Yes, The Soundtrack of Our Lives is from Sweden. Why do I have to be a stupid American and think, “Oh hey, ABBA is from Sweden.” Because no they don’t sound like ABBA, and probably wouldn’t like it that I think of ABBA when I first hear a band is from their homeland.

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Alright, an undeniably catchy radio hit “You’re a Wolf” may be enough to get many to your show, but Bright Eyes and Tom Petty similarities will keep me away. Then there is Sea Wolf songwriter Alex Brown Church’s history with Irving, and they were a great live band with solid tunes, so the dilemma was resolved by the fact that I had never been to the Autry. Why not see some cowboy art and listen to some local music in the process?

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The crowd was a surprising mix of greyhairs, baldheads, WB Network fans, some that dressed like Grunge was topping the charts, emo-kids that made me think it was an all-ages show, and, yes, those in all black. There were so many couples grinding away in corners, I thought I was in a hip-hop video. Fun for all and hopefully the dude reading a New Yorker had a good time as well.

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Mere Mortals are a classic L.A convergence of musicians from all across the world. When taken in high doses, their autobahn guitar pop may unsettle a stomach full of exotic sushi. Steve Jones told someone to sign them and in Japan someone listened, and they are in residency at Spaceland every monday this month. This interview by Erik Ehlert.

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The mood of the music reveals Dylan as he is now and the lazy grooves are perfect for a man who no doubt has had some time to reflect, but has not lost his sense of fun or caustic wit. “Tweedle Dee & Tweedle Dum” is an example of a tune with this swing and bite. I was warned that Dylan no longer plays guitar on stage. Finally seeing Dylan and he won’t pick-up a guitar? Blasphemy!

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Although there’s a new glam presence in her work (like her contributions to Eagles of Death Metal) she’s ably bridging the new and old styles. There is obviously more of a team behind her than her DIY days—now it’s more polish than grime. And even if many in the audience were secretly pulling for a “City of Angels” in the mix, Spinnerette put on an engaging show and we find Ms. Brody in the early stages of a fine second act.

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The perfect antidote for the melancholy of June gloom is a soundtrack companion, like Other Lives. They are tender melody without being achingly maudlin. These melodic wanderings create open plains images of their home state of Oklahoma. This is the second review of a band (Colourmusic) I’ve done from Oklahoma, and I learned that both bands are from Stillwater. Although there are drastic differences between the bands, they both work in established genres, and have experimental elements and an honesty that demands you take notice.

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Frontman Mike Wiebe is an ADD brimstone preacher who bounces off the walls until he finds a spot in the song to take it into the crowd. He was often hoisted over the crowd singing; even found the rails of the club to grind as he ran over drinks never missing a beat. On one of his crowd surfing maneuvers he managed to return to the stage with a girl in his arms. Tell me the last time you saw that. This is straight-up in your face amped-out rock n’ roll no filler.

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Silversun Pickups are a great live band and seemed especially excited to be playing the Echoplex for the home-crowd and Pablo. They played the majority of Swoon with new radio hit “Panic Switch” and yes, “Lazy Eye” and “Well Thought Out Twinkles” also made the list. These songs from Carnavas display an extra seasoning and “Kissing Families” (from their EP) has also taken on new bite. SSPU has the quietloudquietloud formula down: Nikki Monninger’s melodious bass line churning through the distortion, the rapid-fire drumming of Christopher Guanlao, sonic structure from keyboardist Joe Lester and effects-laden guitar work and ragged vocals from frontman/guitarist Brian Aubert. SSPU has found their voice and on this night they put it out there for the Pablove Foundation.

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Spaceland was already filled by the time they took the stage and—like the immediacy of the rest of Watt’s work—it was a plug-in and go affair. The punk-jazz-funk-folk elements were in full display, ratcheted up to the combustive level that Watt brings to his many projects, which is the reason he is the go-to bassist for everyone from Iggy to (dare we say) Kelly Clarkson. This guy has earned any paid gig he gets, and paid or not on this night, he gave nothing less than all for every damn note he played.

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