L.A. Unheard: Hi Ho Silver Oh ride high

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Editor’s note: Every week, our colleagues at Brand X’s L.A. Unheard column unearth one of L.A.’s best undiscovered acts.

The band: Hi Ho Silver Oh, an L.A. quartet founded by a trio of former North Carolinians.

The sound: Despite connections in the local comedy scene -- the group was initially recommended to us by no less than Charlyne Yi -- on older songs such as ‘Commitment’ and ‘Sunset,’ Hi Ho Silver Oh’s brand of melodic guitar rock sounds downright mournful. The latest single, ‘Showers Without Warning,’ with its keening vocals and rugged axe work, evokes both Local Natives’ passionate delivery and decades of L.A. country-rock.

The details: Hi Ho Silver Oh is wrapping up a full-length album with Joe Napolitano from Le Switch behind the boards, with shows planned at the Echo on April 19 and under our own L.A. Unheard banner at the L.A. Times Festival of Books on May 1. The band concluded the recording sessions with what frontman Casey Trela dubbed ‘a group vocals pizza party,’ which we hope will sound as musical as it does tasty.

The rest: Download an exclusive premiere of ‘My Confessor,’ a yet-to-be-mastered track from the band’s upcoming album, over at Brand X.

-- David Greenwald