Buzz Bands: Kevin Bronson on the music scene in Los Angeles and beyond
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 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)."
Stream The Noisettes Here
Touts For Friday, March 30
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.
||| Download: Kraak & Smaack - "Real Pain"
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.
Stream Tracks at The Klaxons' Myspace
Also Recommended
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.
Stream Tracks at Prodigy's Myspace
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.
Stream Tracks at Redman's Myspace
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.
Stream Tracks at Young Buck's Myspace
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Touts For Thursday, March 29:
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:
||| Download: "Fake Empire."
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.
||| Download: "Red Microphones."
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.
||| Stream: "Weapon of Choice."
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.
||| Download: "Get Up Get Out."
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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.
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And finally: We'll miss you, Sharp Ease.
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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.
Photo of the National by Sonya Kolowrat.
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."
Continue reading "The Deadly Syndrome: more fun than scary" »
 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.
||| Download: "Coral Den."
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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.
Tickets ($76) go on sale at 10 a.m. Saturday.
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.
 Beck's dinnertime show Thursday night at the Echo was more like an hourlong sampler platter with the usual heaping helping of surprising flavors. The 36-year-old musical alchemist, fronting a six-piece band, test-drove all manner of new permutations, his ensemble at their most savory and powerful through a couple numbers that could only be described as stoner jams.
Of course, even those jams at times broke off and became something else -- Beck has a way of making everything sound like a tangent for 15 seconds. Then, suddenly, it all works; it's all good.
Fresh from a rehearsal, or so the band said, Beck's sextet gave a capacity crowd (the show was not announced until late afternoon and still attracted a long line on Sunset Boulevard) a taste of the familiar funk and hip-hop. But the blowback from a couple psychedelic stomps, with their clatter of shakers, cowbells, noisemakers and harmonica and thick lines from bassist Justin Meldal-Johnsen, packed a punch.
Waiter, a little more stoner rock, please ...
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Beck graciously thanked the kid bands who were playing later in the night for allowing his group's incursion on their bill. Hey, does this mean Metro Station (a promising electro-pop quartet) can say Beck opened for them?
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 Later, across town at the cozy West Hollywood club Tempest, unsigned English quartet the Screening helped kick off the first night of Death Disco, the new Thursday night promotion from a British contingent that includes Creation Records founder Alan McGee.
 The Screening's quick set of punked-up Britpop was their sixth performance in three days -- ah, showcasing in Los Angeles. They soldiered through it, and probably the only faux pas of the evening was the flip-flops worn by Liam Gallagher-channeling front man Tom Nurse. "If you wear a leather jacket," said one astute columnist and fashion expert, "you need to have substantial shoes."
The Screening returns to Tempest tonight for Club Underground.
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Touts for Friday, March 23: Anti-Flag and Alexisonfire top a bill of edgy punks at the Wiltern. ... The Start and the Randies play the Viper Room. ... Elvis Perkins (whom we previewed in the Calendar Weekend section of the Times) and Let's Go Sailing are at the Echo. ... Sold-out shows: Paolo Nutini at the Avalon, and Heavens at the Troubadour. ... And many of you have probably heard the song by the Trucks that I cannot reference on a family blog. The Bellingham, Wash., punkers perform at El Cid.
Photos by Kevin Bronson / LAT.
 Is it bad form to say Let's Go Sailing is picking up steam? Or will lines like that just sink me?
Suffice to say things are going well for the Los Angeles chamber-pop ensemble since it self-released "The Chaos in Order" last year. On Tuesday, the album will be properly released on Yardley Pop/GR2. Plus, a couple of the band's songs will appear on a popular television program tonight, which ought to put Shana Levy and her bandmates in a pretty good mood for gigs supporting Elvis Perkins on Friday at the Echo and Saturday at Largo. Those shows are two early stops on a monthlong tour that should raise the band's visibility considerably.
||| Download: "Icicles."
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Touts for Thursday, March 22: You have to be pretty grumpy not to smile a little bit when you listen to "New Magnetic Wonder" by veteran pop band the Apples in Stereo. Go ahead, stream it at their site. Or see them at Spaceland tonight. ... Badly Drawn Boy has a new album too, "Born in the U.K.," as well as a show tonight at the El Rey Theatre. ... Heavy hitters Killswitch Engage head a bill of metal-minded bands at the Wiltern. ... Locals the Autumns bring their epic stylings to the Scene in Glendale. ... And Explorers Club, a young harmonizing sextet from South Carolina who were, well, peachy keen at Spaceland on Wednesday, play another gig, this time at the Echo. And sources who threatened to break my fingers if I say more tell me it's a good idea to get to the Echo early -- like, 8.
