Earlimart – “97 Heart Attack”
 
Earlimart is back! You may remember the Elephant 6 associated band’s 2000s releases like Everyone Down Here and Treble & Tremble. Well the L.A. band based around singer/guitarist Aaron Espinoza and keyboardist/singer/bassist Ariana Murray is back with a lovely, somber new track called “97 Heart Attack” and an accompanying album called System Preferences, which is due on physical CD and LP Oct. 16 from the band’s label, The Ship. So glad to have them back, although they never really went away — after releasing their last album, 2008’s Hymn and Her, they collaborated with Grandaddy members for the 2010 release of Admiral Radley’s I Heart California, followed by headlining tours and a support slot on Band of Horses’ tour. The band had kept busy composing soundtrack work and producing other artists, but now they’re back in full force and will appear with Grandaddy (Who are back too? Hell yes!) at the Henry Fonda Theater Aug. 13. So into all these L.A. indie pop bands getting back into the fold. 
 

 
The Fresh & Onlys – “Presense of Mind”
 
Here’s another new track (after the previously unveiled “Yes or No”) from The Fresh & Onlys upcoming Long Slow Dance, due Sept. 4 on Mexican Summer. I liked their last album, Play It Strange, but from the sound of these two songs, this is a huge step forward for the band, with a newfound confidence in its vocals and songwriting.
 

Today I woke up with the song “Raindrops + Sunshowers” by The Smashing Pumpkins in my head for no particular reason. I was grateful — despite the dubious quality of that syrupy, electro-shoegaze song, the tunes that usually populate my head first thing in the morning aren’t usually the kinds of things you actually want to hear upon waking. Nu Shooz's “I Can’t Wait” is great and all, but waking up humming it, as I often do, is like being slowly slapped awake. But I digress. Why the hell I was humming a not-great song from my favorite band’s worst album, who knows. But I relistened to Machina later in the day, trying to avoid fast-forwarding to the good bits and listening to the regrettable parts, just as I had with the recently released (and recently troubled) Oceania, and realized part of the fun of a band like The Smashing Pumpkins is the digging. Make no mistake, digging is not necessary on Siamese Dream (or Adore or the recently reissued Pisces Iscariot, in my book), but even on their other great albums, Mellon Collie, Gish and Machina II, yeah, there are parts you want to skip past. I’d say that’s true of most bands. But what sets the band apart is not only how frustratingly uneven they can be, as I’ve had to admit over the years, but how much you still care about that band anyway.

On Sunday, August 26 Amoeba will be on hand at Susan Feniger’s STREET, spinning global beats from 5-10 p.m., for the renowned restaurant’s Street Food Cookbook Celebration and Feast event. Feniger will be signing copies of her book Susan Feniger’s Street Food and highlighting recipes from her book, which was inspired by her travels and eating street foods in various countries. In addition to ethnic cocktails and agua frescas, Silverback Coffee of Rwanda CEO Jack Karuletwa will be pouring his coffee, and you’ll leave with samples of street treats and coffee for the next morning.

The event is $50 per person and $70 if you buy a signed book. Call Street to make your reservation at (323) 203-0500.

Susan Feniger’s STREET is located at 742 N. Highland Ave. The restaurant boasts such dishes as chicken and waffle croquettes, Korean BBQ short ribs and spicy black bean veggie burgers. LA Weekly’s award-winning food critic Jonathan Gold calls it “a virtual museum of street food, snacks and savories from every part of Asia.”
 

 




Watch the trailer below to hear what’s in store from Feniger herself.

Lianne La Havas – Is Your Love Big Enough?
 
