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