Spring is the season international bands dip their toes in the great big musical waters of the United States, and that doesn't just go for major-label Next Big Things like the Fratellis, who brought their tight pub anthems to the Troubadour on Monday.
 Scruffy indie bands angle their tour vans toward L.A. too, and they can surprise. After all, if muscle made music memorable, I'd be able to name more than one song off the 2005 album by these sharp-dressed lads. And I would have forgotten the 2005 release by Goldrush altogether. Which is far from the case.
Goldrush isn't likely to be tabbed Next Big Thing; the Oxford, England, act is merely a blue-collar quartet with an unlikely ear for Americana and the endurance, for now, to be starving artists. The follow-up to the band's 2005 collection "Ozona" is titled "The Heart Is the Place" (due April 10). The electronica-tinged album is loopier and more experimental than its twangy predecessor while still retaining the country-boy charm that front man Robin Bennett exudes onstage.
 Goldrush arrives at Spaceland tonight for Club NME with labelmates the Electric Soft Parade (both bands have U.S. deals with L.A. label Better Looking Records). Hailing from Brighton, England, onetime Mercury Prize nominee ESP is the handiwork of brothers Tom and Alex White, who fashion slightly warped but highly cinematic melodies that will appeal to adventurous ears. Their U.S. debut, "No Need to Be Down-Hearted" is due out April 24.
||| Download Goldrush's "Heaven's My Destination."
||| Exclusive download of the Electric Soft Parade's "Appropriate Ending."
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Touts for Wednesday, March 21: Charlie Wadham and the Harmony Brothers celebrate the release of "Free Up Your Schedule" at Bordello. ... Three great bands in one spot at the Echo -- Dirty on Purpose, the Helio Sequence and the Besnard Lakes. ... Foreign Born is the opening act at the Troubadour. ... At the Knitting Factory it's (Rockstar Supernova finalist) Storm Large & the Balls on the main stage and 400 Blows in the front room. ... The Whigs headline the Viper Room. ... IAMX (Chris Corner of the Sneaker Pimps) has sold out Safari Sam's. ... And Radars to the Sky play the Silverlake Lounge.
Indie rock quartet the Slow Signal Fade, who carved out a nice shoegazey sound on one album and two EPs over five years, are calling it quits. The Los Angeles band said in an e-mail: "No tales of bad blood, scorned love affairs or baby's mama drama here, the band has mutually decided that it was no longer possible to sustain a 'normal' existence on the always 'on the verge' lifestyle."
||| The Slow Signal Fade plays a goodbye show April 16 at the Troubadour. It's free.
||| Hear some SSF here.
The show scheduled for Spaceland tonight featuring British songstress Amy Winehouse has been canceled by the artist, a spokesperson for the venue said this afternoon.
"We're waiting to hear an official reason," the spokesperson said. "We heard she complained the stage was too small, but ... "
Winehouse, who has earned quite a bit of acclaim for her pipes, also has a history of erratic behavior, although none of that was in evidence Monday night during her show at the Roxy Theatre, after which she made nice with plenty of important people. A phone call to the artist's publicist was not immediately returned.
[Hoofing it to the record store again ...]
Recommended
 The Willowz, "Chautauqua," (Dim Mak): The Orange County quartet stretches its retro-psychedelic stomp on its third album (and first for DJ Steve Aoki's label), and that's not always a good thing. But largely you have to give singer-guitarist Richie James Follin and bassist-singer Jessica Reynoza (now joined by guitarist Aric Bohn and Ted Humphrey) credit for aiming their darts squarely at the center of the Stones rock pantheon. The bluesy squalor will remind you of the likes of Neil Young, Dinosaur Jr. and even Dead Moon--perfect for hot summer days and long rides in that flower-painted VW bus.
||| Download: "Evil Son."
||| And prepare for a new coat of paint on the walls at Cinespace: The Willowz celebrate the album's release with a show at the Hollywood Boulevard venue tonight. They will be joined by Vietnam, Wolf & Cub and the Horrors.
Also recommended
El-P, "I'll Sleep When You're Dead" (Definitive Jux): Five years in the making, the explosive sophomore effort by the Def Jux main man features ear-splitting production and brain-bending lyrics, not to mention guest turns by the likes of Cage, Aesop Rock, Trent Reznor, members of the Mars Volta and James McNew of Yo La Tengo. Make room on those year-end Top 10 lists.
