A month after announcing her debut album, the release date for Joy Downer’s “Paper Moon” is nearly here. After breaking the news with a funky first single, Downer is following that up with the considerably dreamier title track, pairing a slow, thumping beat with reverb-heavy guitar on the heavenly choruses, “Paper Moon” is another promising look at what the record has in store.
The song also arrives with a video, introducing Downer’s live show—which we hope to experience some time in the not-too-distant future—as the angelic counterpart to the more rock-and-roll impishness of Yeah Yeah Yeahs, with the singer donning a white, glittering onesie that recalls the outfits of Karen O. It’s a moody clip almost entirely composed of crossfades, featuring footage from onstage and off.
Watch the clip below. JoyDowner is donating 100 percent of her Bandcamp proceeds this Friday to Black Lives Matter.
The title track for Joy Downer’s album “Paper Moon”, out everywhere 6/5/2020
Written, Recorded and Produced by Joy Downer and Jeff Downer
Talker is the grunge-pop project of Los Angeles-based Celeste Tauchar. The name is a nod to her last name, notorious in her family for being misspelled and mispronounced. Starting out touring and playing for other bands including electro-pop group FRENSHIP, Tauchar quickly gained extensive performance experience at venues and festivals like Red Rocks, The Bowery Ballroom (NYC), The El Rey Theatre (LA), Lollapalooza, and Outside Lands.
After years of writing and developing on an artistic & personal level, Tauchar began independently releasing music under the name “talker”, which received attention from such notable outlets as Alternative Press, Grimy Goods, We Found New Music, Buzzbands LA, and more. Her first single “Collateral Damage” reached #5 on the Hype Machine popular charts, and her single “Intimidated” was featured on Spotify’s “Pulp” playlist.
These early releases resulted in talker’s debut EP “Horror Films”, which featured collaborations with April Bender and Dan Sadin, production from Sadin and Phil Simmonds,Deeply rooted in the Los Angeles indie scene, talker has headlined the Hi Hat, Madame Siam, & Moroccan Lounge, and has performed at countless other notable venues including the Hotel Café and the Roxy. In January 2020, she embarked on her first tour up the West Coast.
Spellbinding as its suspense makes sparks fly, “Personal Space” is a drama tautly-told and the grandly-imagined brand-new single from L.A.’s Celeste Tauchar, a.k.a. talker. The track concludes her recently-released, six-song Wax EP.
Originally released March 6th, 2020 . Common Ground Collective
“Run It Again” is 10 – song album that shines a fresh light on a raw sort of garage rock, full of melody, smart lyrics and hooks for days. Recorded at Future Shock studio in LA, produced by Alex Newport (Death Cab For Cutie, Frank Turner, Bloc Party), there’s an artful flow to the collection of songs. Though the band recognizes that for many listeners these days it’s an a la carte world, Sean Erickson (SE) states, “We put a lot of thought into the song order.” And it must be said – these guys really know how to sing. In particular, lead vocalist Michael Fiore seems able to effortlessly cram or stretch syllables at will.
Released March 1st, 2019 , All songs written by Michael Fiore except “Turpentine” written by Michael Hiller.
This record is a small collection of songs that were left off of the original album as well as a reworking of two tracks. When narrowing down the tracks that would comprise “Run It Again”, the band collectively agreed on 10 out of the 16 – 20 songs they had written for the full – length, setting aside the rest that didn’t quite flow within the sequence as well but would certainly see the light of day eventually in some capacity.
“I think these songs on the EP really show the depth and range of the band, ” frontman Michael Fiore said. “Especially the quieter stuff like ‘Mississippi Belle’, which was definitely influenced by Big Star and generally the early ‘70s ballads like early Faces and the like. ”Elsewhere”, the acoustic version of “Rearrange Me ” [“Rearrange Me (Rearranged)”] – a song the band has reimagined a few times over its career and which has taken its rightful place as the band’s ‘signature song’ of sorts due to this fact – came about when Fiore played it at one of his best friend’s weddings last September.
Electric Looking Glass is a baroque pop group from Los Angeles, California. Fresh on the scene, these four far out dandies have been busy working on their debut EP which is bound to impress. Expect flash melodies in full harmony, with jangly guitars, whirling Hammond, delicate Mellotron and a fab thumping back beat. Sounds of yesterday and visions of tomorrow; a new reflection in pop. Get hip now before it’s too late!
