Kevin Bronson is away right now, working on his outside jump shot. Jeff Weiss is his guest blogger. His jump shot is also not very good.
At the present moment, Yahoo! Music is holding a contest, asking readers to vote "who's next" among several buzz bands. But judging from their powerful debut LP, "What's the Time, Mr. Wolf?", the only conceivable answer is a cyber ballot-punch for the London-based trio The Noisettes. Fueled by lead singer/bassist Shingai Shoniwa's throaty vocals and punkish intensity, "What's the Time, Mr. Wolf" has already garnered raves from the NME and Mojo. And when the album hits US shores on April 17th, expect the Noisettes' brand of Yeah Yeah Yeahs/The Kills-esque rock to resonate with American audiences.
These aren't any blog sensations-come-lately; the Noisettes have been around since 2003, releasing two previous EP's and touring across the United States and Europe behind the likes of Bloc Party, Mystery Jets, Tom Vek and Babyshambles. But tonight and tomorrow might be the Noisettes' biggest Los Angeles gigs yet, as The Noisettes open for critical faves TV on the Radio at the impossibly sold-out Henry Fonda in Hollywood.
But don't fret if you aren't able to bribe, beg or borrow your way into the Fonda this weekend, as the Noisettes have a wildly busy summer ahead of them. As soon as they finish up supporting TV on the Radio, they head back east to rock the Mercury Lounge before returning a few days later to play Coachella. From there, they'll be embarking on their first solo trek across Europe before returning once again to the States to support a Bloc Party mini-tour, including a June 15 date at the Troubadour. As Savion Glover might've said, "Bring in da' Noise (ettes)."
If you didn't have the foresight to buy ticks months in advance for the aforementioned TV on the Radio/Noisettes show, then the place to be tonight is Spaceland, for So Long Sympathy: A Farewell to Long Gone John, the good-bye party for the founder of the Sympathy for the Recording Industry label. Headlining the bill will be Sympathy recording artists Miss Derringer and The Ettes. The show promises special guests and while I don't want to go out on a limb and make any predictions, you might just see some of your favorite Candy Cane children walking through the Spaceland doors.
At the Knitting Factory, Bay Area hip-hopper Lyrics Born is a must-see for any fan of backpack-friendly indie rap. Backed by a full band, expect a powerful performance. On the eastside, British export Whitey will be delivering a set of funky electro-pop grooves supported by local laptop poppers, the deliciously named Pink Mochi. Over at Perhrspace, check for a solid indie-rock bill consisting of art-punks Eagle Talon, Bark Bark Bark and Bodies of Water.
Weekend Touts
On Saturday, March 31 Saddle Creek signee and Omaha resident Maria Taylor brings her electronic-tinged pop to the Echo. Just down the road at the Silverlake Lounge, singer/songwriter Mitch Easter plays songs from his first record in 18 years, while further west, TV on the Radio and The Noisettes play their second sold-out show in as many nights. At the Wiltern, The Goo Goo Dolls try to pretend like it's 1995 again, headlining a sold-out show. Finally, at the Troubadour, New York-based Jam Bander Earl Greyhound attempts to discover if LA has any hippies under the age of 50.
Also at the El Rey on Saturday is a Bossa Nova Special DJ Set from Dutch funk legends Kraak and Smaak, playing for their first time ever in Los Angeles.
On Sunday, April 1, veteran Aussie rockers You Am I play Spaceland backed by Action Slacks, while at the Knitting Factory, east LA'ers Quinto Sol headline a night of Latin music.
Having freshly shorn his trademark mustache, Eddie Argos and the cheeky gang at Art Brut have finally nailed down a release date for their new album, It's A Bit Complicated. Coming out on June 26 on Downtown Records, Argos told Pitchfork last week that the new record will feature horns and him sounding older, "at least 17 years old."
The track listing has yet to be released, but song titles include "Nag Nag Nag Nag", "Direct Hit", "Pump Up the Volume", "I Will Survive", "People in Love", "Sunday Evening", and "Post Soothing Out".
