L.A. Unheard: Sneakpeek looks back in anger [Song premiere]

The band: Sneakpeek, a fuzzy, fuming Echo Park quartet.

The music: After announcing itself with a trio of ear-frying self-released demos over a year ago, the band's gearing up for its full-length debut. Sneakpeek's still-noisy nine-track album offers up heavy, druggy guitar riffs that'd make Kurt Vile (or Lou Reed) proud, breaking from the garage assault with "Another Girl to You," which has the gentleness of the Velvet's "Sunday Morning." The latter track is written as a break-up ballad, but when she sings, "I don't want to be another girl to you," frontwoman Dora Hiller's words arrive as a sly threat.

The random: Hiller previously played in an all-girl folk band before turning up the volume and enlisting boyfriend Aric Bohn (previously of the Willowz) and a pair of collaborators for the new project.

The details: Sneakpeek is wrapping up its full-length debut now for a release later this year, with the band's next show set for the Echo on May 22.

The music: In a Pop & Hiss premiere, download the band's "Another Girl to You" below.

MP3: Sneakpeek -- "Another Girl to You"

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--David Greenwald

Photo: Echo Park quartet Sneakpeek, which will release its noisy debut album this year. Credit: Sneakpeek

L.A. Unheard: Steffaloo’s homemade folk

The band: Steffaloo, the one-woman project of L.A.’s Steph Thompson.

The sound: Steffaloo plays willowy bedroom folk with a multi-tracked edge. With last year’s self-released debut, “Meet Me in Montauk,” and the “On Fire” single, she showcased vocal harmonies and downcast, tape-hissing acoustic strumming that evoke Marissa Nadler and L.A.’s Warpaint. Feedback-edged B-side “The Red Runs Free” stretched her range, and judging by “I’m Sorry” and “If You Were My Baby,” a pair of fresher tracks, her upcoming sophomore effort will expand gently into keyboards and percussion without crowding out her hushed singing. “I'm hoping to incorporate a more full sound on this next one,” Thompson says. “Not quite as stripped-down as my first album, yet still [with] that raw homemade feel to it.”

The random: Thompson’s distinctive vocals have appeared on tracks by Chrome Sparks, Blackbird Blackbird and Teen Daze, among others.

The details: Steffaloo’s sophomore album is due this fall. She’ll join Thurlow and René Breton at the Bootleg Bar on April 21.

The music: Download “If You Were My Baby” below and hear more on Bandcamp.

MP3: Steffaloo -- "If You Were My Baby"

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-- David Greenwald

Photo: Haunting L.A. singer-songwriter Steffaloo onstage. Credit: Tonje Thilesen

L.A. Unheard: Haim's family affair

The band: Haim, a Los Angeles sister trio (and drummer Dash Hutton) that's turning heads in the fashion world.

The sound: On the band's free, three-track "Forever" EP, the Haim sisters -- Este, Danielle and Alana --  offer husky, staccato harmonies and a bristling, minimalist sound crafted since childhood jam sessions with their musician parents. The guitar stabs of "Better Off" nod to Feist's grittier moments, while the title track embraces the finely aged cheese of '80s R&B. "Go Slow," with its water-logged guitars and front-of-the-mix percussion, splits the difference with a twinkling groove. "I think we still have the structure of old-school rock,” Alana told Vogue. “But the R&B adds the spice.”

The random: Beyond the glossy likes of Vogue, Elle and Nylon, the stylish band appears to have found a fan in Ryan Adams, who, per the alt-country musician's Twitter feed, has been having the trio over to his Pax Am studio to jam.

The details: Haim plays its first local date since a successful South by Southwest festival run tonight at the Echoplex along with Wildcat! Wildcat! and Ko Ko. The show, free with an email to rsvp@neongoldrecords.com, marks the launch of Neon Gold and Hit City USA's Popshop West club night.

The music: Stream "Forever" below and download it at Haim's website.

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-- David Greenwald

Photo: L.A. rockers Haim, a sister act that grew up playing music with their parents. Credit: Big Hassle

L.A. Unheard: Body Parts' head-turning rock

 

The band: Body Parts, an Echo Park solo project-turned-band.

