Indie Rock and Indie Pop

Is Being Labeled a "Christian Rock" Band Toxic For Our Career?

By: Jessica Hopper Are you a musician? Is your group having issues? Ask Fan Landers! Critic Jessica Hopper has played in and managed bands, toured internationally, booked shows, produced records, worked as a publicist, and is the author of The Girls' Guide to Rocking, a how-to for teen ladies. She i ... More >>

Freelance Whales

Observatory

The Shins - Gibson Amphitheater - October 2, 2012

The Shins GibsonAmphitheater October 2, 2012  Many fans of The Shins began to grow wary of the indie outfit's direction as each of the original members left the band over the last few years. Though James Mercer has always been the bandleader, it's never the same without the original l ... More >>

Top Five Hits: Fingerprints in Long Beach

[Editor's Note: Every Friday, our resident record store expert Michael Chin checks in with his weekly report of what the hell people who still buy records at local shops are listening to.]See Also:*The Hives - The Observatory - September 11, 2012 [w/ VIDEO]*Top Five Hits: Left of the Dial in Seal ... More >>

Highlands Pride Themselves On Keeping It Loud, Weird

[Locals Only] The Long Beach band deliver heavy, sweeping shoegaze you can actually look up to

Brandon de la Cruz

Night Owl

Cold War Kids Announce New Guitarist, Free Singles

​Late last year, we found out that Cold War Kids' guitarist Jonathan Russell was quitting. Our source told us not to break the news; there were tours and albums to be released. Not wanting to burn our source, we waited to see what happened--and today, the LA Times reports that former Modest Mouse ... More >>

Dinosaur Jr. at the Samueli Theater last night

Andrew Youssef​Dinosaur Jr. Samueli Theater December 12, 2011 Last night's Dinosaur Jr. show at Costa Mesa's Samueli Theatre was a three-part affair, each of which seemed slightly out of place in the upscale-but-welcoming Segerstrom Center for the Arts digs. Opening act Pierced Arrows put on ... More >>

It's Pink Floyd Week on Jimmy Fallon

​More than any other reissue of collectors' box sets and unreleased music, Pink Floyd's campaign with EMI, Why Pink Floyd? is being presented with the most hoopla. The campaign launches tomorrow, also with unreleased music from the archives and complete studio recordings remastered. How is EMI cel ... More >>

Long Beach's Cold War Kids Announce Fall U.S. Tour

​ Long Beach's very own Cold War Kids just announced the second leg of their fall North American tour in support of their latest release, Mine Is Yours (Downtown/DGC/Interscope Records).

Watch Bonnaroo from Home

Musical festival season is in full swing, and that means you're either already on a plane to attend this weekend's Bonnaroo Music Festival or staying at home and wishing you were there. This year, the likes of Eminem, Arcade Fire, Robert Plant and Lil Wayne are part of the star-studded lineup in Man ... More >>

Little Hurricane

Alex's Bar

Cold War Kids Go to Coachella

Artist Matt Maust is also a bass player!

Asobi Seksu Get Synth-sual

The NYC dream popsters add synthesizers to the mix on their new record, 'Fluorescence'

Yo La Tengo Watch the Wheel Go By

The giants of geek rock are ready to play sitcoms, apology sets

Arcade Fire: A Bunch of Grammy-Winning Nobodies?

Tumblr​Dear America: allow me to introduce Arcade Fire. They're an indie rock band from Montreal. As I've been reading responses on Arcade Fire's Grammy win, I've realized that there are much fewer people who actually know the band and their music than I had thought.

JFK of MSTRKRFT

City National Grove of Anaheim

Cold War Kids Are Ready to Step Up

Will 'Mine Is Yours' propel the former Fullertonians beyond their current midlevel stardom?

A Flock of Seagulls

Galaxy Theatre

Eight Instruments Indie Bands Should Stay the Fuck Away From

Wendy Lynch/MyspaceModest Mouse​Ever notice what bizarre instruments indie rockers have been using on stage? It may enhance the sound at times, but whipping out a melodica or tuba always makes me wonder what the hell were they were thinking. Artists like Sufjan Stevens and Modest Mouse need to cut ... More >>

Just Like So

LA-based foursome thrive on change, have eschewed teenybopper past for a more Motown sound

Local Music News Links: Local Natives, MGMT, Henry Clay People, Hindu Pirates

The golden boys of Local Natives​It's been a short week, so we have a short list for you of items on OC-music related items from other publications. Read on...