Other opinions
In case you missed your Sunday paper, here's a couple The Times reviewed in Record Rack:
||| LCD Soundsystem, "Sound of Silver."
||| Modest Mouse, "We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank."
[Correspondent August Brown checks in from Monday night's party at the Wiltern:]
Kele Okereke isn’t the real front man of Bloc Party. Yes, he’s the sexy, visually arresting guy in the middle of the stage reminiscing about drug-addled young London and picking blackberries. But their set at the Wiltern made it clear that their goofy, ferocious and perpetually shirtless drummer, Matt Tong, is the actual reason they won the post-punk revivalist sweepstakes. He was also the most interesting thing happening on stage, for better or worse.
 Drawing equally from their experimental and politically volatile new album “A Weekend In The City” and their barnstorming debut “Silent Alarm,” the band struggled to get its footing through a sludgy live mix. Bloc Party is in the tricky position of being popular enough to fill the Wiltern yet not quite explosive enough to command a stage that size. Underrated guitarist Russell Lissack squealed and skronked through his anti-solo on “The Prayer” while Tong propelled the band with disciplined, pummeling precision. But Bloc Party sounds best in a packed room after many, many drinks, and leaner clubby hits like “Banquet” felt like a more natural speed for the group, at least in a live setting. Okereke is in the middle of a identity crisis with the music press right now, as their album earns raves while gossip vampires speculate about his sexuality. A gender-ambiguous love story makes “I Still Remember” a brave and touching track, one of the new album’s best. But their live show could have used a bit more of that tension.
Photo: Vice Records.
South by Southwest, that temblor of music (and commerce, omigosh!) that finally subsided in Austin over the weekend, has sent out its waves of guitar-toting, van-driving rock bands, which in the next few days will wash over Los Angeles like a tsunami. Which means there are going to be some tough show-going decisions this week.
 Among tonight's offerings is M for Montreal, a showcase of up-and-coming Quebecers that arrives at the El Rey Theatre with a spiffy tour bus and, presumably, the same Canadian charm that caused us to swoon over the likes of Arcade Fire, Wolf Parade and the Dears. Which is cool, except that if I were slugging it out in an indie band in Echo Park, I might be just a little bit envious that similarly itty-bitty bands from halfway across the world get what amounts to a free ride to showcase their wares in L.A.
M for Montreal, after all, is sponsored by the Government of Canada, the Quebec Government Office and Musicaction Canada, among others. Recent tours that brought Swedish, Finnish (really dug the moose on the logo of the Finnish Moosic Tour, by the way) and Australian bands to the U.S. also had the backing of government agencies and/or arts councils, all of which believe that exporting music to the U.S. is good for their respective economies. Even the British government has gotten into the act; it is behind the West Coast appearances of the London quartet Scanners over the next couple weeks.
Can you envision the Export Silver Lake Music bus heading out on tour with three of the neighborhood's finest music acts aboard? Me neither. I can, however, imagine the political wrangling that must go on to decide which bands merit government sponsorship.
So tonight, at the El Rey, here's what the fine French-speaking province is exporting: Les Breastfeeders, a pop-punk sextet with a sound somewhere between the female-fronted bands that play L.A.'s Kiss or Kill nights and what the Like want to sound like; Patrick Watson, a quartet with an oddly cinematic Nick Drake-inspired sound; and Plaster, a cool, experimental-minded electronic trio whose stuff could be the soundtrack to a case of the hiccups. Greet them warmly.
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More touts for Monday, March 19: The next-big-thing (we'll see about that) trio out of Scotland, the Fratellis, have sold out the Troubadour. ... A Buzz Band loyalist who was in Austin tells me: "There was so much Amy Winehouse hype it felt like you were missing God if you didn't see her." She plays the Roxy. ... And the local bands playing residencies on the Eastside have some party-crashers: Australian stoner-rock specialists Wolf & Cub join Berko at Spaceland; and strobe-happy Londoners the Horrors play at the Airborne Toxic Event's event at the Echo. ... And speaking of the Like, the L.A. trio opens for Bloc Party at the sold-out Wiltern.
Photo of Les Breastfeeders by John Londono.
Seems as if the whole world is in Austin without me.
It's hard to follow the South by Southwest Music Festival from a distance because folks are frequently partying too hard to report very coherently. Radio Free Silverlake rounded up a few of the blogs that are covering, and L.A.'s Little Radio is webcasting its shindig, with uneven results.
 Occasional Buzz Bands correspondent Jeff Miller is filing some entertaining notes here, and he calls to point out that OreskaBand, the six-girl ska-punk outfit from Japan, will be playing in Hollywood on Sunday at the Knitting Factory. "Tight horn section, super-super fun," he says.
