Naked Hearts have some good things going for them. 1. Amy Cooper: a very good solo artist who has released two albums worthy of your attention.  2.  A jagged, riffy style that will at times recall X, The Pixies, and even Blondie. ...

The music of Brooklyn band Motel Motel conjurs the astute eye of the vagabond, infused with the spirit of lost times and neglected souls.  Part Americana, part rock, the songs from their debut record, New Denver, are like a travelogue of...

Castledoor has largely conquered the Los Angeles music scene with its brand of soaring pop gems.  With the release of its debut album, Shouting At Mountains, a couple of months ago, the group is setting its sights on a national audience. ...

Hailing from Athens, Georgia, the college kids of Nero and the Burning Violins caught our fancy when we heard their song "Rock and Roll Show" on their Myspace page.  The slanted, wailing ode to the excitement of a live concert, sung as if waking...

Currently on hiatus, The Movies have been a mainstay in the Los Angeles music scene for some time.   The outstanding LA music blog Web In Front put the band's last record, Based On A True Story, in its top four local albums of 2008.  In...

"Listen boy what you gotta prove to the world at rest  / Shooting metaphors through a pistol made of words..." --  from the song "World At Rest" by Red Cortez One of LA's best and brightest (#2 on our recent survey of the top bands in...

It's a family affair for Los Angeles (by way of Oregon) based band The Parson Red Heads.  Songwriter and lead singer Evan Way is joined by his wife Brette Marie Way on drums, along with Sam Fowles (guitar), Aaron Ballard (guitar), and Andy...

On the outstanding track "Turn It Up", New York band Young Lords sound like a twangier version of the Rolling Stones, the twangy part evident in the drawl in the voice of lead singer Blair Van Nort.   But the band's influences are many...

The Secret History are an offshoot of the band My Favorite, whose 80's-influenced sound brought the band a good bit of notoriety.  The leader of that group, Michael Grace, Jr., has brought along many of his old band mates but also added a quite...

Montreal's Black Diamond Bay is led by Patrick Krief, former member of The Dears.  The band has just released one of the best records of the year- an ambitious collection of songs that are at times reminiscent of the otherworldy,...

Django James has mega pop pedigree (the son of Dave Stewart of the Eurythmics and Siobhan Fahey of Bananarama), and indeed he seems preternaturally poised for someone so young (18).    Already an outstanding showman, James backs...

The Sammies are southern boys whose influences obviously range far from their native North Carolina.  With two full-length records under their belts, the band's songs vary from punk to Brit pop to garage rock to, yes, southern rock.  Led by...

Considered by many to be one of the best live acts in Los Angeles, The Henry Clay People have been building momentum and attention with their authentic brand of jagged, kinetic rock and roll.  Led by brothers Joey and Andy Siara, with recent...

Her hair like a mask, Jenny O. performs behind this filamentous veil, perhaps to insulate her from the world or perhaps to try to contain the near perfect strains that swell from her voice.  Watching her performance of "Opposite Island" (see...

The debut album from The Shackeltons received gobs of critical praise from the likes of Rolling Stone and Spin when it came out last year.  The band's music has punk energy, and lead singer Mark Redding spills his guts out for each...

On the song "Time Flies When You're With The One You Love", Frank Hoier displays the kind of clarity and pure melody that would make Hank Williams proud.   Indeed, most of the songs produced by Hoier are admirable in the way that the songs...

Brooklyn's The Shivers, led by Keith Zarriello and Jo Schornikow, create emotionally-charged songs... broken hearts, forgotten promises, fractured hopes and wrestless yearning.... the heart on the sleeve.  For their Groupee Session, the band...

The music of Brooklyn-based band Black Taxi is a bit hard to describe.  While most songs feature solid pop-rock melodies, the guitar lines provide a harder edge and the use of trumpet and multiple drums frequently conjures the spirit of a...

This month's Artist of the Month is Washington, DC's Vandaveer.  The band is led by Mark Charles Heidinger, who writes folk-rock songs that are both theatrical in tone and cinematic in imagery.  You'll notice the influences- Bob Dylan and...

Elizabeth Harper has been called a female Morrissey and, indeed, her voice floats above the music in a kind of somnambulic waltz.  Musically, the band fashions the big shoulder pads of the 1980's, with Cures-ish arrangements and soaring...