GENA Debut The Pleasure Is Yours Review: Liv.e and Karriem Riggins Craft a Neo-Soul Masterclass
LOS ANGELES, CA- GENA (the newly formed duo of Liv.e and Karriem Riggins) have officially arrived with their debut album The Pleasure Is Yours, out now via Lex Records. And for those of us who’ve been following Riggins’ work for years, this collaboration feels less…
Instant Crush Ignite with “Grudge” on Deluxe Edition of I’m Sorry I Didn’t Bite My Tongue
LOS ANGELES, CA- Seattle has always had a way of sharpening its edges in public. From the city’s grunge mythology to its modern indie underground, there is something about artists from the Pacific Northwest that feels wired for intensity. Enter Instant Crush, a Seattle-based…
Valley Boy Announces Debut Album Children of Divorce and Releases “Diana Gets an Email”
LOS ANGELES, CA- There is something disarming about the way Valley Boy sings. The first time I heard his voice, I was hooked. There is a soulful glow to his tone that feels lived in rather than manufactured. It is not engineered for algorithmic…
Inside The Swamp: Inner Wave, Sobriety, and the Long Road Home
LOS ANGELES, CA- On a weekday evening, I found myself driving through a quiet residential pocket of Inglewood. Wide streets. Parked cars. The calm familiarity of a neighborhood settling in for the night. The address I had been given didn’t lead to a commercial…
Dexter and the Moonrocks and Girl Tones Light Up The Troubadour in Sold-Out Los Angeles Show
LOS ANGELES, CA- The Troubadour holds a special place in my heart for the same reason it holds a special place in Los Angeles; it acts as a time capsule as much as it acts as a concert venue. Those walls have been listening for…
City of the Sun Bring Swagger and Transcendence to the Lodge Room
LOS ANGELES, CA- City of the Sun brings insane levels of swagger to instrumental guitar. Typically, instrumental music isn’t really a genre with much traction outside of elitist performance venues. I’m thinking about quasi-recitals at the Walt Disney Concert Hall, where half the people…
Grace Ives Returns With Electrifying New Single “Stupid Bitches” Ahead of Girlfriend
LOS ANGELES, CA- There are certain artists whose names hover in your peripheral vision for a while before you finally lock in. I had heard the name Grace Ives before, but it wasn’t until I pressed play on her new single “Stupid Bitches” that…
Jonah Kagen’s “Talkin’ About Jesus” Turns a First Date Into Folk-Rock Heartbreak
LOS ANGELES, CA- Apparently, I have been slow on the roll when it comes to picking up on Jonah Kagen. While he’s currently out on a largely sold-out headline run and celebrating a Gold certification for “God Needs The Devil,” I am just now…
Just Jayne Deliver Breezy Country Sass on New Single “Death & Taxes”
LOS ANGELES, CA- There is something undeniably charming about a country song that knows exactly what it is and does not try to oversell itself. With “Death & Taxes,” Nashville trio Just Jayne lean into that sweet spot between sass and sincerity, delivering a…
Leigh-Anne Finds Her Voice on “Goodbye Goodmorning” and Debut Album My Ego Told Me To
LOS ANGELES, CA- When the press release for “Goodbye Goodmorning” landed in my inbox and I hit play, I was not expecting to be pulled in that quickly. But from the opening bars, Leigh-Anne had me. There is something immediately arresting about the sonics….