“Fresh off of their recent debut single on Hypnotic Bridge Records, here comes the second single from the Electric Looking Glass! This newer Los Angeles quartet serves up a double A-sider with a couple of dandy gems loaded with 60’s-style baroque psychedelic flashes and smothered with sugar coated pop-psych goodness! Both jangly pop songs delivered with all the trimmings, from Mellotron and piano punctuations on to well-crafted vocal harmonies. A confectionery two-sider sure to appease your sweet tooth cravings!” (13 O’Clock Records)
“A wholesome quartet that absolutely nails the baroque and psychedelic pop sounds prevalent on both East and West Coasts during the heady days of 1967-68. Recalls the Left Banke, Curt Boettcher, the Peanut Butter Conspiracy et al and truly captures the sound” – Jon “Mojo” Mills, Shindig! Magazine
“One of the most refreshingly unique acts to appear in California in years” – Record Turnover
Promo film for Electric Looking Glass’ third single “Dream a Dream”. Produced in collaboration with Mat Dunlap who shot & edited the video. Dream a Dream was written and recorded by Electric Looking Glass and released January 3rd, 2020 on a 7″ vinyl 45rpm vinyl single courtesy of 13 O’Clock Records.
8mm promo film for Electric Looking Glass’s first double A-side (Death Of A Season/Someday Soon) out on Hypnotic Bridge Records (August 2019) Electric Looking Glass is a baroque pop group from Los Angeles, California. Expect flash melodies in full harmony, with jangly guitars, whirling Hammond, delicate Mellotron and a fab thumping back beat. Get hip now before it’s too late!
Song written and recorded by Electric Looking Glass .
Band Members:
Brent Randall Bass/Vocals
Arash Mafi Organ/Mellotron/Vocals
Danny Winebarger Guitar/Vocals
Johnny Toomey Drums
On this day (May 26th) in 1982: Los Angeles psych/garage rock revival band The Salvation Army released their self-titled, debut album on influential indie label, Frontier Records; (Since Reissued on Burger Records) after the charitable organization objected, they changed their name to The Three O’Clock and became one of the leading lights of the city’s burgeoning ‘Paisley Underground’ neo-psych scene…
In March 1981, South Bay, CA, teenager Michael Quercio formed theSalvation Army a punky, psych-influenced garage band that took most of its stylistic and musical cues from Lenny Kaye’s Nuggets anthology. Before the year was out, the Salvation Army had a single out on the Minutemen’s New Alliance label, a new guitarist (Greggory Louis Gutierrez), and a batch of new songs to demo.
After this demo was played on Rodney Bingenheimer’s massively influential Rodney on the ROQ radio show, signed the Salvation Army to Frontier Records and released the trio’s self-titled debut in May 1982.
The philanthropic organization took umbrage over the name and the Salvation Army politely changed their name to the meaningless but suitably psychedelic the Three O’Clock The band replaced drummer Troy Howell with ex-Quick drummer Danny Benair added keyboardist Michael Mariano, and transformed themselves into the leading lights of the paisley underground, a phrase invented apparently by Quercio that’s dogged him ever since. Fancher Records reissued the Salvation Army album under the clever name Befour Three O’Clock after the group misguidedly left Frontier for IRS, and in 1992, collected the full album, that pivotal five-song demo, and all four songs recorded during the sessions for the New Alliance single for a comprehensive collection of every Salvation Army studio recording.
As such, “Happen Happened” (named for the trippy A-side of that single, which appears in two versions) is a priceless document of the early days of the L.A. psych-pop revival scene. Fans of the Three O’Clock’s much glossier music might be surprised by the punky speed and noisy guitars, but the simple two- and three-chord songs are bracing and surprisingly melodic, and flashes of Quercio’s skewed lyrical bent are already visible in songs like “While We Were in Your Room Talking to Your Wall.” Six songs are repeated, though there are only notable differences in a couple of cases and invariably the album versions are superior to the demos. Regardless, this is both a definitive historical collection and a great piece of early-’80s post-new wave punk-pop.
a.k.a. The Three O’clock, power pop / paisley underground
from Los Angeles, California… 1992 “Happen Happened” CD Reissue of 1982 “Salvation Army” Album, plus 9 bonus tracks [Frontier Records, 01866 34639 2]
Sometimes it takes going through the toughest of times to be able to see your life from a different perspective and realize just how much you have. For Moontower’s lead singer Jacob Culver it was his mother’s sudden heart attack that made him see how he had taken her for granted and kicked him into looking at life through a new lens. The Los Angeles trio hope to take this message and share it’s importance with the masses in their new single “Got My Way.”