Also getting a lot of attention was Tom Morello's set at the Hotel Cafe party. Performing (as he did in recent months at the Cahuenga Boulevard venue) as the Nightwatchman, Morello knocked 'em dead with guests such as Perry Farrell, Pete Townshend, Slash and Wayne Kramer.
Some folks didn't make the party. Flamenco metal guitar duo Rodrigo y Gabriela had visa problems and couldn't get into the U.S. in time. And Gliss, poor Gliss. The L.A. trio reports they are stranded in Van Horn, Texas, the band's van (newly converted to biodiesel) having broken down.
Also amusing is some backlash directed at the Swedish trio Peter Bjorn and John, whose single "Young Folks" has become a favorite of, well, young folks -- and who kind of spoiled for us at their recent Roxy show by lip-syncing the whistling part. Is this hater for real? Or is it somebody's ploy to get the Swedes even more attention? I only know that their current album, while nice and twee, is no match for their gutsier 2004 release "Falling Out," which was virtually overlooked.
Photo of OreskaBand at a December show from OreskaBand.com.
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Touts for Friday, March 16: The Briggs lead a nice punk lineup at the Knitting Factory. ... The Zombies rock you back at the Fonda Theatre. ... The Clipse raps at the El Rey Theatre. ... Latin ska band Almalafa celebrates the release of its CD at Safari Sam's. ... And if you've never seen Laurence Juber play guitar, you're missing out. I saw him play a living room show several years ago and the fingerstyle guitarist, who played next to Paul McCartney in Wings for a while, was mesmerizing. Juber plays at 8 tonight at Dr. Music, 1812 Colorado Blvd. in Eagle Rock. Tickets are $15. (323) 258-9010.
 Bands that trade in detached cool usually finish runners-up to the crowds in Silver Lake, that vast expanse of music fans with arms folded or hands in pockets. You get heads to bob or feet to tap at Spaceland, and folks are liable to think you're the catchiest thing since those really tall PBR drafts. More than that, and you might get an offer to do a reality TV show.
How refreshing, then, to see bodies actually move Wednesday night at Club NME, without the headliner even having to ask (which is really bad form), or even bantering very much. Yes, the cool professionalism with which Fijuiya & Miyagi laid out their grooves was a thing of beauty, for fans familiar with their debut "Transparent Things" (which came out last month) as well as those who showed up on somebody's recommendation expecting to see a Japanese duo. And there were the latter.
Fujiya & Miyagi are a trio, ironically named, and a very British trio at that. Warm-up suits zipped to the top, collars up. Eye contact with the equipment only. "Thanks" as a conversation starter and ender. And David Best's whisper-sung lyrics about ankle injuries, collarbones, shoes and sundry machines, all very witty, thank you. The brilliantly sparse presentation left listeners focused on the grooves, which for all their synthetics are mighty powerful. You'd never call it any one thing; instead, Fujiya & Miyagi merely nod, as if they were walking briskly down the street and tacitly acknowledging their music's ghosts: funk, dancefloor, electro-pop, Krautrock.
Whatever works. As Silver Lake's almost-dancers gave in to actual wriggling on Wednesday, somebody wisecracked: "Whoa, look out there, somebody's glasses might fly off."
It was even better, kind of. This morning, seemingly coming out of the back of my head, was the sticky bassline to "Sucker Punch." Now that's the opposite of detached.
Photo: Bassist Matt Hainsby (Kevin Bronson/LAT)
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Touts for Thursday, March 15: Not everybody is in Austin for South by Southwest. I don't think. Head Automatica brings its seemingly radio-ready formula to the Troubadour (with hard-eged up-and-comers Takota opening). ... The Shore headlines Spaceland. ... And folkie Thao Nguyen performs at Tangier.
Ozomatli looked to the visual for inspiration when writing its new album, “Don’t Mess With the Dragon” (due April 3 on Concord Records) — much of the initial songwriting came out of jam sessions at the Tropico de Nopal art gallery. Now the veteran L.A. nine-piece might have found a vision to suit its sound.
The new video for the single “Can’t Stop” is a dizzying collage of stop-animation and storytelling that seems equal to Ozomatli’s mashing of Latin flavors, rock, hip-hop and funk — a hybrid many have said is distinctly Los Angeles.
“We haven’t had a lot of luck with videos in the past,” acknowledges Ulises Bella, who plays saxophone and clarinet for the band.
