Serving up a sexy but undeniably fierce mix of pop smarts and garage rock power, the Ettes are vocalist/guitarist Lindsay "Coco" Hames, drummer Maria "Poni" Silver, and bassist Jeremy "Jem" Cohen, a trio of New Yorkers who became Los Angelenos. The band formed in 2004 and soon won a following for its mix of Nancy Sinatra style, Patsy Cline twang, and Stonesy rock. Radio airplay and live shows contributed to the Ettes' buzz, which eventually led to the group signing with Sympathy for the Record Industry. Along with the Dead and Gone single and From the Songbook of Greg Cartwright, a split with the likeminded Fondas, the label released the Ettes' first full-length, Shake the Dust, which the band recorded with London garage rock producer extraordinaire Liam Watson. For the follow-up, the band headed back to London to record with Watson again. The resulting album, Look at Life Again Soon, was issued by Take Root in September of 2008.

Indie-pop group Psychic Friend, with Will Schwartz on keys and vocals and Tripp Beam on drums, will perform at The Satellite in Los Angeles with The Ettes on July 28th.

Schwartz, who is best known for his work with Imperial Teen and indie dance pop combo Hey Willpower unveiled Psychic Friend at San Francisco’s Noisepop Fest in San Francisco. He’s been winning fans over ever since with his winsome brand of “new California pop” (SF Weekly), and charming audiences at venues like the Silverlake Lounge, Three Clubs and Largo, where he’s shared a few bills with Sarah Silverman.

When pressed to describe Psychic Friend’s sound, Schwartz offers the following: “big, orchestrated pop songs about [my] transitory life, depression, love, food service and trying to function without a Twitter account. Kind of like the Brill Building re-imagined, or Carole King via Serge Gainsbourg.”

In its coverage of Noisepop, the SF Bay Guardian noted Psychic Friend’s musical “kinship to Carole King’s solo work, or Burt Bacharach and some of his hits for psychic and other friends,” but observed that “both the sound and the lyrical content is very contemporary, not retro.”

The group’s first single “Once a Servant” inspired raves from the likes of Fluxblog, who called it “angelic and lovely,” and Indies and the Underground, who proclaimed it “catchy as the common cold.”

Sometimes all it takes is one great pop hook to reel in some attention, and Echo Park-based the Dead Ships have certainly perked our ears up. Their self-titled EP offers no-nonsense garage rock featuring pop choruses that soar and stick long after listening. For a fairly new duo, Devlin McCluskey and Christopher Spindelilus have refreshingly accomplished a sound that has the accessibility of Best Coast and minimalistic flair of the Black Keys. However, McCluskey's' Eddie Vedder-esque vocals go nowhere near abuse with his usage of "Ooohs," and his cheeky guitar lines are perfectly propelled by Spindelilus' clean drumming, giving the pop just enough grit for a balanced lo-fi rock song.
-Buzzbands