JEFF the Brotherhood’s third album, Hypnotic Nights, is out now on Warner Bros. Records, and despite the major label switch they still sound like JEFF the Brotherhood. The brothers Jake and Jamin have traveled more and grown up a bit, which is reflected on this new record, but they also still made some pretty good songs to have a rager in the woo...

I saw White Arrows perform live for the first time as the opening act for UMO at the Echoplex about a month ago and instantly fell in love with this new band. Led by visionary Mickey Church, the L.A.-based quintet wooed me with their creative songwriting and energetic performance. After a successful jaunt at SXSW, the boys came home to play thei...

Punk rock has always been about two things: simplicity and keeping it real. When the first bands busted out of New York City in the late ‘70s and Southern California in the early ‘80s, they made sure regardless of their future stature, to never lose sight of what punk music is about. The latest of these bands, FIDLAR, has taken Los Angeles by sto...

The Background: Ah, White Denim. I remember the very day when my love affair with their distinctly deft sounds began.  ‘Twas a chilly October night last year.  I was at the El Rey, seeing Portugal. The Man for the first time (read about my second time seeing them in Anaheim here!).  Unsuspectingly, I stood in waiting, only to be blindsided by th...

Sometimes a name can be an accurate way to describe a band. But with White Denim, it is not. Something as simple as, well, white denim, doesn’t do the band’s eclectic combination of garage rock, dub soul, alt-rock, country and blues justice. Since its beginnings in 2006, the Austin-based outfit has been dazzling crowds with its brand of music. On...