Ozomatli turned to New York-based artist-illustrator Richard Borge for “Can’t Stop,” even though the 41-year-old, who had done album art for bands such as Meat Beat Manifesto, had never done a music video.
Continue reading "Visuals for Ozomatli's vision quest" »
[August Brown reports from Tuesday's proceedings at the Ex Plx, the recently opened new room downstairs from the Echo in Echo Park:]
 Maybe it was the reverb in the cavernous (and only one-third full) Ex Plx, but El Perro Del Mar’s icy doo-wop suites felt far more rich and wounded than they do on the Swedish singer’s charming but terribly precious full-length.
With an appropriately rumpled three-piece band in tow, singer Sarah Assbring seems to have ditched her schoolmarmish reserve on record for a more bohemian and sensual live show. Cuts from her self-titled full length like “I Can’t Talk About It” and “Coming Down The Hill” felt inviting in a coffeehouse-troubadour way (this time, that’s not an insult), and the crowd responded in kind by spending most of the set sitting on the floor. Even her signature “shoop-do-wops” -- usually the make-or-break point for potential fans -- seemed less affected given the sparseness of the lineup and Assbring’s dreamy-English-major stage presence. Her album is meticulous and pretty, but it sounds much better when she turns the twee knob down a few clicks.
||| El Perro Del Mar performs tonight (with the One AM Radio and March resident Greg Laswell) at the Hotel Cafe.
Download: The One AM Radio's "In the Time We've Got," off the album "This Too Will Pass," which was released Feb. 20.
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Touts for Wednesday, March 14: British electropop trio Fujiya & Miyagi play Club NME at Spaceland. ... Dr. Dog brings its scruffy pop to the Troubadour. ... Locals OK Stranger headline at Safari Sam's. ... And for some reggae flavor, the Abyssinians visit Dub Club at the Echo.
Happy Tuesday. Illness prevented me from frothing over a great batch of releases last week -- Arcade Fire, Bright Eyes, Mando Diao, even Bikeride -- but I will catch up with all that music, if you haven't already.
Top shelf
 The Fratellis, "Costello Music" (Interscope): Thankfully I still have the padding on the walls from those weeks in January listening to the Scottish teenagers the View. Now, from Glasgow, come the Fratellis, who are brothers like the Ramones were siblings. Less arch than the Arctic Monkeys, more rocking than the likes of the View and the Kooks, these imports -- who won a Brit Award for best breakthrough act -- land with a playful swagger and serious licks. Mixing classic rock, glam and nods to their punk forebears, "Costello Music" (recorded in Los Angeles with producer Tony Hoffer) spikes its youthful naivete with knowing winks to the party life. Another round, please, for the house.
||| The Fratellis' show Monday at the Troubadour is sold out.
Other recommendations
Ken Andrews, "Secrets of the Lost Satellite" (Dinosaur Fight): Ex-Failure/On/Year of the Rabbit front man Andrews unveils another studio masterpiece. You might not lose yourself in the songs, but the otherwordly production (imagine sounds made by weather systems or menacing machines of indiscernible proportions) can be a head trip.
The Dollyrots, "Because I'm Awesome" (Blackheart): Girl-punk trio finds a perfect outlet for its bratty venting on Joan Jett's label; frontwoman Kelly Ogden has plenty to say, if not an always original way of saying it.
Amy Winehouse, "Back to Black" (Universal Republic): Beware the hype. The darling of the U.K., who beat out Lily Allen and Corinne Bailey Rae at the Brit Awards for best female solo artist, gets a maelstrom of attention right now for her lifestyle and "Rehab." Ignore that, and "Back to Black" is merely good, not great.
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Touts for Tuesday, March 13: Great night to get out -- Young Brit Sam Duckworth, who goes by Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly, brings his superhero act to the Echo. ... Australia's Youth Group brings its swoon-worthy tunes to Spaceland. ... The new queen of doo-wop and sha-la-la-la sadness, Sweden's El Perro Del Mar, plays the first of her two local shows at the Ex Plex (beneath the Echo) in Echo Park. ... William Tell celebrates his album release (with support from the Oohlas) at the Troubadour. ... The bill of Anberlin, Bayside, Jonezetta and Meg & Dia has sold out the El Rey Theatre. ... After Midnight Project continues its residency at the free Tuesdays at the Key Club. ... Diplo brings it at the Check Yo' Ponytail night at Safari Sam's. ... And Plan B raps at Cinespace, where Pete Wentz is the guest DJ.