Liane La Havas’ debut is the kind of globally appealing pop record that comes along so rarely. The title track has the funky bounce of a Meshell Ndegeocello track with a big pop vocal that could land it on radio stations across the dial, while the catchy “Forget,” with its alternately belted and cool chorus, suggests a rockier Kelis. It’s La Havas’ ballads, though, where she often shines brightest. On “Lost & Found,” her lyrics are so bleak that it’s almost shocking (“You broke me and taught me to truly hate myself,” begins the chorus), given how sprightly she sounds elsewhere. Shades of classic soul (“Au Cinema”), bossa nova (“No Room For Doubt”) and jazz (“Age”) color other tracks, while somehow it avoids becoming a mishmash of unmatched ideas — everything sounds ideally effortless and true to La Havas’ identity. It’s a dynamic and addictively listenable debut that poises the 22-year-old as one of 2012’s breakout stars and one who could deliver quality records for years to come.
 
Antony and the Johnsons – Cut the World
 
Antony Hegarty’s latest release consists of live performances of his work with The Danish National Chamber Orchestra. As a collection it is a consummate summation of the incredible work put forth by Hegarty and his collaborators over the course of four albums, as well as some of the messages threaded throughout Hegarty’s music. The title track, which begins the album, is a stunning piece created for The Life and Death of Marina Abramovic, a theatrical representation of the life of the renowned performance artist. Hegarty then launches into a speech labeled “Future Feminism” which puts forth ideas Hegarty has represented in his music — of ecology, queer identity and feminism, exploring the idea of matriarchal forms of government being the hope for a humanity, even with the rise of Sarah Palin, as it ties to the moon, menstrual cycles and religion. It’s a fascinating, sprawling discourse that provides a setting for highlights from Hegarty’s catalog, including “Cripple and the Starfish,” “Another World” and “I Fell in Love With a Boy,” the long pause of which grows more chilling given the song’s more lush presentation. It’s by no means a greatest hits selection — no “Hope There’s Someone” or “Aeon,” for instance — but it’s a great reinterpretation of material that actually calls for such orchestration. Antony’s quivering voice soars over ballooning strings, and we’re reminded of the healing power possessed by these songs of loss and hope.
 
Niki & the Dove – Instinct
 
Niki and the Dove create a sort of fantasy pop on Instinct. It sounds beamed in from an alternate futuristic universe of space tribes and robotic unicorns. In a more corporeal sense, the electronic pop duo drum out tribal beats electronically and unleash claustrophobic chants on “The Gentle Roar,” one of their strongest tracks. Vocalist Malin Dahlström sounds lost in the forest of metallically lush sounds created by keyboardist Gustaf Karlöf on “Mother Protect.” She comes on like one of Prince’s many protoges on the slow funk of “Last Night,” singing intoxicatingly, “last night we got married in a back seat.” Niki and the Dove share some qualities with their Swedish brethren — the warped, chirpy vocals of The Knife/Fever Ray; the space-age disco of Robyn; the alternately dark and naïve introspection of Lykke Li; and yes, the operatic drama of Welsh band Florence & the Machine. However, lyrically and vocally, Dahlström harkens back to Kate Bush and Stevie Nicks in a truer sense than some of her contemporaries — when she’s left spinning through a digital wilderness among the lovely surroundings of “Tomorrow,” you feel like you’re out there with her.
 
Elle Varner – Perfectly Imperfect
 
Glossy yet classy pop R&B with some surprises — take the fiddle (!) running throughout “Refill.” That song and its refrain (“Can I get a refill of your time?”) are a lot of fun, while other tracks leave a more lasting impression, like the incredibly soulful “Sound Proof Room,” in which Verner’s vocals sound like they could burst through any sound proof that would hold her.
 

Amoeba will be representing at Tuesday’s Hollywood Bowl show, where explosive Los Angeles Philharmonic music director Gustavo Dudamel will be conducting the LA Philharmonic and renowned cellist Yo-Yo Ma in a performance of Schumann’s “Cello Concerto” and Tchaikovsky’s “Symphony No. 4.” Amoeba is proud to sponsor the show and will be present at a table near the Bowl entrance, offering coupons, totes, buttons, free samplers, T-shirts and more, including a chance to win a $100 Amoeba shopping spree. Stop by and say hi!




















If you need to brush up on your classical, check out Amoeba’s wealthy classical section.