If you have a hankie, please reach for it now: The cutest, palest, sweetest, veganest alt-rock couple are donesville: Ben Gibbard and Zooey Deschanel have announced the are breaking up. more ›

Nearly a decade ago, The Walkmen burst onto what was then a nascent indie-rock scene, sporting a wistful, moody and beautiful blend of piano, guitar, drums and bass. Their debut, Everyone Who Pretended to Like Me is Gone, was nearly universally lauded while their four albums since have each proved inventive and a study in creative composition that has the potential for widespread appeal. more ›

Love is hard. So is creating anything original that touches upon a subject Shakespeare, Beethoven and Elliott Smith all emptied their hearts for. But people keep trying to successfully send up life’s most vexing problem, and to varying degrees of success and originality. more ›

Maybe the greatest thing about Grizzly Bear, the thing that everyone should know, is this: They are totally enigmatic and impossible to pin down. Of course, this is what makes them difficult to write about and even more difficult to consider what it is that makes this foursome so appealing. more ›

Brooklyn indie rockers Pela were supposed to play Spaceland back on March 8, but a few days before, frontman Billy McCarthy was injured while playing a gig in Chicago, forcing them to cancel the rest of their tour. more ›

Local LA rockers the Rolling Blackouts will be playing a $5 show this Saturday with Micaela Bastidas and Die Rockers Die at L'KEG Gallery (1170 Glendale Blvd.). You know... over there by Echo Park. more ›

Love Pretzels? Love Indie Rock? Often find yourself torn between these two passions like the protagonist in some kind of terrible 80s R&B song about adultery and not wanting to be right? more ›

The Kooks and The Morning Benders showcase a plateful of indie pop rock goodness at The Echo on February 8, 2008. more ›

Of all the indie bands with some sort of animal in their title, Grizzly Bear might be the top dogs. After all, can Deerhoof, Deerhunter, Caribou, Panda Bear or even Animal Collective claim they are co-headlining a show with the Los Angeles Philharmonic? more ›

It's uncommon that a rapper takes the name he used for over 6 years and transforms it into an indie-rock band, but founder Yoni Wolf is known for breaking the rules and getting great results. Operating within the Anticon collective Why?'s sound is self described as "smart, shimmering, sweetly soured" and front man Yoni's delivery as a "candytime-dissonant, singsong-suicide style". more ›

It's the biggest dance club night in Los Angeles over at The Vanguard and tonight is a special one -- GIANT is having its eighth-anniversary party. Join Steve Aoki, Glycerin and others along it 1500 clubbers. Metromix has the low down. more ›

We once knew Captain Automatic lead man, Josh Kamensky, as the public relations guru for the popular councilman Eric Garcetti and one of the very few at City Hall that was hip to new media. Back in October, Kamensky left the job to pursue other goals, part of that being music. more ›

Vampire Weekend, decked out in polo shirts and loafers, played their blend of indie rock meets afro-pop to a packed house at The Echo last night. The show was sold out and the band did not disappoint despite singer Ezra Koenig’s ailing vocal chords. Armed with enhanced energy and a couple of new songs since the last time they were in LA, Vampire Weekend proved that they are very deserving of the buzz currently surrounding... more ›

It's a dream date for fans of Canadian songstress Feist and Austin's Spoon. Feist is just now making her break on the world stage, with a little help from Uncle Steve. But anyone with an ear to the Toronto indie rock scene could hear her coming ever since her solo debut, Monarch, was released on the heels of By Divine Right's "Bless This Mess" Tour (she was their rhythm guitarist). For most of this... more ›

Fun Fun Fun Fest 2007 Recap from Super!Alright! on Vimeo. more ›

When Low vs. Diamond's lead singer Lucas Field sauntered on the stage and meekly opened the show with "Life After Love," I knew immediately that despite the head bobbing and dancing from a few, LvD’s live act would neither expand upon its sound nor translate to the crowd what exactly they were trying to do. more ›

LA Times staffer and Buzz Bands blogger Kevin Bronson's story "Taking the L.A. indie rock scene personally" hit stands last Thursday. By means of an intimate portrayal, Bronson set forth his pick of indie rock up-and-comers for L.A.'s indie rock scene in 2008. While I completely admire that he would put his neck out there for three rather small, entirely worthy bands (The Airborne Toxic Event, Castledoor, and The Deadly Syndrome) at the forefront of... more ›

