From bedroom recordings and family band theatrics that sounded like melted cassettes left out in the sun to tastefully professional production and performances—Ariel Pink and his Haunted Graffiti has risen to the rank of the rock star, headlining a show featuring one of the world’s greatest psych rock bands with a legacy of nearly 40 years.

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Fuck Katy Perry and Sheryl Crow—I have rarely seen a band more suited for playing to soggy people on a sunny Saturday afternoon than Natalie Portman’s Shaved Head. These party-rock synth kids got some damned lucky breaks to be playing for crowds this big, and they were appreciative, giving and smiley, their keyboardist-cum-bassist-singer wearing a Delicious Vinyl t-shirt and yachting cap like a man steering his hometown crowd towards the shores of Par-Tei. They did all the hits—at this point, they have nothing else to play—and after song after catchy song about sideways ponytails and Bis-esque beard lust, I realized that this may be the best intentionally shallow band I’ve heard since Poison.

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Hearing the first few notes of my very favorite song elicited my first ever concert scream and left me a bit red in the face and feeling like a pre-teen. I floated mid-air for the next couple minutes and was certain life couldn’t get any better until I found myself being led through a dark hallway into a tiny room where Sergio Dias, Bia Mendes and company kissed me on both cheeks, laughed when I confessed to being the screamer, and sent me off into the world with a smile so big it hurt.

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Os Mutantes decided everything was possible and tried to prove it. Low End Theory resident and Blank Blue guitarist Nobody (Elvin Estela) speaks with Mutantes co-founder Sérgio Baptista about helicopters, honesty and the brand-new Mutantes album Haih.

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luke mcgarry Os Mutantes are one of our very favorite bands here at L.A. RECORD, as evidenced by the 150,000-word interview with Sergio Dias we did when they played the El Rey two years ago, which got Sergio reminiscing about how much he loved L.A.: I remember on Wilshire Boulevard, there was this couple—probably in [...]

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Lips all over New York’s underground still struggle to pronounce ‘Garotas Suecas,’ long after this Brazilian sextet wrapped up their month-long tour of Williamsburg and the Lower East Side. Garotas Suecas’ uniquely dynamic yet casual approach to rock ‘n’ roll took everyone by surprise—definitely one of the most refreshing sounds heard here in some time. This interview by Jonathan Toubin.

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kime buzzelli

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