Weezer to Play Surfing Event

[Mental Notes] Also, Yellow Red Sparks have residency in LA, Pinback sucked live, and Guided By Voices reunites

5 Great Acts That Suck Live

​The main reason Lauryn Hill's rumored Rock the Bells performance got everyone's panties up in a bunch isn't because it was untrue. It's because everyone misses The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill  Lauryn. Everyone knows her recent live sets have been harrowing--audiences were subject to two hour ... More >>

Happy Avi Buffalo Day! Part 1: An Album Review

​The Hype: Today's unveiling of Long Beach indie pop darlings Avi Buffalo's full-length, Sub Pop debut couldn't have come at a better time. The sun is out, the birds are chirping and young, twitterpated hipsters are already jonesing for a soundtrack to their summer. 

Local Natives Get Texas-Sized Buzz at SXSW

[Mental Notes] The music press falls all over itself in praise of the LA-by-way-of-OC band

Matt Skiba of Alkaline Trio on Upcoming Tour and New Album 'This Addiction'

Doom pop purveyors Alkaline Trio will release their seventh studio album, This Addiction, Feb. 23. It will be the Chicago band's first release on their newly formed Heart & Skull Records--a joint venture, for this record at least, with Epitaph. This Addiction revisits Alkaline Trio's signature ... More >>

Dan Smith and Darren Parkinson of the Dear & Departed

Dan Smith​Orange County's the Dear & Departed are about to depart on a national tour in support of their new EP, Chapters, released Jan. 5. They will be opening for mopey pop-punk heroes Alkaline Trio and Cursive. The Dear & Departed will unleash material from the freshly mi ... More >>

Last Last Night: Modest Mouse at the Grove

​Last Saturday, really: Modest Mouse and The Night Marchers at the Grove of Anaheim, Aug. 29, 2009.Better than: Getting into a thumb war during a night at the opera. Read on...I don't remember a whole lot from the last time I saw Modest Mouse, which was in 2004 at Soma in San Diego, but I do remem ... More >>

Built to Spill Playing at the Galaxy Theatre!

Built to Spill are playing the Galaxy Theatre on August 25--yes, Built to Spill, the Boise-based icons of '90s and '00s indie rock. Pretty nifty.This is at least a mild surprise, given the types of shows that usually come to the Galaxy: pop/hip-hop/dance (LMFAO and Shwayze both their earlier this mo ... More >>

Saturday Night: Dinosaur Jr., Earthless at Detroit Bar

Andrew YoussefSatuday Night: Dinosaur Jr., Earthless at the Detroit Bar, Costa Mesa; June 20, 2009.Better than: Going to Guitar Center in search of the perfect fuzz pedal.Download: Stream the whole new album on their MySpace.Speak softly and have six Marshall amplifier cabinets behind you. My hearin ... More >>

Live from Coachella: Blitzen Trapper, Other Stuffs

Watching Blitzen Trapper RIGHT NOW in the Gobi tent. Rootsy rocky. Y'know. Pleasant enough. "Kinda boring," said OC Weekly''s Nate Jackson. "Not bad if I was seeing them at the Gypsy Den." Or maybe he said Gypsy Lounge? Who could say. Saturday has gotten knocked for not being up to par, but it's mor ... More >>

[Coachella 2009] Everything New Is Old Again--and Vice Versa

Incoming: Silversun Pickups at the Glass House

The Glass House's pre-Coachella week--already boasting Jenny Lewis, TV on the Radio, Conor Oberst and The Black Keys--has added another Coachella artist playing a pre-festival gig, LA's Silversun Pickups on Sunday, April 12. Tickets are $12.50 and go on sale this Friday, March 13 for $22.50. Silvers ... More >>

Last Night: Cut Copy, Matt & Kim at the Glass House

Promo picCut CopyLast Night: Matt & Kim, Cut Copy at the Glass House in Pomona. Monday, March 9, 2009. Better Than: The 1980s. The word "shtick" might have been invented to describe Matt & Kim, the Brooklyn power-pop married-couple bangers that opened last night's show. It's curt, brash-soun ... More >>

Crystal Antlers Debut Full-Length Now Available on iTunes!