Yesterday commenced with an LA bang. I started off at the Indaba music loft again because they have been hosting a plethora of good (free!) shows. There's something comforting about watching bands from someone else's living room. I showed up around mid-day to catch one of my favorite LA bands Division Day. Front man Rohner Segnitz and the boys ran through a pleasant acoustic set. With drummer Kevin Lenhart on shakers, Division Day sounded... more ›

I have an occasional habit of going to get coffee with a friend on weeknights at the 101 Cafe (6145 Franklin Ave, right across from The Hollywood Tower). It's just so darn comfortable. And of course, it's open till around 3am, so it's a perfect Late Night Eats spot. Attached to a mighty fancier than normal, even kind of hip, Best Western hotel, the 101 Cafe has a true retro feel, complete with a... more ›

Nearly two weeks ago, I traveled eastward on an excursion to the Lone Star State. I expected Texas to be a hostile experience filled with unnecessarily aggressive, booze-fueled behemoths. You know the truck driving, cowboy kind. My weekend trip proved it to be quite the opposite. I arrived at LaGrave Field, home of Ft. Worth's AAA baseball team, bright and early for the 3rd annual Wall of Sound Festival. Considering all of our Spector... more ›

Eulogies Eulogies Dangerbird Records Release Date: 09/11/07 Peter Walker did the right thing when he decided to ditch the solo career for his band Eulogies. For some reason or another, his solo career didn't interest me, but Eulogies' self-titled 2007 release has proven otherwise. The new album is a striking and addictive indie rock endeavor, the antithesis of Walker's previous Wilco-compared work. Eulogies is built upon deceivingly poppy premise. The band name, lyrical content,... more ›

With indie rock mainstays Devotchka, Oh No! Oh My!, Foreign Born, Snowden, Illinois, The Black Angels, St. Vincent, and Thee More Shallows, how can one really go wrong? Well, quite simply by not publicizing your festival enough. My experience swerving was a little disconcerting, mainly because of the poor turnout. It's my turn to take a stab at this whole Swerve Festival. Everything seemed perfect on paper (the music, the art, the film, and the... more ›

"Yeah, I do think this one sounds grittier, but the songwriting on both are kind of dark. On the first album, some of the songs are immediately catchy, where some of the people don’t realize it’s dark and on the second one, the music can be a bit darker, immediately." more ›

If you keep walking west down Hollywood Blvd past the nonsense of Hollywood & Highland, past the tourist and super heroes at the Chinese Theater and down the next block, you will find the Knitting Factory, tucked away beneath what was once a movie theater. Boasting three stages and tons of bands every night, the Knitting Factory comes to us via New York and has hosted some shows this year that LAist had a great... more ›

Quote of the week: 'Who are YOU?" said the Caterpillar. This was not an encouraging opening for a conversation. Alice replied, rather shyly, 'I - I hardly know sir, just at present - at least I know who I WAS when I got up this morning, but I think I must have been changed several times since then.' – from Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll Good Benefits The Players Toast Awards at the... more ›

With three full length albums under their belt, and lyrics that often run the emotional gamut of life in Los AngelesRilo Kiley is as much a fixture on the L.A. music scene as anyone. While their newest album, Under the Blacklight, won't debut until August 21, they are getting ready to kick things off at All Star Lanes for a "secret" show in Eagle Rock in a few hours. After, Rilo Kiley will leave the country and return to Los Angeles, playing the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium October 15. Blake Sennett took some time to sit down with LAist more ›

Artist: Dappled Cities Release Date: June 2007 Album: Granddance Label: Dangerbird Records The Aussie band Dappled Cities (formerly Dappled Cities Fly) are often compared to the Flaming Lips and I just don't get it. The Dappled Cities produce measured indie rock that has marching highs and Sigur Ros-like lows but none of the crazy, out-there solos or fantastical weirdness of the Lips. Their release, Granddance, on LA's Dangerbird Records, is 11 tracks of well-crafted... more ›

One of Indie rock's rising stars, Ferraby Lionheart, is out with his new full length eleven song album Catch the Brass Ring and is playing Hotel Cafe tomorrow night. Before we go see this folksy pop singer songwriter, LAist interviewed Ferraby about his name, his love for Judy Garland, and where he hangs out in LA. more ›

LA is home to dozens of classic, independent, badass rock clubs. Many of these clubs helped launch most of your favorite groups. But those bands would have never made it on stage if it wasn't for the booker, the person who actually hires the bands to play the show on the particular date. Wednesday we introduced you to Patrick from Safari Sam's. Today we are very happy to share with you the all caps... more ›

Hot Hot Heat have been added to the Sunset Junction bill. more ›