On their second EP, Black Kites soar

There’s a fine line between magic and mush when it comes to the brooding strain of dream pop that L.A. quartet the Black Kites makes. And the X factor is often chemistry.

“This is not a sound we were necessarily going for,” singer-guitarist Alan Petherick says of the project he started with bassist Nicki Nevlin. “It ended up being a natural evolution — when Evelyn [Reyes] came in, her voice changed a lot of things.”

Reyes’ willowy vocals, paired at times with Petherick’s and layered onto rhythms laid down by Nevlin and drummer Marcel Feldmar, gives the foursome’s “Paper Heart” EP a cinematic sheen, and it’s meditative without being mopey. “It’s meant to be uplifting,” Petherick says. “We went for a feeling that’s anthemic and spiritual but not in a cheesy way.”

The EP, along with 2006’s “All Wrong,” was released in England on indie label Filthy Little Angels, and the Black Kites are looking to digitally release their music in the U.S. “In this day and age, it’s all Internet and all do-it-yourself,” Petherick says.

||| Live: The Black Kites play tonight at the Viper Room on a strong bill that includes Eskimohunter and Riverside’s Silver Cities.

||| Download: "Paper Heart."

◊ ◊ ◊

Highlights for Monday, Dec. 10

Tool plays the Nokia Theatre, and Deerhoof is at the Avalon, but myriad choices abound in the club world: the LA Weekly's Click Hear show (in cooperation with several L.A. music blogs) at the El Rey Theatre, where 10 bucks gets you a lot of up-and-coming bands, including the Mezzanine Owls, the Black Ghosts, the Valley Arena and Le Switch. ... Over at Safari Sam's, the blog Radio Free Silverlake has mounted a great lineup for Rock Against HD, a benefit for the Huntington's Disease Society of America. On the bill are the Movies, Thailand, the Western States Motel and the Spires, along with solo outings by Sarah Negahdari (the Happy Hollows) and James Patrick (Buffalo Roam). ... The Binges continue their residency at Spaceland, while charming folkies the Rosewood Thieves join Chris Garneau on the bill at the Echo and Goon Moon plays the Troubadour.