Among vibrant indie electro melodies and swirling synthscapes, the three-piece have crafted an uplifting anthem, encouraging others to show appreciation. Culver shares, “This song is about the regrets I would have had if we had lost her that day, and I hope it serves as a reminder to tell the ones you love that you love them when you can.” So take note folks – now more than ever, we need to be calling up our loved ones and showing them they’re valued.
From Jacob Culver: “Got My Way was written about almost losing my mother to a heart attack. Last year on Mother’s Day, I played her this song right after I wrote it, and we put out the finished track this Mother’s Day. Sadly, I wasn’t able to spend Mother’s Day with her this year as her heart attack puts her at risk for serious complications with COVID-19. It all happened so quickly by the time my father was able to tell me she had a heart attack she was already recovering in the hospital. In that moment, I experienced intense sadness, love, relief, and regret all at once. My mother and I have had a beautiful relationship, but the idea that I could have lost her made me feel ashamed for even a split second I took for granted. This song is about the regrets I would have had if we had lost her that day, and I hope it serves as a reminder to tell the ones you love that you love them when you can.”
Skullcrusher is not, as you might expect, some black metal band from Scandinavia, but instead LA-based songwriter Helen Ballentine.
She will release her debut four track EP via Secretly Canadian on the 26th June and the stunning “Places/Plans” is the lead from it, a sparse and gorgeously intimate song that is all the more powerful and compelling for its minimalist arrangement. In the case of Places / Plans the debut single by Skullcrusher, all of these elements are brought together. The video is carefully set up and washed with a haunting home-filmed haziness the re-watching of old family footage, with the lyrics incorporated book-style, and the song itself is compiled of a pretty loneliness.
The song and music video work side by side. It’s just one camera shot of a back garden, the house being white and grand and likely host to supernatural goings on. Skullcrusher sits on a blanket in the middle of the beaten lawn, having a picnic with herself like a child having an imaginary tea party with their toys. Another Skullcrusher sits swinging moodily on a swing, and a third stands on the steps by the backdoor sawing a piece of wood. They are clones, fragments of herself, lost in solitary thought. All while this is taking place, the lyrics appear at the bottom of the recording in gothic font- journal style questions such as ‘Does it matter if I’m a really good friend? And ‘Can I make it up there as I am?.
Skullcrusher is the musical project of LA based songwriter Helen Ballentine “Places/Plans” by Skullcrusher, from her forthcoming self-titled EP out June 26th on Secretly Canadian.
Lauren Ruth Ward serves us major psychedelic angst with her sophomore album Vol. II, which dropped with a bang last Friday. After her debut album Well, Hell was consistently praised by the media and fans alike, Ward built high expectations for herself – and then double-downed on them with a killer 1970s inspired alt-rock record. Lauren Ruth Ward‘s Vol. II also differs from Well, Hell in that it was recorded analogue to tape, adding more sonic depth and colour to Ward’s timeless energy. The record’s opening track, “Vahalla”, embodies this tone, with its anthemic rock ‘n’ roll melody elevated by captivating vocals that explode with nostalgia.
Lauren Ruth Ward’s voice might shine most, though, on “Wise Gal”, another headbanger filled with howling female rage that channels the range and attitude of a contemporary Janis Joplin. Both tracks contain a controlled chaos and an immense poignancy that make me sentimental for my peak teenage angst, which apparently never fully dissipated.
That being said, “We Are Grown Ups” reflects Ward’s wide-reaching scope, the song epitomizing folk – but make it punk rock – featuring sweet acoustic harmonies contrasted with powerhouse drums that roll like thunder.
Lauren Ruth Ward fuses so many different styles that her sound is uniquely of the moment and also simultaneously nostalgic. It’s clear why fans and bands alike fell for Ward when she emerged in the Echo Park music scene. Ward was and continues to be a true member of the community, taking time to promote the shows of bands she likes – hailing a diverse group of artists from all walks of the east side. Echo Park folk powerhouse Alicia Blue even released a song about Lauren Ruth Ward titled “The Queen of Echo Park”.
