Their name might be a mouthful — Cannoneers of the New Command — but the music of the new L.A. quartet is easy to swallow: It's garage rock 'n' soul that harks back to the swaggering British bands of the early '90s and to grittier '70s before. Absent the current scene's fetish for synths and electro trickery, Cannoneers keep things so straight-ahead you'd think black leather jackets never went out of style. It's not far from the sonic crunch singer-guitarist Mike Monosky achieved with his last project, the Pacific, who put out albums in 2005 and '08, respectively. [...]
[Happy tax day. How many of you are spending your return on Coachella?] They've escaped Orange County for the friendly confines of NYC, but the Willowz are fondly remembered here. Their latest album "Everyone" came out in December (and maybe got lost in the pre-holiday shuffle), and it's a howling-good collection of punky psych-rock that should have made them stars by now. [That's Kaylie Schiff's video for the album's title track, above.] The quartet plays Spaceland tonight in one of the better T'was-the-Night-Before-Coachel la shows. [...]
Timothy—yes he plays keys for both Astra Heights and Lemon Sun!—took a moment to thank the crowd, "It took [Astra Heights] a year to make [Ship of Theseus] and this is the most beautiful sight we could ask for so everybody dance your fuckin' asses off and thanks for coming!"
The Morales brothers could feel resentful. The core members of the rock quintet Astra Heights moved to L.A. over five years ago and quickly got signed to Universal Records , only to have the release of their debut album bog down in a major-label quagmire. For two years they spun their wheels, the album "Good Problems" finally getting a digital release. Now they are back, independently, with a new album "Ship of Theseus," and maintaining a sunny disposition. "We're not bitter at all — overall it was a fun experience," says bassist James Morales, who [...]
My only quibble with "New Tales to Tell: A Tribute to Love and Rockets" is the "tribute" part, which seems a bit presumptive. Call me stuffy, but only the truly seminal bands should get tributes; the good ones can be saluted, and the others, well, covered . In a decade-plus of tailoring the Bauhaus aesthetic to make it safe for radio, Love and Rockets proved themselves a very good band (especially live, given the set I witnessed at Coachella 2008). They were are a band whose influences were influential, as opposed to today's hitmakers, whose [...]
[Happy birthday to silky smooth soul singer Anthony Hamilton, the pride of Charlotte, N.C. ...] Speaking of Charlotte, another one of that city's native sons, Benji Hughes [pictured], is back in L.A., where he's on a first-name basis with many fans of his sprawling, genre-hopping album "A Love Extreme." ("Gonna go see Benji tomorrow?" somebody asked last night.) Hughes holds forth at Spaceland. ... In the bigger rooms, Brian Wilson plays the Wiltern, and City and Colour (with William Elliott Whitmore ) performs at a sold-out El [...]
Four brothers and an "honorary" brother are in the line-up of Los Angeles band Astra Heights . These guys are all about the melody, name checking the Small Faces and the Zombies as their influences. Lead singer Mark Morales obviously listened to a lot of seventies Bowie. He even tries to adopt an English accent. Let's just hope that the Eaglesque The Whole World Changes is a mistake that they won't make again. Astra Heights : Mark Morales: lead vocals, rhythm guitar James Morales: vocals, bass guitar Joshua [...]
Because of NaNaWriMo , I fell behind with my emails. This post covers a month's worth of musicians who popped The Duke a gmail. There are some mp3s, vids and other things of note. Arranged in order from oldest to newest. Mojib ~ Answering Machine at Night RIYL: electronic music that samples The Jayhawks [ website ] House of Brothers ~ Deadman RIYL: a British Iron & Wine [...]
Buzz Bands
L.A. RECORD
Here Comes The Flood
The Late Greats
Justin Bieber’s “Boyfriend” Remixed By 2 Chainz, Mac Miller & Asher Roth: Listen
Summer (Or What It Sounds Like) Vol. 3
Justin Bieber - "Boyfriend" Remix ft. 2 Chainz, Mac Miller, & Asher Roth (MP3 Download)
Kylie Minogue Lights The Fuse Of Her “Time Bomb”
Thursday Pass Along – May 24, 2012