The sound: The band plays a wildly melodic brand of indie rock indebted to cerebral dance music makers such as Talking Heads and Dirty Projectors. Founder Ryder Bach’s voice is a high, shrill instrument that’s at its most powerful enmeshed in dissonant multi-tracked harmonies; his irreverent lyrics range from sincere calls for “more conditional love” to name-checking Miley Cyrus. (And that’s just one song.)

The random: Aside from a handful of vocal contributions, every note on the group’s seven-track “On Purpose” EP was played by Bach in his parents’ Long Island basement before he headed west and gathered the rest of the group.

The details: With its first South by Southwest run behind it, the band’s touring its way back to L.A. with local colleague Emperor X. The duo will play a homecoming show Thursday night at the Satellite with Brainstorm and Twin Steps.

The music: Download “Doing Things” below and hear more from the band on Bandcamp.

MP3: Body Parts -- "Doing Things"

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Photo: Body Parts, an L.A. act that plays complex, tuneful indie rock. Credit: Stephanie Gonot and Adi Goodrich

L.A. Unheard: Bear Attack's youthful roar

The band: Bear Attack, a five-piece group of USC students.

The sound: On tracks such as “August” and “Boxes,” the band plays a brand of soft, tuneful folk-rock that evokes the spacious earnestness of the Swell Season or early Coldplay. Full of careful harmonies and colorful guitar chords, it’s serious, mature music -- impressively so for a band barely old enough to drink.

The random: Except for guitarist Brandon Bae, the quintet met as majors in USC’s popular music program, a recent addition to the Thornton Music School that began in fall 2009. (The old-school Bae is wrapping up his semesters in the university’s jazz program.) The bulk of the group won’t graduate until 2013, which means L.A. should see much more from Bear Attack in the coming year.

The details: “August” made an appearance on Monday night’s season finale of ABC Family’s “Pretty Little Liars,” marking the young group’s television-soundtrack debut. Bear Attack funded an upcoming EP, “Shapes,” through Kickstarter, which is expected to arrive this spring.

The music: Download "August" below and hear more from the band on Facebook.

MP3: Bear Attack -- "August"

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Photo: Bear Attack. Credit: Matias Mora

L.A. Unheard: Julia Holter's experimental ecstasy

The band: Julia Holter, a CalArts grad who has worked with Angelenos from Nite Jewel to Linda Perhacs.

The sound: Holter makes chamber-pop for the Ableton era, fleshing out lo-fi bedroom recordings with electronic beats and cathedral aspirations. Her sophomore album, “Ekstasis,” is all soft, post-New Age edges, from her distant vocals to the subtle digital handclaps of “In the Same Room.” But under the production gauze lies restless, intricate music that ranges from ambient drift to 4/4 thump. For all its swirling arrangements, Holter’s vocals imbue the album with a pop center: “If you call out, call out, call out, I will follow you,” she coos on “Our Sorrows,” singing with a girlish naiveté that’s more Spector than Eno.

The random: Holter has already been embraced by tastemakers from former experimental music bastion Altered Zones to the guitar-loving traditionalists of National Public Radio, which debuted a stream of “Ekstasis” in its “First Listen” series last Monday.

The details: “Ekstasis” is due March 8 on RVNG Records. She’ll perform in the Origami Vinyl loft on April 7. Listen to "Marienbad" below. 

 

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--David Greenwald

Photo: Los Angeles bedroom experimentalist Julia Holter. Credit: Rick Bahto.

L.A. Unheard: Neverever's beach-bound indie-pop

The band: Neverever, an L.A. group led by indie-pop power-couple Jihae and Wallace Meek.

The sound: Like La Sera, Best Coast and some half-dozen SoCal garage-pop revivalists before them, Neverever offers a noisy, tuneful take on the girl-group era. But don’t lump the band in with the Pacific idolaters: tracks such as “Wedding Day” and “Bunker Spreckles” offer spiky riffs and sharp songwriting to balance the soft-focus nostalgia. Indeed, the latter track finds singer Jihae Meek taking clever aim at the darker history of that East Coast ocean: “Bleached hair and beachwear didn’t do for long,” she sings, moments after rhyming “fur coat” and “U-boat.” Elsewhere, the ba-ba-bas of "Mexicoco" bounce subversively around the tale of a sour summer romance. 

