If Awaken! is a peek into the psyche of band mastermind Jesse Rakusin, then the inside of his head must be a hazy and oddly comfortable place. Firmly rooted in lo-fi psych and smoky bedroom blues, the eponymous full-length finds Rakusin attempting otherworldly heights equipped only with a 4-track.

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His vocals invoke the spirits of James Brown and Marvin Gaye without the sense of novelty one might expect from a white guy so audaciously attempting to carry on the soul music tradition. Lidell’s September 30 show at the Echoplex only served as further proof that he is one of the great torchbearers for contemporary R&B, not some white dude who can do a mean impersonation of the soul greats. 



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While I did catch a glimpse of the mound of confiscated drugs at the venue’s entrance, it’s undeniable that a fair amount of mind altering substances made it past the double doors—if the sea of completely uninhibited, barely clothed dancers was any indication.

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This is music for burning buildings to the ground, smashing police car windows, and attacking anyone in sight. The eleven-track album is relentless.

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As Anticon’s resident beat maestros, Jel and Odd Nosdam have developed a great kinship over their love and mastery of crafting gritty but emotive instrumentals. Their beats convinced a new generation of kids that music without vocals isn’t necessarily always background music. This interview by Amorn Bholsangngam.

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The album exists in a perpetual winter, evoking the awe of beholding snow-capped mountains for the first time. Swelling strings, delicately picked classical guitars, and jovial glockenspiel loops lie atop a foundation of shuffling beats produced both acoustically and electronically. Their multi-tracked harmonies could be easily mistaken for door-to-door carolers fiending for a fix of figgy pudding.

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A Royksopp show is the closest thing to a rave 40-year-olds with any remaining self-respect would dare attend. While the Norwegian duo certainly lured their fair share of middle-aged women looking for an excuse to lose their inhibitions on (gasp!) a weeknight to Club Nokia, the crowd was as varied as one could possibly imagine. Royksopp’s KCRW-friendly brand of Eurodisco is loud and sparkly enough to impress the youngsters and chic enough to allow soccer moms and cougars to boogie freely without fear of embarrassment.

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There was not a single Quizno’s uniform in sight on this chilly night, on which the clear skies and bustling wind made for a dramatic atmosphere suitable for Spektor’s dramatic performance. Spektor, looking like she dressed in her Little Bo Peep costume a few days too early (but adorable nonetheless), took to her grand piano backed by a string quartet and famed session drummer Matt Chamberlin.

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Popular Songs’ “If It’s True”—a sugary Kaplan/Hubley duet that unapologetically borrows its intro from The Four Tops’ “Sugar Pie Honey Bunch”—was introduced as the most “straightforward pop song [they’ve] ever written.” Before launching into it, an audience member implored the band to play more fuzzed out jams, to which Kaplan responded, “We’ll get around to the noise later.”

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Triorganico’s debut effort Convivencia is—simply put—a work of remarkable beauty. The trio trades in highly emotive bossa-tinged instrumentals that are equally capable of taking listeners on a trip down the coasts of South America and invoking deep introspection. They manage to achieve that improbable balance between dark and light tones while still maintaining the vibrancy and looseness of their music.

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