Based on the strength of their six-song EP (entitled, uh, EP), Long Beach's Crystal Antlers were signed to Chicago's Touch and Go, the same label that helped bring the world the Yeah Yeah Yeahs and TV on the Radio. So given that, you can imagine how hotly anticipated (so hot!) their first full-lengt ... More >>

Last Night: Ra Ra Riot, Cut Off Your Hands at Detroit

PR photoNick offers a hand to cut off.Last Night: Ra Ra Riot, Cut Off Your Hands at Detroit Bar in Costa Mesa. Tuesday, March 3, 2009. Check out pictures from Andrew Youssef here.Better Than: Listening to either of these bands' recorded output.Download: "It Doesn't Matter" by Cut Off Your Hands and ... More >>

Daily Coachella Update: Still No Lineup, but There is a Fake One

It's getting to the point where the idea of the Coachella lineup is actually more appealing than whatever the eventual Coachella lineup will be, even if the actual lineup is really impressive. It's like Spock said, "having is not such a pleasing thing as wanting."So yeah, still no official Coachella ... More >>

Cold War Kids, Matt Costa to Tour with Death Cab for Cutie

Death Cab for Cutie--led by the newly slimmed down (and engaged to Zooey Deschanel) Ben Gibbard--are going back on tour this spring in support of last year's Narrow Stairs, and they're getting help from two acts from 'round here; Long Beach-based Cold War Kids and Huntington Beach singer/songwriter ... More >>

Great Job

Tim and Eric Awesome Show

Rumored/Confirmed Coachella Artists Start to Trickle In

LAist has about 20 artists they say are "confirmed" for Coachella (coming up soon! April 17-19!), and many more that are "rumored"--and given that just about every act of note is "rumored" for Coachella at this point in the year, a classification that's about as meaningful as last night's Golden Glo ... More >>

Last Night: Bloc Party, The Blood Arm at the Grove of Anaheim

Last Night: Bloc Party at the Grove of Anaheim, Dec. 15th, 2008.Better Than: Sulking at home while it rains.Download: The "Mercury" video from Bloc Party's Web site.Rain didn't scare away the throngs of kids who soaked up a mesmerizing performance Monday night by noted Britain indie rockers Bloc Par ... More >>

High Beams

Dear and the Headlights

San Diego Street Scene lineup announced

The two-day lineup for this year's San Diego Street Scene was just announced today, and it doesn't look half bad, in this humble ex-music editor's opinion. Headliners include Beck, the Black Crowes, X, Tegan and Sara, Justice, plus Spoon, TV on the Radio, STS9 (Sound Tribe Sector 9), Michael Franti ... More >>

Last Night: The Cure @ Shrine Auditorium

Last Night: The Cure at the Shrine Auditorium June 1st, 2008 Better Than: Trying to find parking at the Hollywood Bowl. Download: "The End Of The World" from The Cure Homepage. After selling out the Hollywood Bowl, The Cure added another stop to their itinerary as they played the Shrine Auditori ... More >>

Last Night: Crystal Castles at the Detroit Bar on 4/11

Better Than: Dissecting your old Colecovision trying to recreate the sounds of Crystal Castles. Download: "Alice Practice" from their self-titled album Video games were certainly the underlying theme of the night, as Crystal Castles and Sparrow Love Crew laser blasted the roof off of Costa Mesa's ... More >>

Guitar Solos?

Built to Spill

O Canada

Tokyo Police Club

Coachella lineup announced

Via Coachella.com: FRIDAY, APRIL 25: Jack Johnson, The Verve, Raconteurs, The Breeders, Fatboy Slim, Tegan and Sara, Madness, The Swell Season, The National, Animal Collective, Slightly Stoopid, Mum, Sharon Jones & the Dap Kings, Stars, Battles, Aesop Rock, Midnight Juggernauts, Does it Offend yo ... More >>

The Worst Things in Music This Year

Freelancer Ben Westhoff (you may recognize the name from "The Efron Scandal") posted this provocative list on our sister paper Pitch Weekly's blog. We reprint it here because this is a time of giving (said the atheist). By BEN WESTHOFF 1. Worst Album: Arcade Fire, Neon Bible This cerebral garbag ... More >>