green at Spaceland.
Irving - "Situation" (MP3)
Irving on MySpace
Wednesday, March 29, 2006
Two long-awaited EPs were released in the same week. First, Ferraby Lionheart had his EP release show at Tangier. Elation. We could watch this guy sing these songs all day and never once stop smiling. The EP itself is perfection. Ferraby plays 4/24 at the Hotel Cafe... A few days later, Languis celebrated the release of their Other Desert Cities EP at Spaceland. "City of Lights" is still a beautiful tune and our favorite one on this release, but it sounds like it's gone through some re-arrangement since we first heard it. No matter, it was worth the wait. The band's on tour at the moment, but be sure to catch them at the Hotel Cafe on 4/23 playing with our ex-girlfriend Sara Bareilles.
Languis - "In the Fields of (Lonely Fences)" (MP3)
Purchase Ferraby Lionheart's self-titled EP here.
Purchase Languis' "Other Desert Cities" EP here.
Tuesday, March 28, 2006
Hard drive crashed. Twice. Hence, we are back-posting.
Went to the Echo for Serena Maneesh and WE. Two bands from Norway that made time for a West Coast swing on their route from SXSW. Loud in presentation. Viking-like in appearance. In other words, we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. Also on the lineup that night were Eagle and Talon (who somehow managed an opening slot on the recent Sia tour) and Division Day (who recently celebrated the release of their new record Beartrap Island -- favorite track is "Colourguard")... Guillemots and The Guggenheim Grotto also came through our fair city from Austin. Fairly standard AOR pop acoustica led by some very charismatic, charming, and of course good-looking young men. Nothing we haven't heard before from D. Rice but I have to admit, the Grotto's "A Lifetime in Heat" is a rather pretty tune. Amy Cooper opened that night. She's recording a new album and the demos sound pretty darn fantastic. You might want to check her out at the Silverlake Lounge on 5/24... However, the best lineup that came through town via SXSW was strangely the one that nobody but a handful of savvy post-rock/shoegazer enthusiasts (5 at the most) went to. Sianspheric and A Northern Chorus each put out of one our favorite non-L.A. records from last year and are probably two of the best bands currently making noise in Canada. So it was a no-brainer that we would be skipping Earlimart/Band of Horses that night (even though "The Funeral" is absolutely gorgeous) and risking our rep to see a show at 14 Below. First of all, why the heck these two bands couldn't get something east of the Mississippi (La Brea) is beyond us. Second, this was one of the best shows of the year.
Division Day - "Colourguard" (MP3)
Division Day - Tigers (MP3)
The Gugenheim Grotto - "A Lifetime in Heat" (MP3)
The Guggenheim Grotto - "And A Tear Isn't Such A Bad Thing" (MP3)
Band of Horses - "The Funeral" (MP3)
Went to the Echo for Serena Maneesh and WE. Two bands from Norway that made time for a West Coast swing on their route from SXSW. Loud in presentation. Viking-like in appearance. In other words, we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. Also on the lineup that night were Eagle and Talon (who somehow managed an opening slot on the recent Sia tour) and Division Day (who recently celebrated the release of their new record Beartrap Island -- favorite track is "Colourguard")... Guillemots and The Guggenheim Grotto also came through our fair city from Austin. Fairly standard AOR pop acoustica led by some very charismatic, charming, and of course good-looking young men. Nothing we haven't heard before from D. Rice but I have to admit, the Grotto's "A Lifetime in Heat" is a rather pretty tune. Amy Cooper opened that night. She's recording a new album and the demos sound pretty darn fantastic. You might want to check her out at the Silverlake Lounge on 5/24... However, the best lineup that came through town via SXSW was strangely the one that nobody but a handful of savvy post-rock/shoegazer enthusiasts (5 at the most) went to. Sianspheric and A Northern Chorus each put out of one our favorite non-L.A. records from last year and are probably two of the best bands currently making noise in Canada. So it was a no-brainer that we would be skipping Earlimart/Band of Horses that night (even though "The Funeral" is absolutely gorgeous) and risking our rep to see a show at 14 Below. First of all, why the heck these two bands couldn't get something east of the Mississippi (La Brea) is beyond us. Second, this was one of the best shows of the year.