 When ex-Something Corporate guitarist William Tell first struck out on his own, you had to like his prospects. Handsome, charismatic Orange County guy, with almost saccharine melodies and plenty of pretty songs about girls, about relationships and about ... well, girls. It wasn't a stretch to imagine that Tell might have the same kind of appeal that Something Corporate's chief songwriter, Andrew McMahon, had when he turned his pop sophistication into hits as Jack's Mannequin.
But when Tell's solo debut "You Can Hold Me Down" (Universal) comes out Tuesday, the first single won't be a croony teenage make-out anthem. It's "Fairfax (You're Still the Same)," a cautionary tale about the Hollywood party life.
"Some of the newer songs I've written are more about observations," Tell says. "'Fairfax' is more of a warning song, about the things that people can get caught up in."
"You Can Hold Me Down" still holds its share of sticky stuff -- songs written for what the 27-year-old calls his "teenage me." But rather than a snapshot of a moment in the singer-songwriter's life, the album offers instead a glimpse of a timeline of the 2-plus-year period over which Tell penned the material.
"That's what ended up being so cool about it -- it shows how much I've grown," he says. "Yes, you still have your songs about girls, and those are still me. But I feel like I've grown so much."
Still present is Tell's feel for Beatles/Beach Boys melodies. "I'm a sucker for that," he says. "Other than to impart something on people, that's the thing for me about a song -- trying to find a strong melody."
||| William Tell plays his record-release show Tuesday at the Troubadour, with the Oohlas.
Photo by Celiece Aurea.
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Touts for Monday, March 12: The Airborne Toxic Event's residency at the Echo gets unplugged tonight, with acoustic sets by the headliners, Foreign Born and the Mezzanine Owls, among others. ... Metro Station and Oslo are among the bands on the bill for Indie 103.1's "Check One .. Two" night at the Viper Room. ... The Sword and Priestbird bring their big metal sound tothe Troubadour. ... Children Collide and Low Vs Diamond are among the support bands as Berko continues his residency at Spaceland. ... Gosling headlines at Safari Sam's. ... And Buffalo Roam and Castledoor continue their dual residency at the Silverlake Lounge.
Warped Tour darlings Meg & Dia are out of the Doghouse -- the Utah quintet fronted by sisters Meg and Dia Frampton has been snapped away from independent Doghouse Records and signed to Warner, which will take over promotion for the band's buzzy album "Something Real," released last August.
The band gained quite a following among the Warped mall punks last summer, when, as the MySpace House Band, it performed daily in the tent promoting the social networking website. That Warped is not exactly a haven for female-fronted acts (most are relegated to side stages) helped make Meg & Dia a solid attraction. And the band's range -- which includes melodic hard rock as well as heartstring-tugging ballads, all featuring the sisters' comely harmonies -- didn't hurt either.
This year they will move up to the main stage on Warped. And their second single "Roses" is on the soundtrack to "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" (out March 19).
Meanwhile, Meg & Dia's current tour with Anberlin, Bayside and Jonezetta visits the Glass House in Pomona tonight and the El Rey Theatre on Tuesday. Both dates are sold out.
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Touts for Saturday, March 10: Sebadoh plays the second of its weekend dates at Spaceland. ... Boston's heady Bon Savants have the opening slot for Menomena at the Echo (the Parson Redheads also play). ... And My Chemical Romance plays the first of its sold-out weekend shows at the Forum.
And Sunday, March 11: EPMD raps at the House of Blues. ... The Quarter After and Minutes Til Midnight play at Spaceland. ... And the Cassettes party down at Tangier.
 Forever cherubic KROQ-FM DJ Rodney Bingenheimer will be honored this morning with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame (11:30 a.m. in front of the Knitting Factory at 7021 Hollywood Blvd.). The ceremonies -- and a concert saluting him tonight at the Henry Fonda Theatre -- put Bingenheimer back in the public eye some four years after the documentary "Mayor of the Sunset Strip" presented him as something of a tragicomic figure.
The man who first gave airplay to the likes of the Ramones, Sex Pistol, Joan Jett, the GoGo's, Blondie, Oasis and Coldplay is now relegated to a weekly show at midnight Sundays on the FM giant, his elfin voice no better suited for radio now than it was decades ago. Even KROQ's heavyweight morning guys, Kevin & Bean, delight in mercilessly skewering Bingenheimer -- doing so this morning while playing two "songs" that Rodney recorded ("I Hate the Nineties" and "Teenage Woman") while wondering aloud why they helped raised the $25,000 Walk of Fame sponsorship fee. (Sam Nelson, son of the late Rick Nelson, spearheaded the idea.) It all makes good radio, I suppose.
