Los Angeles – Along with his two backing mates, Villagers head-honcho Conor O’Brien brought his lyrically thoughtful and instrumentally lush folk rock to the friendly confines of Los Angeles’ The Echo. The band recently released its third full-length record, Darling Arithmetic, this April on Domino Records. While United States audiences are just now beginning to
New York – Montreal band Heat played the first of two New York City headlining shows at hip East Village hotspot Elvis Guesthouse. The quartet, comprised of Susil Sharma, Matthew Fiorentino, Raphael Bussieres and Alex Crow, are touring in support of their recently re-released EP Rooms (out on Kitsune and reviewed here by BestNewBands), and their
New York – Jack + Eliza, comprised of childhood friends Jack Staffen and Eliza Callahan played a homecoming show at Mercury Lounge. The band had just returned from a short UK tour that saw them play Dot to Dot festival, showcasing a variety of up and coming acts, across the three UK cities of Nottingham, Bristol
Chicago – The end of winter marks one of our favorite things: festival season! In your best Oprah voice, let me hear you say, “Bonnaroo!” Okay, now that you’ve gotten that of your system, Best New Bands is here to help weed through the line-up for some of the bands you might not be hip
Los Angeles – For the past few weeks, The Moth & The Flame have graced The Echo’s stage during their co-residency alongside Freedom Fry. The Los Angeles-by-way-of-Provo, UT band is gaining attention for their catchy and well-produced brand of alternative-pop. Plenty of Los Angeles locals made their way to the venue to take advantage of
Portland – Glass Animals appeared on stage Tuesday night at Crystal Ballroom bathed in purple smoke and encouraged by a young and eager crowd. The band is known for their bouncy, danceable electronic music, gaining attention ever since their 2012 debut EP, Leaflings. Now a household name, Glass Animals was as excited to be back
Portland – “You all seem like nice people” was wunderkind Alex G’s reaction to a crowded Mississippi Studios, where he proved that his uncanny knack for songwriting has spanned far beyond the basements of Philadelphia house shows. No longer a solo act, SANDY Alex G is the songwriter’s new live experience that has brought his
San Francisco – Imagine this scene: exploding cymbals and a thumping kick, the drummer mashing out a thudding half-time beat, chunky guitar chords clanging alongside towering synth lines and bandleader Emily Whitehurst looking like a Roman empress in her ivory dress belting out the words to “One to One” while spraying the dense crowd with
Austin – North London’s Wolf Alice supposedly has roots as a folk band, but you would never guess it hearing their Holy Mountain set in Austin last Friday. The setlist was front loaded with the group’s loudest indie/hard rock hybrids, songs like “Fluffy” and “She”, carefully engineered with lengthy instrumental breaks for relieving head-thrashing urges.
Los Angeles – It was pretty fitting that just before the four members of Speedy Ortiz took the stage at Los Angeles’ The Echo, Pusha-T’s boastful trap-hop single “Numbers on the Boards” pulsed through the venue’s PA. Sadie Dupuis and company’s latest release for Carpark Records, Foil Deer, has been universally praised for its powerful