Songs were available for streaming as of this morning, but have been mysteriously yanked off the web. A "Good Weekend" it could've been.
In the meantime, you'll just have to settle for this video of a live performance of Art Brut's latest single, "Nag Nag Nag." And the fact that tickets still remain on sale for Brut's April 21st performance at the Troubadour. Believe you me, that is not a performance to be missed. See for yourself.
Greetings Buzz Banders, my name is Jeff Weiss. You might know me from my blog, The Passion of the Weiss. If that's the case, please don't hold it against me. In the meantime, I'll be your guest blogger for for the next two weeks while Kevin inspects trailer parks throughout the Midwest (this is probably not true). As for my goals with this space, I plan on throwing a raucous party. Please don't tell Kevin. And yes, punch and pie will be served.
Recommended The Klaxons, "Myths of the Near Future," (Polydor): Don't believe the hype. But don't believe the backlash either. NME darlings The Klaxons have created a deafening buzz on the other side of the Atlantic, with their debut LP hitting No. 2 on the charts upon its January UK release. Domestically, the record dropped this week with mostly critical derision, unsurprising considering the albatross "Nu-Rave" tag The Klaxons have been unfairly saddled with. While it's certainly true that this band is an unlikely candidate for a movement, the album serves its purpose, providing catchy siren-filled jams packed with big hooks and drug-addled chants. Somewhere in England right now, a 15-year year old is putting on his first glowstick and rocking out to this record. For better or worse.
Prodigy,"Return of the Mac," (Koch): Returning with a vengeance after last year's much-maligned "Bloody Money," Prodigy of Mobb Deep has delivered his most consistent record in years. Produced entirely by the Alchemist, "Return of the Mac" clocks in at a meager 39 minutes, nearly unheard-of in modern hip-hop. The brevity is much appreciated as the self-proclaimed H.N.I.C. blasts through 14 cuts, swagger intact, spirit of '95 intact. It might not hit the heights of "The Infamous," but consider it a late-career comeback for an MC many left for dead.
Redman, "Red Gone Wild" (Def Jam): After a six-year hiatus, the man formerly known as Reggie Noble has returned with his finest record in a decade. Sounding reinvigorated, the album is chockful of what Red does best: witty party rhymes delivered in his charismatic growl. The album might run a bit long at nearly an hour and 15 minutes, but it's almost always entertaining.
Young Buck, "Buck the World," (G-Unit): Oft-described as the best MC in G-Unit, Young Buck's much-delayed debut features production from Eminem, Dr. Dre and Hi-Tek, with guest appearances from Snoop Dogg, 50 Cent and T.I., and despite its limited ambitions, it delivers some guilty pleasures. Buck remains a cliche-riddled lyricist, yet the rich booming production surrounding him sounds ideal for the onset of summer.
It's a slow night in Club land tonight, but Oakdale-based folkie troubadour Brett Dennen will be holding it down at The El Rey, supported by acoustic pop singer/songwriter Amber Rubarth. About two miles west or so of Dennen, Warped Tour staples Yellowcard begin the first of a two-night sold-out residency at the Troubadour. Local New Wave revivalists Monsters Are Waiting play Safari Sam's, while over at The Echo, the Portland, Oregon-based seven-piece Vagabond Opera are set to regale the eastside with their weird brand of 1920s European Cabaret, Balkan wedding music and Neo-Classical opera. Whatever that means. Last but certainly not least, Jill Cunniff, former lead singer of '90s girl-rockers Luscious Jackson, headlines a set at The Hotel Cafe.
[Kevin Bronson is taking a little time off to alphabetize his CD collection -- and where do you put these people? Starting Thursday, please welcome guest blogger Jeff Weiss, who is taller and has a better fastball. Meanwhile, Bronson empties his notebook ...]