Division Day - "Colourguard" (MP3)
Division Day - Tigers (MP3)
The Gugenheim Grotto - "A Lifetime in Heat" (MP3)
The Guggenheim Grotto - "And A Tear Isn't Such A Bad Thing" (MP3)
Band of Horses - "The Funeral" (MP3)
Sunday, March 12, 2006
Too many things to see in L.A. last night. So how we ended up at the Cold War Kids EP(s) release show in Costa Mesa is quite the long, boring story that begins and ends with a strange afternoon at the Irvine Spectrum, which as many OC kids know, is really like living in an episode of "Laguna Beach". The Kids of the Cold War have been getting a lot of press these days and are preparing for their first jaunt to SXSW where they are on many to-hit-up lists. So we felt it necessary to give them one last look-see in their hometown at Detroit before they get obese.
The EPs are pretty fantastic, not only for the hit tracks ("We Used To Vacation" and "Rubidoux" are our favorites), but Maust's artwork itself is fit for framing. For anybody heading out to SXSW, their showcases are a must -- especially the Spaceland parties (flyers posted on el Pimp). They're back in town on 3/21 playing with Tapes 'N Tapes at the Knitting Factory. EPs can be purchased at Monarchy Music.
Cold War Kids - "Hospital Beds" (MP3)
Cold War Kids - "Tell Me In The Morning" (MP3)
The EPs are pretty fantastic, not only for the hit tracks ("We Used To Vacation" and "Rubidoux" are our favorites), but Maust's artwork itself is fit for framing. For anybody heading out to SXSW, their showcases are a must -- especially the Spaceland parties (flyers posted on el Pimp). They're back in town on 3/21 playing with Tapes 'N Tapes at the Knitting Factory. EPs can be purchased at Monarchy Music.
Cold War Kids - "Hospital Beds" (MP3)
Cold War Kids - "Tell Me In The Morning" (MP3)
Wednesday, March 08, 2006
Only after a handful of shows, Sea Wolf has become one of the best bands in Los Angeles. No question. Anyone who was at their last show at the Echo would tell you that. So great to see Alex Church do something outside of Irving and do it with such laughable non-chalance. It's almost maddening watching one of those bands that don't realize how good they are. Church's songs are effortlessly brilliant. Park always looks like he's in the middle of an afternoon nap fingering some of the prettiest picking patterns we've ever heard. And, my gosh, does Burrows not know all the perfect 80's synth progressions? Really too bad they don't play too often. And probably won't get out much these days with Irving's new record coming out -- which, by the way, is a damn good record. CD release show for Irving's new album Death In The Garden, Blood On The Flowers is 3/29 at King King.
Still can't get enough of Ferraby Lionheart yet so we caught part of his set at the SLL opening for March residents The Parson Red Heads. Haven't said too much about the Parsons although we've seen them a few times around town. Perhaps because we're always leary about transplant bands. Or maybe because their lead singer kind of looks like Haley Joel Osment with facial hair. But they do have good material and are very humble about it. No record out yet, but catch them at the Lounge every Monday for free and request "Punctual As Usual" even if they just played it. It's better the second and third time.
Earlier that evening, we had to see Correatown at the Hotel Cafe just so we could hear her new heartbreaker tune "I Tell Myself", which recently was on that show "Grey's Anatomy". Joanie Mendenhall from the fabulous group Exfriends was in town and sang our other favorite song "Saint Dinan" with her. And Brosseau came up and did a few Les Shelleys tunes to finish off the night. She plays a free show with Cat Hair Ensemble at Mr. T's on 3/16.
Angela Correa - "Saint Dinan" (MP3)
The Parson Red Heads - "I'm Always At Hand" (MP3)
The Parson Red Heads - "Laugh It Off" (MP3)
