MATT POPIELUCH ON FOREIGN BORN

Indeed, the parabolic guitars, harmonic horns and benga beats of Person to Person are neither dilettantish nor an attempt to carpetbag the indie trend du jour. Pesacov’s father moved to Los Angeles from Barbados in the 1970s with the hope of being a reggae producer, and exposed his son to everything from Fela Kuti to Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan. In fact, the latter’s post–Dead Man Walking performance at the Universal Amphitheatre helped to galvanize a teenage Pesacov’s love of music.

Of course, Foreign Born haven’t been without their champions, most notably Grizzly Bear’s Ed Droste, who has been a fan since the band’s first EP. Recently, the acclaimed Brooklyn songwriter blogged that Foreign Born are a “great band,” hailing Person to Person’s “crisper sounds [and Popieluch’s] wonderful voice . I’ve listened to it 20 times and it hasn’t grown old yet.” (Droste, it should be said, is known to wear the occasional Hawaiian shirt.)

Foreign Born

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More About

• Matt Popieluch
• Lewis Pesacov
• Homer Simpson
• Brooklyn
• World Music

The band also scored a highly visible television appearance on the pilot for Silver Lake succubus Chuck, an experience that Popieluch describes as slightly bizarre, with an overexcited hype man who repeatedly screamed at the crowd, “OK, YOU HAVE TO BE MORE ANIMATED, THESE GUYS ARE YOUR FAVORITE BAND.”

And maybe they should be. Popieluch alone plays in Fool’s Gold, Glasser and, of course, Foreign Born — in addition to managing Frank Fairfield, a sepulchral Southern bluesman trapped in the body of a banjo-playing 26-year-old. That’s four of L.A.’s finest this year.

“I feel it’s all the same thing, all the same cause,” says Popieluch, who also regularly books shows for his friends’ bands. “I really like making things happen, and setting up situations to help build a community. I hate when people bash Los Angeles as being the only place that has bad bands — there is so much talent here.”

And few more talented than Foreign Born. After all, you have to be pretty good to prove Homer Simpson wrong.

Foreign Born perform with Warpaint at the Hammer Museum on Thursday, July 16.