The Donnas, Redd Kross, the Nymphs and Channel 3 are performing at tonight's show, which figures to be a lovefest for Bingenheimer, who turns 60 later this year. It's also a cheap ticket at $10.67, but I wish Dramarama were playing too.
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Touts for Friday, March 9: Earlimart, its great new album "Mentor Tormentor" in the can and looking for a label to release it, plays a sold-out show at the Getty Center. ... A reunited Sebadoh plays the Troubadour. ... Local pop trio Everybody Else celebrates its record release with a show at Safari Sam's. ... Brits Razorlight try to make good at the El Rey Theatre. ... South Gate's the Reyes Brothers top a big hip-hop lineup at the Knitting Factory. ... And atop a good lineup of indie bands at El Cid are the Deadly Syndrome and To Live and Die in L.A.
 Like a lot of folks around town, I've got a big, cylindrical candle lit mourning the possibility that the Capitol Records building will be turned into a bunch of (Shag-decorated, no doubt) condominiums. And there is a big hollow place in my stomach when I think that some 80% of the folks who once worked there have been cut loose after the label's recent merger with Virgin.
Moreover, there are a lot of good bands on their own now. Unconfirmed word is that the list of free agents includes the likes of the Dandy Warhols, Shout Out Louds, Otep, the Vines, Airbourne, Sound Team, the Redwalls, Skye Sweetnam, Fischerspooner, Kevin Devine, Reeve Oliver, Melissa Auf Der Maur and Annie Stela (who is opening for Bright Eyes tonight at the sold-out El Rey Theatre show). There are probably more, but those names alone might make a pretty sweet roster for a mid-sized indie. "If the bands are OK with doing the indie thing," one rep for an indie label says.
It will be interesting to watch the performance of Capitol's keepers -- big sellers Relient K and Yellowcard have new albums on the horizon. Also among those still around, and not many surprises here: Hurt, Street to Nowhere, OK Go, Mims, Corinne Bailey Rae, Saosin, Chingy, Lily Allen and the Decemberists.
Wouldn't be surprised if Virgin pared its roster too -- whispers are that locals Ima Robot and Over It have been dropped.
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Touts for Thursday, March 8: Hot Hot Heat's Luke Paquin plays at Tangier. ... Amy Raasch has her album release show at the Hotel Cafe. ... The Stitches punk it up at the Knitting Factory. ... And all things psychedelic rule at the Echo, where Spindrift and the Moon Upstairs perform.
 Peaceniks vs. hawks! Flowers vs. bullets! 1968 all over again!
A poorly worded (and grossly misinterpreted) clause in the touring contract of psych-rock band Brightblack Morning Light ignited quite the debate in Tucson, Ariz., where the group was scheduled to burn its musical incense on Wednesday. At issue: The clause in the tour rider that reads: "No U.S. Military entities in any form allowed within the event."
What the hippie hipsters meant, of course, was that they didn't care to have military recruiters working their shows. Some, however, thought that veterans and members of the military were being excluded. Whew. The uproar, far more interesting than Brightblack's music, makes for some fine reading here here.
Update: Turnout was apparently light.
Photo: Thomas Campbell Photography.
 What do breakup songs become, as the heartbreak recedes in the rear-view mirror and time heals the wounds of the jilted? Greg Laswell is finding out. It’s going on three years since the Long Beach-raised, San Diego-based singer-songwriter wrote the material for his sophomore album, “Through Toledo” (released in July on Vanguard). It’s a heartfelt dissection of the “sudden dissolution” of his five-year marriage.
“After a while, the songs take on a life of their own; they become different things to different people,” Laswell says. “And to me, they become songs of what I was then and am not now.”
That place, like the new batch of songs he has in the works, is “a little bit less tortured,” he says, acknowledging his new music leans toward the observational, a quality well-suited to the storytelling in his amiable live shows.
Not that “Through Toledo” framed him as a sad sack, even as he came to the realization that his ex-wife would be among the listeners. “I feel like I was writing private notes in class and was caught by the teacher and she’s reading them aloud,” he says.
Now Laswell is gaining traction beyond the album with his cover of the Cyndi Lauper hit “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun,” which appeared on the season premiere of MTV’s “The Hills.” “It’s funny,” Laswell says, “I played the song live, and the next day my manager called me and said, ‘The next time you rehearse that song, just hit record.’”
||| Laswell performs tonight and every Wednesday this month at the Hotel Cafe.
Download: His cover of "Girls Just Want to Have Fun."
