Live reviews
DUSTY RHODES & THE RIVER BAND @ SPACELAND
The Band performed a good number of newbies, songs about drinking, traveling, sunshine, massacres and cults, exploring American roots music with a modern pop temperament. “Street Fighter Opus” feels like when Queen did the theme song for the Flash Gordon movie.
CULTS @ 6TH STREET WAREHOUSE
Amidst it all was a candlelight ceremony-like occurrence that traced the shadows of the blog-hyped band fittingly called Cults. This band, formerly shrouded in mystery, is no longer a silhouette duo because they have more than tripled with a total of six members: Madeline Follin (vocals) and Brian Oblivion (guitar/vocals) now have four additional band mates that harmoniously bear long locks as if they were Kings of Leon meets The Z-Boys.
20,000 LEAGUES UNDER THE SEA W/ LIVE SCORE BY STEPHIN MERRITT @ CINEFAMILY
Most live scores I’ve seen by contemporary bands end up being ambient and atmospheric noise dumped on top of film. That can be great, but it’s rarely as memorable as The Magnetic Field’s front man Stephin Merritt singing “You can’t do that, I’m a Canadian citizen!” and deadpanning “This shoe is lined with lead” while working highly unusual, erratic, and oddly shaped electronics in the context of an epic underwater fantasy from the silent era.
DAMIAN JURADO @ SPACELAND
Damien took the stage with a disclaimer: he was under the weather and was going to try his best to push through. Although I didn’t detect any hoarseness, his stamina was definitely lacking.
DUM DUM GIRLS + CROCODILES @ THE ECHO
The band’s lyrics are both girlish and jarring, romantic and jaded, like a broken heart on a sunny day. Their live show had the same quality and was a perfect California contradiction—innocent and tough, each piece in all the right ways.
Album reviews
BIG WHUP: BIG WHUP 7″
Big Whup’s first self-released single shows the time and care they put into this project—from the nudie sleeve art, the hand-stamped labels and the clean-yet-dynamic recordings—and features two so-called A-sides, giving a side to each singer. This is a great single—not only because each of the songs are catchy and memorable, but also because it showcases two different voices and the diversity of sounds they can create.
SO MANY WIZARDS: LOVE SONGS FOR WHEN YOU LEAVE ME EP
After the success of 2009′s barn-burner Fly a Kite, So Many Wizards returns with Love Songs for When You Leave Me, an EP of quick and plaintive tunes from the wrong side of a failed relationship. And while the title suggests future heartache, band mastermind Nima Kazerouni makes it clear that he’s already well-versed in the spiritual vernacular of loss.
THE TIMEBOMBS: I BELONG IN HELL
Thank God these kids put out this record. Underneath all the distortion-drenched artillery bursts, you hear the anger and disgust I feel for the music scene today. Putting this record on the turntable makes me feel the same way I felt being a 13-year-old shithead. I’m gonna go flip the record over and throw myself against the wall a few times.
MADLIB MEDICINE SHOW NO. 3: BEAT KONDUCTA IN AFRICA
The strength of Medicine Show No. 3 is the reckless abandon with which it dives deeply into style after style, sometimes in ways that don’t exactly work but nonetheless manage to attach themselves together. For some, this will be an eye-opening redefinition of African music. But it’s not for first-time Madlib listeners.
WHITE FENCE: WHITE FENCE
Did I miss the memo that said Darker My Love would show THE WAY? I don’t remember their music being as fucking fantastic as White Fence, Tim Presley’s solo project that slides like a multi-colored slug through your brain, then raids the cabinet for scones and a bit of tea. The White Fence Album is the best vinyl I’ve ever received in the L.A. RECORD crate!
