Download Daylong Valleys of the Nile “Life Out Of Bounds”

(from the Daylong Valleys of the Nile demo available here)

Steve, Jeff and Ron—the piano/guitar/drums trio that can turn into Lavender Diamond when you put Becky Stark singing with them—plus Bedroom Walls’ Jeff Kwong planted ten Daylong songs in two days. It’ll be an album soon, but it’s a four-song demo now and you should download it over and over so you can have a copy on each of your various devices. Everyone is saying this sounds like Tiger Mountain Eno, but everyone is right so that’s a reason to be happy. Warm jets lead the start of “Gossamer Station,” the second half of “Memory Bank,” or the verse of “Nick of Time,” all of which loop-the-loop vintage Enoisms the same way a dozen killing punk bands did with the Ramones. And of course there’s good propulsive Roxy Music rockin’, too—giant Manzanera guitar leads that erupt right from the earth itself. But there’s also some kinda link back to L.A. bands like Suburban Lawns or the Eyes—too art for just punk, too punk for just art; collectibility was their destiny!—and maybe even some of the really Velvets-upped paisley bands: the Dream Syndicate’s first EP seems like it ends up at the same place as Daylong for most of the same reasons. The lyrics are completely crucial here, too, reading like fragments of new wave sci-fi by Ballard or Brunner and inspiring Penguin-delic paperback covers to match. (“In the skyscraper name light there was water on your cheek/but we both were illusive/as we ducked in a rat hole and the sentries let us pass/It was like we were flying …”) That’s why this works—it isn’t a copy but the actual thing itself, except emerging so far out of time that there’s nothing much like it left. That’d be a good idea for one of their songs, too. This is great and the album will be something you can live on for days.

—Chris Ziegler

The Hazards of Love is this theatrical narrative album that The Decemberists have been performing beginning to end with guest vocalists Becky Stark (Lavender Diamond) and Shara Worden (My Brightest Diamond). Each time she stepped out from behind her keyboard to sing, Worden seemed to take all the breath out of the room and use it as her own. The audience could not get enough of her.

The visuals were stunning—from exploding fungi to wolf constellations to arms flailing in slo-mo to drowned Greek ruins—there were very few moments where my eyes left the projection screen to notice the live band playing below it. This show was perfectly executed; a thrilling blend of art and sound.

And then Colin Meloy told us to come back after a brief break for some more music. “That’s nice of them,” I thought. “They must be exhausted!”

Nearly an hour later, The Decemberists’ second concert of the night was finally wrapping up. I’ll give them credit—they maintained an energy I wouldn’t think possible after what was essentially a live rock opera. A sweaty Meloy jumped off stage to flirt with his front-row fans and then led us in several extended sing-alongs, organist Jenny Conlee did some swing dancing with a lucky audience member… They rocked out. For the 1/3 of the crowd who were serious Decemberists fans, this must’ve been a dream come true. For the remaining Royce Hall performance junkies and visual arts students in attendance, this was a long, long night. Thankfully, Meloy asked Stark and Worden back out for a jaw-dropping cover of “Crazy On You,” leaving those of us who didn’t know what we were getting into with a nice little parting gift.

—Amber Hollingsworth

Ted Leo @ Wiltern
Becky Stark @ Tangier—[INTERVIEW]
Spinnerette @ Alexs

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_T1o_HiX1vE]

Saturday night in Little Tokyo, I parked in a loading zone and jumped through the club security check-in at the Cocaine just in time to see On Holiday do its set. Marianne Williams and her shaggy-haired cohort, DJ Urine, played cracklin’ sound collage ditties, with samples and keyboards and beats and smiley, warm female vocals as soft and sweet as a Georgia night among the Mimosa trees.

The timbre of Marianne’s singing really rolls itself around a room, as pitch-perfect and ethereal as Becky Stark from Lavender Diamond, yet somehow more “approachable,” like Williams is enjoying a conversation with the audience that just happens to be expressed in music. She has the classic skill of making it all seem so easy.

Williams’ keyboard sound at the Cocaine was perhaps not as delightful as her voice–the tone reminded me of the commercials for Magic: The Gathering meets the scary catacomb theme in Castlevania. I found out later that the piano-synth she intended to play this night was broken, meaning she had to rely on the kindness of other Cocaine bands for an instrument, and constructed the keyboard arrangements on the spot. No matter. Though I missed the piano component, Williams’s improvised keys still sounded great when contrasted with what DJ Urine was doing on his two Fisher-Price turntables, cutting and cutting and scratching and scratching (and I mean that literally-I saw him drag the arm of one turntable straight across the records playing on the other), his equipment even picking up nearby radio signals, a happy accident that worked with the music. It all was so wonderful, a live “Chrome-Plated Megaphone of Destiny” for the L.A. RECORD set.

Master of Ceremonies Monkey Bucket, a big guy in his fifties wearing a fez, got on stage and announced that the next band, Charts and Maps, would be even better–especially if we purchased some food from the kitchen and tried some drink specials. But we were so buzzed on the musical complexity of On Holiday that we left immediately, hurrying home to enjoy the memory of their splendor while its beauty still permeated our hot and sweaty limbs.

— Dan Collins

By all accounts, Wednesday evening at the Greek Theater should have been romantic.  The full moon kissed the crowd with its silvery beams, warm summer breezes ruffled their hair, and the long shadows of the surrounding trees painted their faces. And then out of the brightly lit stage came a sweet female voice: “This song is about a home wrecker, but I’m pleased to report not about me.” Yes, romance was probably out of the cards at a Rilo Kiley show. With hit songs like, “Silver Lining,” “Does He Love You?” and the poisonously gorgeous “Portions for Foxes,” Rilo Kiley is not in the business of selling love.  They are in the business of telling the ugly truth of what happens when the love is gone.  Jenny Lewis, that red-headed vixen of Rilo Kiley, let out her shockingly sweet, yet unexpectedly powerful voice that leapt at the audience and made them succumb to her wiles. In black sailor shorts, white shirt, and sparkly sneakers, Ms. Lewis slinked across her stage singing tales of heartache, heartbreak, and the ever popular heart-fake.  Rilo Kiley is known for fantastically catchy pop melodies with and lyrics that sucker punch you in the jaw.    The adoring crowd was more than ready to accept the brunt of these blows.  All dressed up in their finest, they swayed and sung their hearts out under the summer sky.

— Molly Bergen

Secret Machines @ The Viper Room
Extra Golden @ Dubclub
Eleni Mandell @ Tangier
Rilo Kiley / Lavender Diamond @ The Greek Theatre
Midnight Movies @ Spaceland
Th’ Corn Gangg @ Low End Theory

Jaguar Love @ The Echo
The Police / Elvis Costello @ Hollywood Bowl
Lavender Diamond @ Silent Movie Theatre
Anavan @ The Prospector

The Breeders @ The Glasshouse
Wholphin @ Silent Movie Theatre
Lavender Diamond @ Vista Theater