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Touts for Wednesday, March 7: The Young Knives, the tweed-favoring British post-punk trio, play Spaceland's Club NME behind their new album "Voices of Animals and Men." ... Bright Eyes have sold out the El Rey Theatre, and it'll probably get crowded at Amoeba for Albert Hammond Jr.'s in-store performance too. ... Australia's Sick Puppies headline the Troubadour. ... And locals Golden Arms will play a farewell show at the Silverlake Lounge.
[Correspondent August Brown went dancing, rested his weary legs and filed this report:]
 Buzz Bands' feelings about meticulously catchy Swedish pop are well documented, but the candy-colored techno of newcomers Lo-Fi-Fnk is pretty sugary even by those standards. Luckily, the duo brought boatloads of giddy charm to their L.A. debut at Safari Sam's on Tuesday night, prompting some good natured stage-rushing by a few folks who wanted in on their party.
Headliners the Young Knives' visa troubles meant Malmo natives Leo Drougge and August Hellsing had to carry the evening themselves. But after taking a few songs to find their sea legs (and work through a terrible soundboard mix), effervescent rave-ups like "Wake Up" and "Steppin' Out" from their album "Boylife" (which isn't out in America yet) soon won the room over. A live drummer kept the energy high while the duo bashed at their tiny keyboards and performed calisthenics to prompt more dancing in the audience. When a half-dozen people took them up on it and climbed onstage beside them, no one seemed happier to see them than the band.
The Hotel Cafe gets more and more juice every week, it seems. Nights like Saturday, which spawn dozens of anecdotes along with delectable music, are a big reason.
The occasion was an installment of Attic Jam, billed as a "musical and conversational round-robin" with Pete Townshend and Rachel Fuller. Our Buzz Bands scout was fairly wowed and passed along a couple stories from the proceedings:
The lineup included Tenacious D, Joe Purdy, Fuller, Alexi Murdoch, Ben Harper and Townshend, with the Who icon performing a song with each artist (except D). Toward the end of Murdoch's particularly strong set, the singer-songwriter paused to tune his guitar, saying, "I'm sorry, this guitar's from 1946."
On cue, somebody from the audience blurted out, "It's still younger than Pete." Laughter.
Said Murdoch, "I think someone's about to get their [butt] kicked."
Then there was the Arkansas-bred, L.A.-based Purdy, who invited his father onstage to play mandolin on a song. As the older Purdy struggled with his mike stand, a figure emerged from the front row to make the necessary adjustments.
"Hey Dad," Joe deadpanned, "Pete Townshend is fixing your microphone ..."
||| Attic Jam will present a showcase at the South by Southwest Music Festival on March 15.
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Touts for Tuesday, March 6: Visa problems prevented the Young Knives from getting into the U.S. in time to play their date at Safari Sam's tonight (they will be at Spaceland on for Club NME on Wednesday), but the Check Yo' Ponytail folks still have the dancy Lo-Fi-Fnk playing. ... Sam Phillips headlines a benefit for the Rose Scharlin School at Spaceland. ... The Albert Hammond Jr./Mooney Suzuki show at the El Rey Theatre is sold out. ... And Nico Vega and Lemon Sun head up the lineup at the Troubadour.
[Humble apologies for the dearth of posts last week. I was walloped and waylaid by the condition my doctor called "That Nasty Thing That's Been Going 'Round," leaving me bedridden, feverish and so delirious that in one late-night hallucination my dog sang the Silversun Pickups' "Rusted Wheel" to me from the foot of my bed. Later I discovered I'd fallen asleep with the TV on, while the Silver Lake quartet was appearing on "Last Call With Carson Daly." Whew ... I thought my dog had lowered her singing voice. Now, here's to wellness:]
 Limbeck's music wears like a flannel shirt on a brisk morning. The Orange County foursome, which shunned their pop-punk leanings after their first album, has matured largely in a tour van, with the highways and landscapes of the U.S. coloring their experiences. Limbeck recently expanded its travels to include Australia, where singer Robb MacLean and band mates Patrick Carrie, Justin Enstmiger and Casey Prestwood were greeted warmly on a 16-city tour. "Everyone was so hospitable," MacLean says. "They laugh a lot at your jokes -- which really lowers the bar on how funny your jokes have to be." On April 10, the quartet unveils its fourth album, this one titled, simply, "Limbeck." It's another growth spurt for the band's wide-eyed but grown-up Americana. The band won't be back in its home state until April 18 and 19 (Chain Reaction and the Troubadour, respectively) to pl
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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. 
