The Jealous Girlfriends storm in from Brooklyn

The Jealous Girlfriends played their first Los Angeles show on Thursday night, and it made me, well, a bit jealous I hadn't seen the Brooklyn quartet before. They're a little bit Sonic Youth, a little bit Blonde Redhead and a little bit synth-crazy, wrapping up their minor-chord melancholy in restless and arresting arrangements that make front woman Holly Miranda's torch-singer vocals sound even more startling.

Miranda could do nicely with just a piano and a microphone, but guitar in hand she proved herself more than capable of both art-rock riffage and laying down bristling sheens of distortion. Seeing the band a first time, you never quite knew what was coming next. But you never wanted to avert your eyes or ears for very long.

Just signed to wee Canadian imprint Good Fences, the Jealous Girlfriends will release their debut early next year -- but you can get a self-released copy at their next show, Monday night at the Silverlake Lounge.

||| Download: "Machines."

Photo of Alex Lipsen and Holly Miranda by Kevin Bronson / LAT.

Here's the video for the band's probably most straight-ahead number, "How Now" (from 2005), featuring guitarist Josh Abbott on vocals: