Congress has cut federal funding for public media — a $3.4 million loss for LAist. We count on readers like you to protect our nonprofit newsroom. Become a monthly member and sustain local journalism.
This is an archival story that predates current editorial management.
This archival content was written, edited, and published prior to LAist's acquisition by its current owner, Southern California Public Radio ("SCPR"). Content, such as language choice and subject matter, in archival articles therefore may not align with SCPR's current editorial standards. To learn more about those standards and why we make this distinction, please click here.
12 Under-The-Radar Artists Worth Seeing At Coachella
Angel Olsen performing (Photo by Bruce via the Creative Commons on Flickr)
()
Coachella is happening this weekend, and sure, everyone who's going is jazzed to see Drake spill his sad-boy rhymes and Tame Impala burn brains with their psych-rock opuses. But now that set times have been announced, it’s time to plan your schedule, and there’s a wide variety of lesser-known artists to expose yourself to between seeing various DJs and headlining acts. Here are 12 of those artists who are worth seeing.
FRIDAY APRIL 10 & 17
Ab-Soul: Though he runs in the same crew as Kendrick Lamar and ScHoolboy Q (both of whom appear on 2014’s excellent These Days… album), Ab-Soul’s remained somewhat underground by comparison. His lyrics range from dreamy, weed-stoked musings to more standard hip-hop fare, but when combined with the expansive production (courtesy of Digi+Phonics, Purity Ring and others), it adds up to a more experimental, psychedelic experience than you might expect.
Allah-Las: These L.A. lads churn out surf-rock nuggets with such seemingly effortless cool that it’s almost easy to overlook how detailed and well-made their songs are. Last year’s Worship the Sun pops with sandblasted riffs and warm, Dylanesque vocals, like some great lost garage-rock record unearthed at a Joshua Tree garage sale. For once at Coachella, desert boots are appropriate.
Support for LAist comes from
The Ghost of a Saber Tooth Tiger: The most elaborately titled artist amid a crowded field of ridiculous band names at Coachella (e.g. Night Terrors of 1927, The Gaslamp Killer Experience), TGOASTT produce warm, kaleidoscopic psych-pop about Xanadu and animals escaping the zoo, making Tame Impala seem down-to-earth by comparison. They can be excused for sounding Beatlesesque—the duo is made up of real-life couple Charlotte Kemp Muhl and Sean Lennon, son of John Lennon.
Eagulls: British band Eagulls play a very loud mixture of post-punk, hardcore and shoegaze at a metal-worthy volume, while George Mitchell’s highwire vocals knife through the mix with precision. It’s fitting they’re playing with fellow Coachella band Ride at the Roxy in L.A. right before the festival. Catch both earsplitting guitar bands if you can.
Jon Hopkins: Electronica producer Jon Hopkins is known for his work with Brian Eno and Coldplay, but his solo compositions offer their own scenic beauty to behold. His airy soundscapes and subtle beatwork should offer a nice breather when you’re coming down out of the EDM tents.
SATURDAY APRIL 11 & 18
Benjamin Booker: Benjamin Booker’s soulful rock ‘n’ roll gallops by so quickly and furiously that he makes the Black Keys and Jack White seem like dad-rock by comparison. Booker’s band tears it up, but his sandpapery, shivering drawl is worth hearing alone.
Parquet Courts: Parquet Courts split the difference between stoner jams (no really, one of their best songs is called “Stoned & Starving”) and collegiate post-punk, taking the template set by CBGB-era bands like Television and Talking Heads and stretching them into intricate, extended tunes set to Andrew Savage’s verbose yelp. They’re best experienced live, when their songs take on a greater form, and, well, stoned.
Support for LAist comes from
Perfume Genius: Mike Hadreas’ queer swagger should offer respite from the cock-rock of bands like AC/DC performing at Coachella. On “Queen,” Hadreas sings, “No family is safe/When I sashay,” over slowly pulsating electro-pop. Hadreas’ voice alone can be quite powerful, too, peeling back the electronics to belt emotionally on tracks like “Fool” and piano ballad “No Good.”
SUNDAY APRIL 12 & 19
Chicano Batman: East L.A. band Chicano Batman plays an infectious Spanish-language psych-funk, throwing cumbia rhythms and occasional English lyrics into the mix for a seamless fusion that oozes ’70s cool without sounding like it’s trying too hard. Show up early and show these hometown heroes some love!
MØ: Danish electro-pop artist MØ has a cooler vowel in her name than Björk, and her music imagines what that artist may have looked like as a millennial, moving lovely, bummed-out ballads of the Lykke Li variety to more complex beatwork and commanding pop vocals. She’s worked with Diplo and has covered the Spice Girls, turning the immortal “Say You’ll Be There” into a haunting stalker jam.
Angel Olsen: Though she’s plenty touted by the likes of Pitchfork, Angel Olsen hasn’t quite risen to the level of success of some of her contemporaries. That should change as more and more people hear her riveting 2014 album, Burn Your Fire For No Witness, and see her live. Olsen’s stunning voice falls somewhere between Emmylou Harris and Cat Power’s Chan Marshall, singing downtrodden breakup odes and biting garage-rock numbers with equal intensity.
John Talabot: Barcelona DJ/producer John Talabot stands out from the house DJ pack with his chilled-out beats and cloudy synthwork. Talabot hits the stage right about when the sun is at its hottest Sunday; his moody beats should cool you down on the inside even if you’re frying on the outside.
Support for LAist comes from
As Editor-in-Chief of our newsroom, I’m extremely proud of the work our top-notch journalists are doing here at LAist. We’re doing more hard-hitting watchdog journalism than ever before — powerful reporting on the economy, elections, climate and the homelessness crisis that is making a difference in your lives. At the same time, it’s never been more difficult to maintain a paywall-free, independent news source that informs, inspires, and engages everyone.
Simply put, we cannot do this essential work without your help. Federal funding for public media has been clawed back by Congress and that means LAist has lost $3.4 million in federal funding over the next two years. So we’re asking for your help. LAist has been there for you and we’re asking you to be here for us.
We rely on donations from readers like you to stay independent, which keeps our nonprofit newsroom strong and accountable to you.
No matter where you stand on the political spectrum, press freedom is at the core of keeping our nation free and fair. And as the landscape of free press changes, LAist will remain a voice you know and trust, but the amount of reader support we receive will help determine how strong of a newsroom we are going forward to cover the important news from our community.
Please take action today to support your trusted source for local news with a donation that makes sense for your budget.
Thank you for your generous support and believing in independent news.
Chip in now to fund your local journalism
(
LAist
)
Trending on LAist
-
With less to prove than LA, the city is becoming a center of impressive culinary creativity. -
Nearly 470 sections of guardrailing were stolen in the last fiscal year in L.A. and Ventura counties.
-
Monarch butterflies are on a path to extinction, but there is a way to support them — and maybe see them in your own yard — by planting milkweed.
-
With California voters facing a decision on redistricting this November, Surf City is poised to join the brewing battle over Congressional voting districts.
-
The drug dealer, the last of five defendants to plead guilty to federal charges linked to the 'Friends' actor’s death, will face a maximum sentence of 65 years in prison.
-
The weather’s been a little different lately, with humidity, isolated rain and wind gusts throughout much of Southern California. What’s causing the late-summer bout of gray?
Best of LAist