Silversun Pickups (music group)

They know how to get attention At times on "Myths of the Near Future," the debut album by the London quartet Klaxons, the synths' wail is so siren-like you sense there may be an emergency. And there is, kind of. Their imperative seems to be to have fun...

Some bold moves from the Shys First, you should know a couple of things about the Shys: The quartet turned some heads in L.A. as the Gun Shys but dropped the "Gun" because an artist had already laid claim to the moniker Gun Shy. Then there is the...

Hello Fever is running high The post-punk trio Hello Fever lurches along like dozens of bands in the L.A. underground, juggling musical vision with day jobs and personal lives and finding support at almost-secret venues such as the Smell or Il Corral and...

Go ahead: Try to label them It's hard enough for a band to get gigs around Los Angeles, but when you don't live here — and you bring a little something different to the table — it's darned near impossible. So Adam Pasion and his banjo-,...

Sean Carlson was surprised last year when the residents of Silver Lake and Echo Park made him take down the fliers for the rock festival he curates. But given the festival's shouldn't-be-said-in-polite-company name — we'll just call it "F-Yeah" &#...

Shaking the body and brain In a musical world where nothing anymore is black and white, the Gray Kid is a brighter shade. The 26-year-old, born Steve Cooper, cross-pollinates hip-hop with indie rock, pop with R&B, irony with candor and humor with...

Welcoming a dark and ominous sound Los Angeles' psychedelic music scene bursts with more hues than a store full of lava lamps, and sometimes the fare seems just as commercially precarious. Black Rebel Motorcycle Club started as a shoegazer outfit...

It's her life, in his words Like Amanda Palmer of the Dresden Dolls, Liz McGrath is more of a performer than she is a singer. Her woozy, weary rasp is perfectly imperfect for Miss Derringer's cabaret- and country-tinged ditties as she narrates the band's...

Testifying to the ongoing Invasion, the kingdom's sounds enliven clubs and Angelenos find a cultural kinship. In a town where you can practically dance to the beat of the boom-bust cycle, and six months is a good run for a club night, one part of the...

TÊTE-à-TÊTE: JASON SCHWARTZMAN Jason Schwartzman started young. At 14, he was a cofounder and drummer with the L.A. rock band Phantom Planet. At 17, he jumped into acting with an impressive debut in Wes Anderson's 1998 art-house favorite Rushmore. He...

Local acts make good ... sounds The past year brought a robust crop of Buzz Bands, and with it a bountiful harvest of releases from Southland bands. Here are this column's Top 10 favorites, along with a bunch more worthy efforts: The Top 10 1....