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 ›

In the sea of could-be’s, would-have’s, and maybe’s that is Los Angeles, it seems an impossible feat for any young upstarts to crawl out of the catacombs of the over-saturated music scene here in LA. Local Natives have climbed to the upper tiers of indie-dom and done just that; they are a rare example of what it means to truly succeed in this town. With this newfound success, they relish it and take no chances. more ›

Tonight Silver Lake's own indie rock sensation Local Natives (LAist Interview, Review, #2) will be concluding a two-night stint at the Music Box at the Henry Fonda Theater. Local rock trio Autolux (LAist Review, #2) are poised to headline the El Rey Theatre with none other than Gold Panda in celebration of their long-awaited sophomore studio-album, 2010's Transit Transit. And, lastly, LA-based Cambodian rock outfit Dengue Fever will be headlining an impressive bill of local acts at Ports O' Call Village for the 14th annual Lobster Festival in Long Beach. But we strongly suggest doing whatever it takes to get into the Hollywood Bowl to catch Grammy Award-winning Parisian indie rockers Phoenix. LAist favorites, Brooklyn-based indie rock act Grizzly Bear and San Franciscan lo-fi rock outfit Girls are slated to perform as well. more ›

First of all, it’s more madness this time around than I remembered. Maybe it’s because I’m getting older and lamer and my half-Irish liver can’t quite swing St. Patrick’s Day with as much gusto as it once did. Or maybe it’s because Molly and I, in an effort to bring recommendations, recap, and (SXSW) reality to those of you who couldn’t make it this year are trying to see as many bands as humanly possible each 24 hour period. more ›

Day two began right with pizza for breakfast at Homeslice Pizza and rock 'n' roll from North Carolina. Outside on the gravel patio they had set up a small stage where families were able to groove to The Love Language's set while enjoying their gooey cheese and sauce. Despite the rickety sound system, The Love Language sounded sharp. They've had a very good year. After self-releasing their critically acclaimed self titled album, The Love Language signed to Merge Records and have begun work recording their new album. We were curious to see if the new material they have been working on was worthy of their first album and are happy to report that...yes, yes it is. more ›

"I was pretty much just writing songs because they had to come out," Stuart McLamb tells me over the phone as he and his band the Love Language desperately try to navigate the back roads of North Carolina somewhere in the vicinity of Raleigh. "A song doesn't really exist until you record it, and I had all of these songs in my head that I had to put out there. Fuck, we've seen that sign before! " A few years ago, Stuart McLamb recorded the Love Language's self titled debut album in his parents' basement. Reeling from a breakup and carrying around a head bursting with songs he sat down, wrote, played, and recorded the entire disk on a $300 recording device. The result was a brilliant body of work with a gritty, lo-fi sound, which has been winning him fans all over the country. more ›