Several upcoming releases have me geeking out. Like "Boxer" from the Brooklyn-based five-piece the National, due May 22. "Alligator" was my album-of-the-ear a couple of years ago (refresher). Quick first impression after "Boxer" arrived this week: more orchestral, no less heady. Here's a taste:
Then there is "Spells" by the Comas, coming April 17 on Vagrant. A little bit of everything here, and all good: Weezerish bursts of ear candy, a couple of epic anthems and a dose of contemplative dreampop that reminds me of the fine New York duo Joy Zipper.
First impression of "Baby 81," due May 1 from Black Rebel Motorcycle Club: It's the great, gutsy rock 'n' roll record you suspected all along they could make. And, hey, the photo on their website was taken right in front of our favorite downtown L.A. bar. The band plays the Wiltern on May 8. And it might just be me, but the first single is a middle-of-the-pack song compared to the rest of what's on the album.
And for you dancers who might have already worn out this album, there will be the moodier, eyeliner-informed "Night of the Furies" by the Rosebuds. It's out April 10 on Merge.
Live, in store and now on disc:Amoeba Music has released a four-track, limited-edition EP titled "TV on the Radio Live at Amoeba," which captures a slice of the band's in-store appearance in Hollywood last September. The "limited edition" part means the EP will be sold for the next 30 days, or while supplies last. You weren't among the hipster throngs in the aisles that day? Looky here.
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Yikes: Arcade Fire canceled eight European dates because Win Butler is suffering from "sinus and bronchial infection" that will require sinus surgery. He explains on his diary here, but suffice to say the band will not play live again until their Coachella warmup, which is April 26 at San Diego's Spreckels Theatre. The band is scheduled to play on the second day of the three-day festival in the desert. Personal note: I had sinus surgery several years back, and I can testify that you can't sing when you have a weeklong bloody nose.
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Nice addition: One of L.A. finest purveyors of funk, the Breakestra, has joined the lineup for KCRW's "A Sounds Eclectic Evening" on April 14 at Gibson Amphitheatre. Old school.
Touts for Wednesday, March 28:Anya Marina joins the bill for the final night of the Greg Laswell residency at the Hotel Cafe. ... San Diego metallurgists the Locust rock the Knitting Factory. ... Scanners and Datarock invade Spaceland for Club NME. ... And welcome back, Hoodoo Gurus. The tuneful Aussies perform at the El Rey Theatre.
How the Smashing Pumpkins will spend the early part of their summer is no longer a mystery. Who exactly comprise the Smashing Pumpkins still is.
The seminal '90s band this morning announced 14 tour dates -- all but two in Europe -- surrounding the July release of their sixth album "Zeitgeist." The tour kicks off May 22 in Paris and visits the Netherlands, Spain, Germany, Portugal, Austria, Italy and Switzerland by mid-June. For North American fans, there are appearances at the V Festivals on Aug. 5 at Pimlico Park in Baltimore and on Sept. 8 in Toronto.
But who are the Pumpkins? The band's announcement names only half the original lineup, Billy Corgan and Jimmy Chamberlin, along with a couple heavy-hitting producers -- Roy Thomas Baker and Terry Date, who worked "separately on various tracks." Stay tuned.
Morrissey has just announced his first U.S. tour in three years, which ostensibly will be bigger than his tour of Pasadena last month. The Southland dates are June 3 in San Diego, June 5 in Ventura, June 6 in Riverside and June 8 at the Hollywood Bowl. (Tickets go on sale for the Bowl show at noon Sunday.)
The dates aren't posted on Moz's websites yet, but you can find them at the site and MySpace page of supporting act Kristeenyoung, whom Morrissey hand-picked for the tour.
There's nothing contrived about the chaos that prevails onstage when the L.A. quartet the Deadly Syndrome gets unhinged. "Our whole thing is not to choreograph — we just want it to be pure," says drummer Jesse Hoy, whose kit is encircled by pounding band mates Will Etling, Chris Richard and Mike Hughes at the climax of many sets.
