ON Saturday night I was lucky enough to catch these two bands at the Bowl. Both exceeded my expectations.Grizzly Bear, a Brooklyn group with a bearded-hipster following and a knack for Pet Sounds derived vocal harmonies, has long been an enigma to me: I got their debut LP before it came out, and it literally destroyed my wife's car stereo even before we could hear it. But some of my most dedicated … [Read more...]
The Beginning — and the End — of The Clientele
Followers of the UK indie scene have been aware or the chimey, reverb-drenched Clientele for several years now. The band's current tour, which brings them to LA’s Spaceland on Friday and Saturday night, could likely be their last.Here is my LA Times piece on the band, which goes up Friday. I spoke to lead singer/guitarist Al MacLean about his early schooling in classical guitar, his fondness for … [Read more...]
The Delicate Beauty of the Clientele
SOME days my favorite newish british band is the clientele, a group from england's beautiful south who create an eerie, lonely sound rooted in chiming guitars. they are as english as nick drake but also rooted in west coast light psychedelia of the 1960s -- arthur lee and love, the byrds, perhaps the beach boys or mamas and the papas. they have been over-compared to belle & sebastian because of … [Read more...]