L.A. native Marlon Rabenreither returned from art school in London a few years ago with a ravenous appetite for music as well as the visual arts. His Sister Ruby Band released the solid if overlooked “In Cold Blood” in 2011, an album that fans of Black Rebel Motorcycle Club would love, but the his musical […]
There’s an unvarnished beauty and riveting intimacy in the songs of Gold Star, the solo project of the Sister Ruby Band’s Marlon Rabenreither. Gold Star debuted last year with a five-song EP of gently spaced-out Americana, and now Rabenreither has completed work on a full-length. It’s titled “Dark Days” (release date TBA), with production from […]
Here are your Tuesday show options: ‣ Flume, the nom de tune of Sydney, Australia’s Harley Streten, brings his electro constructs to the Echoplex, supported by Para One and Dauwd. That’s his video for “Sleepless,” above. ‣ It’s an electro night at the Satellite too, with Ghastly – the nom de tune of David Crow […]
Singer-guitarist Marlon Rabenreither’s work in the Sister Ruby Band is the stuff that outlasts trends, psychedelic Americana that’s rich in texture and songcraft. So it’s no surprise that, stripped-down, Rabenreither’s songs seem more than the sum of their parts. Under the name Gold Star, the former art-schooler is releasing a five-song EP of lightly orchestrated […]
[iframe src=”http://player.vimeo.com/video/47277098″ width=”450″ height=”253″ frameborder=”0″ webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen>[/iframe] Getting the new year off to a good start: ‣ Michael Davis With Lions, whose EP was one of our favorites of 2012, celebrates the release of his full-length, “Real Love,” with a free show at the Echo. Soviet Red and Merry Christmas support. ‣ The Sister […]
Nine SoCal bands are playing Buzz Bands LA’s “Dear Austin: Love, L.A.” day party next Wednesday on the first day of the South by Southwest Music Festival. It seems like 999 SoCal bands are actually headed to Austin. When we started culling music from those artists, our uploader begged for for mercy. So we called […]
Tonight’s touts: ‣ Andrew McMahon brings Jack’s Mannequin to the Viper Room for a sold-out show behind the October release of his third album, “People and Things.” Don’t stay out too late, though (or set your DVR), the band also appears tonight on “The Tonight Show With Jay Leno.” Jack’s Mannequin kicks off a nationwide […]
A shorter schedule as we wind down toward the holiday: ‣ Rachel Goodrich and the Sister Ruby Band team up for a show at the Bootleg. Goodrich’s self-titled album came out early in the year (that’s the video for the non-album track “Wereman,” above), and Johny Ruby this fall released one of our favorite local […]
An abundance of excellent music came my way from the SoCal community in 2011. My favorite 20 albums follow, with some special mentions/recommendations beyond that. It was an especially rich year for folk-rock and singer-songwriter albums, not so much for hard rock. Most of the nouveau electro and experimental releases left me cold. I didn’t […]
2011 was a robust year for music in Los Angeles. Bands broke through, bands broke down; newbies arrived in swarms, some with a bang; and old favorites raised their game, or lost their way. Today, I start a countdown of Buzz Bands LA’s 20 favorite album of the year. [Last year’s list.] First up: Nos. […]