That unbridled euphoria — and wry touches such as onstage cutouts of ghosts — helped the Deadly Syndrome go from zero to signed in a few short months. Well, that and explosive, unaffected songs right out of the Arcade Fire/Modest Mouse/Wolf Parade playbook.
The party crowd the quartet has won over is liable to see another side of the Deadly Syndrome when its debut album, "The Ortolan," comes out this summer on Dim Mak Records. It was recorded in a Laurel Canyon house with first-time producers Nico Aglietti and Aaron Older. "When you play the gigs we have [as opening acts] it's a bit of a risk to go with your softer side," Hoys says, assuring you that there is one. "Our strategy has been to kind of attack the audience."
Over the past several months, L.A.'s Midnight Movies have been doing a slow build toward the April 24 release of "Lion the Girl," their second album -- and first as a quartet. The shows don't seem to be just to build buzz; the players are growing into some new roles.
Gena Olivier, who played drums and sang when the band was a trio, now is out from behind the kit (except for the French-language cover of "Nights in White Satin," which has ended their recent sets). Bassist Ryan Wood and drummer Sandra Vu have joined the lineup, but Olivier, despite her gorgeous, often-chilling vocals, hasn't looked entirely comfortable fronting the foursome.
The album is one of those slow growers. Absent much in the way of immediately catchy melodies, it relies on Larry Schemel's guitar atmospherics and pulsing rhythms to frame Olivier's wailing. Fans of shoegaze and dreampop bands will hone in quickly on the sonic darkness; it might be a tough sell for others. Worth revisiting? Yes, both the album and the live show.
||| Midnight Movies' final local date before a national tour in April with Blonde Redhead is tonight at the Viper Room as part of Indie 103.1's Check One ... Two night.
Touts for Monday, March 26: Ex-Sneaker Pimp Chris Corner, performing as IAMX, rocked a sold-out Safari Sam's crowd last week, and he returns for another show tonight. ... Can it be that as of this afternoon the El-P show at the Troubadour was not sold out? ... Gym Class Heroes (with K-Os among the openers) perform at the House of Blues. ... And it's the last night of a lot of Monday residencies: Castledoor and Buffalo Roam play the Silverlake Lounge (where Hello Dragon opens); Berko bids adieu to Spaceland (where the U.K.'s the Hedrons also play); 8mm concludes its dates at the Detroit Bar; and the Airborne Toxic Event finishes up at the Echo (where the Western States Motel are among the bands playing).
The lineup for this year's Rock the Bells festival, which will formally be announced later today, is undeniably the best ever. Maybe it's the foremost hip-hop lineup ever assembled.
Rage Against the Machine and Wu-Tang Clan previously were announced as headliners for the series, which comes to the NOS Center in San Bernardino on Aug. 11. Joining them will be Public Enemy, Cypress Hill, the Roots, Mos Def and Nas. And joining them will be Murs, EPMD, Immortal Technique, Jedi Mind Tricks, MF Doom, Brother Ali, Living Legends, Sage Francis, the Coup, Cage and Mr. Lif, among others.
This was featured in our Downloads column last weekend (a good reason to drop some coin on the Saturday print edition or check the pop music page on your local newspaper's website). I've been a sucker for Travis' brand of Britpop since the first Clinton Administration. Here's the video for "Closer," and, yeah, Ben Stiller makes a good grocer.
Kevin Bronson Kevin Bronson has covered emerging and indie music since 2002 in his weekly Buzz Bands column in the Calendar Weekend section of the L.A. Times. He adores caffeine, judicious use of falsetto and the 6-4-3 double play. He abhors exclamation points, modern country and any notion that New York City is the center of the cultural universe. He's older than any music blogger he knows but has been known to pogo. He'll try not to pretend.
Bronson's Buzz Bands show can be heard Wednesdays from 6 to 8 p.m. Pacific time on the Internet radio station LittleRadio.com.
Kevin Bronson is away right now, working on his outside jump shot. Jeff Weiss is his guest blogger. His jump shot is also not very good. 
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