The random: The band’s humor comes with twee cred: Jihae and husband-guitarist Wallace met in art school in Glasgow, Scotland, home of the seminally salty Belle & Sebastian.        

The details: The “Shake-a-Baby” EP, hipster puppy cover and all, was released Jan. 17. It’s the follow-up to the band’s 2010 debut album, “Angelic Swells.” The band joins Veronica Falls and Bleached on Saturday at the Bootleg Bar.

The music: Download “Wedding Day” below.

Neverever -- "Wedding Day"

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Photo: L.A. indie-pop quartet Neverever. Credit: Kim Zuniga

L.A. Unheard: Electric Guest make themselves a funky home

The band: Electric Guest, a Los Angeles duo.

The sound: For debut album "Mondo," the band landed Danger Mouse, whose atmospheric production gives an evocative depth to the pair's modernized funk. The group's intricate, soulful approach is of a piece with the blue-eyed excursions of groups such as the Stepkids and Mayer Hawthorne in recent years. Lead single "The Head I Hold" is a three-minute hook extravaganza, while the moodier, "Crazy"-esque "American Daydream" shows what the band can do with room to breathe.

The random: Frontman Asa Taccone's older brother happens to be Jorma, of Lonely Island/"Saturday Night Live" fame. The elder Taccone handled directorial duties for the band's dead-serious "American Daydream" video, which features a bruised-and-bloody Asa tackling Hollywood hipsters at too-perfect parties, too-fab pool gatherings, too-scripted bars.

The details: The band will hold court at the Echo's February Monday residency starting tonight, with "Mondo" due on Downtown Records April 24. The band has already lined up a handful of national appearances, including a slot at Washington’s Sasquatch! Festival and a run of shows at the buzz-making SXSW.

The music: Hear "The Head I Hold" below.

-- David Greenwald

Photo: L.A. indie-soul duo Electric Guest. Credit: Nasty Little Man

L.A. Unheard: Moostache's steely rock

The band: Moostache -- three brothers rounded out live by guitarist Ryan Radcliff.

The sound: The group hails from Huntington Beach, a few miles outside of this column’s usual purview, but Moostache’s scrappy rock is too endearing to miss. (Just try to overlook the band name.) On its self-titled new EP, the group offers taut, bristling rock in the vein of a number of recent Angeleno favorites: Avi Buffalo, the Henry Clay People and the World Record. Singer Patrick Wardell’s tuneful yowls never tip too far over into throat-shredding, and the six-track effort is hi-fi enough for KROQ and energetic enough for the Smell (or at least the Echo).

The random: The band’s searing sound comes in part from producers Billy Mohler and Jimmy Messer (Kelly Clarkson, Samantha Ronson), who split recording duties with Jonathan O’Brien (Count Fleet).

The details: The band’s EP is available for free on its website, with a physical version featuring additional songs planned for March. Moostache will play Costa Mesa’s Detroit Bar tonight.

The music: Download “Hands of Steel” below.

MP3: Moostache -- “Hands of Steel”

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Photo: Huntington Beach rockers Moostache. Credit: Austin Bauman.

L.A. Unheard: Jesse Thomas’ folky ‘Fire’ (song premiere)

The band: Jesse Thomas, a Los Angeles singer-songwriter bred in Kentucky.

The sound: “I’m no good at emotional stuff,” Thomas warns in the opening lines of her debut album,  “War Dancer,” but singing about it is a different story. The Hotel Café veteran’s album is an upbeat country-folk collection, built around the contrast between bright acoustic guitars, stately string arrangements and Thomas’ whiskey wheeze. Her voice, rough and quivering, recalls the country forays of Bright Eyes’ Conor Oberst, though songs such as sassy tell-off “Already Mine” keep the album from needing a Paxil prescription.

The random: Thomas' EP track “Stay” made a 2010 appearance on “Degrassi” — post-Drake, unfortunately.

The details: “War Dancer” is due Feb. 14, with Thomas set to open for Amy Kuney at the Bootleg on Feb. 1.

The music: Download the Pop & Hiss premiere of the “War Dancer” track “Fire” below.

MP3: Jesse Thomas -- "Fire"

-- David Greenwald

Photo: Los Angeles singer-songwriter Jesse Thomas, whose new album is due on Valentine's Day. Credit: Jesse Fox.