Ward has played to sold-out crowds in the U.S. and overseas, sharing stages with artists ranging from the Yeah Yeah Yeahʼs, Shirley Manson, Eddie Vedder, LP, Shakey Graves, and Liz Phair to Keith Urban. When sheʼs not on the road, sheʼs either recording with her new side project, Aging Actress, formed with Chris Hess, singer of LA band SWIMM, or cutting and dyeing hair.
Lauren Ruth Ward has brought a new life to the alt-rock genre, providing a much yearned voice during a lawless time in which we’re all erupting with emotion. While Ward’s U.S. headline tour has been *cancelled* due to the current global health crisis,
Lyrics written by Lauren Ruth Ward, Guitar written by Eduardo Riviera
No Age have shared a new driving, blissfully energetic punk anthem in their new single “Head Sport Full Face.” The song is accompanied by a video that uses archival footage shot by Aaron Rose (director of 2008’s Beautiful Losers) of the band from a decade ago—stitched together into a nostalgic ode to the blistering, anxious sentiments that still pulsate in their music.
“Head Sport Full Face” finds some cathartic escape in its virulent riffs and raw percussiveness, while singer Dean Spunt’s fading cries dip in and out of a pining dreaminess.
Based in Los Angeles, No Age is the noise rock creation of guitarist Randy Randall and drummer/vocalist Spunt, the former being the one who first pieces together the video when Rose emailed them out of the blue the archived video clips. The result is a poignant blending of the band’s past antics and the current uncertainty of pretty much everything around them—and yet the shots of them blasting through punk tracks under dim venue lights to equally voracious crowds is exactly the kind of tonic for such a mess.
“Head Sport Full Face” is already delirious with grimy-meets-melodic soundscapes, but the newly “discovered” video attached to the song pieces together an appropriate reminder of the kind of energy now missing from the world—of crashing together against the heady weight of that wall of sound with a crowd of people around you.
“He said he was going through old hard drives and he found a folder labeled “No Age”. He opened it and found all this footage from 10 years ago. Maybe he was thinking of making a video for us but never did? He sent us a a link to a whole bunch of footage and he had shot on a small hand held digital video camera. I edited it together for the video. After a few round of notes from Dean and Aaron, this is the video.”
How “Head Sport Full Face” music video was made:
Dean and I have known Aaron Rose for years, we played the wedding procession at his wedding.
A few weeks into the Covid 19 quarantine we got email out of the blue from Aaron. He said he was going through old hard drives and he found a folder labeled “No Age”. He opened it and found all this footage from 10 years ago. Maybe he was thinking of making a video for us but never did? He sent us a a link to a whole bunch of footage and he had shot on a small hand held digital video camera. I edited it together for the video. After a few round of notes from Dean and Aaron this is the video.
Los Angeles noisepunk duo No Age will release their new album, “Goons Be Gone”, on June 5th via Drag City and here’s the Fall-esque “War Dance” that may leave your ears ringing till the record’s actually out.
Drag City Inc. Track from “Goons Be Gone,” available on LP/CS/CD/Digital from Drag City on June 5th, 2020.
Sarah Walk released her debut album ‘Little Black Book’ in 2017 via One Little Indian Records. At once aching and artful, her work speaks to every magnitude of love and loss, while also examining identity, sexuality, nostalgia, and homesickness.
Her sophomore album ‘Another Me’ is set to release in 2020, produced by Leo Abrahams (Regina Spektor, Imogen Heap, David Byrne, Brian Eno). I wanted to make a point early on with this record that there is a lot that women feel and experience outside of what exists in their romantic relationships” says singer-songwriter Sarah Walk, who has just announced her stunning sophomore album, ‘Another Me’ on One Little Indian Records.
‘Another Me’ starts as it means to go on, taking a swipe at the patriarchy, and delivering a cold hard look at the institutionalized entitlement of men. Indeed, Walk opens with the line:
“Nothing’s hurt me more than men that grew up with no consequences, why is it my job to fix this mess? You’re always ready to defend, you hear my concern as anger, and no-one wants an angry woman”.
:format(jpeg):mode_rgb():quality(90)/discogs-images/R-3305313-1324930917.jpeg.jpg)
:format(jpeg):mode_rgb():quality(90)/discogs-images/R-3305313-1402728708-3717.jpeg.jpg)
:format(jpeg):mode_rgb():quality(90)/discogs-images/R-3305313-1402728716-6253.jpeg.jpg)
The Fat Angel Sings 