fri 5/20
PHOTO BY AYLIN GÜNGÖR DEDEOGLU
The Radio Dept.: See Thursday.
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Kylie Minogue
@HOLLYWOOD BOWL
[See Page Two.]
CunninLynguists, Blue Sky Black Death
@EL REY THEATRE
These Southern independents have long occupied a rare space between the brainy backpack hip-hop of Hieroglyphics and the pop-rap experimentalism of Goodie Mob. The trio's just-released fifth album is named after the study of dreams (Oneirology), which is fitting, considering producer Kno's lush and hazy backing tracks — thick synths, choral vocals, sharp chimes and twinkling keys — as well as the heady rhymes of rappers Natti and Deacon the Villain, a perfect mix of emotional, intellectual and adept. Rising stars Big K.R.I.T. and Freddie Gibbs guest. CunningLynguists are rappers' rappers, and seasoned performers who know how to work a crowd. —Chris Martins
Rammstein
@THE FORUM
It's unlikely the Forum could have booked a more inconvenient act than Rammstein to play the Inglewood arena while Prince takes a breather from his 21-show stand there: These Berlin-based disco-metal freaks tour with a full-scale stage spectacle that features gigantic lights, moving walkways and more pyro than the old Backdraft attraction at Universal Studios. (The Foo Fighters, by comparison, probably would've just made do with Prince's set.) Rammstein haven't toured the U.S. in about a decade — they booked their current trek after a gig last year at Madison Square Garden sold out more or less instantly — so you can expect to hear stuff from their last several studio albums tonight. The most recent one includes a song called "Pussy." —Mikael Wood
Also playing Friday:
ALLAH LAS, GRAND ELEGANCE at 5-Star Bar; GRASS WIDOW, X-RAY EYEBALL, DIRT DRESS at Blue Star; CITIZEN FISH at Glass House (Pomona); SISTER CRAYON, LOVE LINKS, BLACK ELEPHANT at the Echo.
sat 5/21
@Silverlake Jubilee
[See Page Two.]
Houses, The One AM Radio
@THE ECHO
It makes sense that Houses' gorgeous debut, All Night, was written in a coastal Hawaiian village. If sunsets made songs, they'd probably be this breathy, ambient and thick, with warbling melodies, warm vocals and mellow percussion. There's also a lovely intimacy to the dreamy electro-pop of boyfriend and girlfriend Dexter Totoriello and Megan Messina, which sets them apart from other chillwavers. Los Feliz group the One AM Radio just released Heaven Is Attached by a Slender Thread, which may prove to be this city's sleeper album of the year. Hrishikesh Hirway has become a master of melancholic pop. Imagine Air meets Hot Chip produced by the Postal Service, and you're halfway there. —Chris Martins
Puro Instinct, DâM-FunK, Diva, PB Wolf, Others
@HIGHLAND PARK EBELL THEATRE
Local designer Violet Valen handpicked her favorite local DJs and musicians — most at home on Highland Park's Stones Throw Records — to perform live as she debuts her fifth Buddy Society collection with L.A. RECORD and Part Time Punks. Puro Instinct enchant and mesmerize with breezy dream-pop born of a love for Eastern bloc new wave. Leader of the Galactic Funk Federation and master of keytar-driven boogie grooves DâM-FunK brings funk back to the future. Stones Throw head Peanut Butter Wolf and the label's newest signee, Vex Ruffin, also perform, along with Diva Dompé, formerly of Pocahaunted, and Part Time Punks' Michael Stock. —Lainna Fader
Les Nubians
@CONGA ROOM
In much the same way as Sade, these Parisian sisters transport you to a completely different reality — and in a nod to the mysterious chanteuse, Les Nubians covered "Sweetest Taboo" in French. Speckling their smooth, jazzy R&B melodies with hip-hop scratching and guest appearances by the likes of Talib Kweli and the Roots have made the Grammy nominees successful in the States despite the language divide. Their latest album, the sunny, jammy Nü Revolution, should further seal their popularity. With their gently woven vocals draped over loose, breezy tracks, it lifts you out of everyday dreariness into perma-summer. —Rebecca Haithcoat
Also playing Saturday:
SAINT MOTEL, VANAPRASTA at the Roxy; ECHO AND THE BUNNYMEN at Club Nokia; YELLE at Music Box; CATHETER at The Blvd.; RIVAL SCHOOLS at Bootleg Theater.
sun 5/22
Aloe Blacc
@THE MUSIC BOX
[See Page Two.]
Dunes, Cold Showers, Cheveaux
@BOOTLEG BAR
Local trio Dunes owe a great deal to gothy, lady-led forebears like Cocteau Twins and Siouxsie and the Banshees, but their take on the idiom is inimitably their own. Instead of histrionics and sass, Kate Hall (Mika Miko), Stephanie Chan (Finally Punk) and Mark Greshohawk (Talbot Tagora) specialize in lo-fi and drone, making for a luxuriant wash of bent guitars, subdued drums and vocals that echo as if they were recorded in a cave. It's an alluring and ultimately addicting thing that envelops the listener bodily, then slowly sinks in its hooks. Also from L.A., Cold Showers have nabbed comparisons to the Kills for their boy-girl vocals and gritty garage-pop, but the downcast post-punk of Joy Division seems a more apt influence. —Chris Martins
Devin the Dude
@THE ROXY
If Snoop Dogg godfathered mellow stoner-turned–crossover king Wiz Khalifa, then the original Dude is New Orleans' lazy-eyed fire-spitter Curren$y's forefather. Signed to the groundbreaking Southern label Rap-a-Lot Records when he was part of the alternative hip-hop group Odd Squad (draw the obvious local comparison here), the Houston rapper went solo with much critical but little mainstream success. While he can switch from a sleepy Too Short flow to a Swisher Sweet singsong to a Southern snap, his lyrics pretty much cover smoking weed, Cadillacs, women, and smoking weed while in a 'Lac with a woman. He might not be your favorite rapper's favorite rapper (that honor probably belongs to his former label mate Scarface), but he's a close second. —Rebecca Haithcoat
