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Choose
The Deli LA's Next Artist of The Month |
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June
2008 |
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The
Henry Clay People
"Working Part Time"
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The Henry
Clay People's latest EP, Working Part
Time, captures the restless energy
and desire not to conform or grow
old that define being in your twenties.
Each song begins with a hard hitting
drum groove and explodes with choruses
that sound like a bunch of roommates
gathering on Friday night to sing
and drink away the work week. "Working
Part Time" is an anthem for minimum
wage survival partly because employment
is hard to find (I was broke but still
alive) and partly because being in
a band and trying to hold down a job
can feel like caging an animal (We
got drunk but called in sick whenever
we felt like it). "Andy Sings" continues
the theme of reclaiming your youth
when on the verge of adulthood (We
were old enough to know better but
we were young enough to not care)
with a sweet bridge that showcases
the vocal range of the band's three
singers. Equal parts The Replacements
and The Clash, Working Part Time is
exactly what you want to hear driving
home at 5pm as you're ripping off
your tie or at any other liberating
moment during the work week. Jaime
Pannone - website
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May
2008 |
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Submarines
"Honeysuckle Weeks"
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Ah, Submarines!
These menacing, dark and sneaky war
machines have picked up a psychedelic,
colorful, innocuous meaning thanks
to one the most hideous Beatles songs
- hey, HUGE fab four fan here! "We
all live in a Yellow Submarine..."
-blah! LA's own Submarines obviously
exploit this pop association, offering
us a light, vaguely psychedelic indie
rock, with plenty of wavy melodies
and inventive, sometimes quirky arrangements.
Even the cover of their new EP "Honeysuckle
Weeks" is slightly reminiscent
of the Liverpool band's colorful underwater
cartoon. Blake Hazard's mellow and
somehow innocent sounding vocals will
surely find fans among those always
on the lookout for a new interesting
next door kinda girl. This is perfect
indie pop for that summer vacation
we desperately need. - PDG - website
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April
2008 |
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Codpiece
"Epic Code"
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When embodying
a free-spirited music, a band’s
reputation oftentimes pays the price
in coming off as oblivious, ambitious,
or flat-out pretentious. Long Beach's
Codpiece buries these creative myths
by producing a clusterfuck of confusing
noises on their highly entertaining
(and in no way arrogant) EP, Epic
Code. Conflict is seldom this fun.
Codpiece have a gift in not giving
two shits about your presumptions
-- and one gets that impression from
the dismissive attitudes in the punk
influenced "They'll Dine on Your
Remains" as well as the defeat-laden
"I Know." It's a mess of
rock noises that range from comfort
organs and bells to terrifying tribal
toms. Epic Code's success is in leaving
their 20-minute tale open-ended with
more unanswered questions than a season
finale of Lost.
The Epic Code EP is loud and unfiltered.
It teases you with bottomless potential
of this local rock trio. You can pick
it up at Long Beach’s famed
indie store, Fingerprints, and bask
in the missing closure. - Hugo
Gomez - website
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March
2008 |
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Seawolf
"Leaves
in the River"
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Sea Wolf’s
fall release from Dangerbird Records,
Leaves in the River, is an attractive
example of how Indie rock and poetry
can meld.
“…to want to live and
move…If it were not for this,
life would be dead.” –
Jack London
Alex Church, who began this concept
three years ago, brings together his
own experienced musicianship with
an ever-evolving group of others.
Though, technically, he is the only
‘permanent’ member, Alex
seems to have no interest in calling
himself a singer-songwriter, though
he is his talents lie in both. A group
dynamic allows for each musician to
bring different skills and sounds
to the table of talent that is Sea
Wolf.
Sea Wolf has an extensive tour lined
up, and it would be a good idea to
get on it. Friday night Sea Wolf will
be at the Glass House in Pomona at
8pm, then on to San Francisco at the
Fillmore on Saturday. If you can’t
make it up there, on the 25th Sea
Wolf will be in Sacramento at Harlows.
Have a lick from the Sea Wolf lolly:
- Mean Dean - website
- buy
it now
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February
2008 |
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Satisfaction
"Cougars, Sharks and Flying
Sparks"
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Bouncing
rhythms, elegant harmonies, and chiming
piano abound in the latest release
from the Orange County quartet. Their
latest EP contains melodies reminiscent
of ‘90s alternative groups –
think Semisonic – combined with
Abbey Road-inspired piano lines and
guitar solos with a vintage crunch.
The vocal melodies are catchy –
almost too catchy. You might find
yourself humming them while you’re
cooking dinner in the kitchen or doing
laundry. They aren’t mind-blowingly
complex – singer Michael Rosas
isn’t trying to be El Debarge
here. But he hits notes with the right
strength and pitch, perfectly complimenting
the melodies, and often creating eerie
harmonies with his guitar.
Song content is typically pop, revolving
around love, relationships, and mistakes.
“Don’t Do This to Me”
waxes on the futility of breaking
into the music business with a melancholy
ballad, seemingly derived from one
too many lecherous nights in Hollywood.
Satisfaction
will appeal to your teenage sensibilities.
You wouldn’t be surprised to
hear “Walk Away Sunny Day”
during one of your guilty-pleasure
shows like Laguna Beach or The Hills.
But Satisfaction manages to create
compelling pop. Cougars, Sharks and
Flying Sparks doesn’t depart
far from their last EP in overall
style, but this time around, they’ve
got their sound dialed.
- Bryce Pinkos -
website
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