Molly BergenRemember new love, that burbling feeling of excitement you feel upon playing a new group and realizing you can't live without them? “Who is this?” your friends exclaim. “Make me a copy!”
Here are our five favorite upstart local bands who released EPs in 2011 that made us feel all warm and jittery inside. (We might ask them to prom.)
Surf's up, my long haired hippie friends. The first few bars of “Catamaran” is unmistakable. We're going to the beach. The Allah-Las have managed to capture with only two songs a long hot lazy summer day slinking along the PCH with no particular place to go. It's an EP to ramble to, to amble to, but never to go anywhere with purpose to. It's apt that this band was founded in the back of Amoeba Records, because their sound feels like a long lost 1960s B-side gem that you find under racks and racks full of dusty records. For more see: The Allah-Las Put Their Retro Where Their Mouths Are
Caught A Ghost; Credit: Shelby Duncan
Very few are foolish enough to try fusing blues and soul with dubstep, and nearly no one will make it sound as good as this. Caught A Ghost is made up of two former Red Arrow Messenger band mates. Producer Jesse Nolan and vocalist/drummer Stephen Edelstein released the free EP CAG Mixtape last year. It made us sit up and listen. Like peanut butter, bacon, and banana sandwiches, it shouldn't work, but for some reason it does.
Nick Waterhouse; Credit: Nick Walker
3. Nick Waterhouse
Old school is the new school. R&B purist Nick Waterhouse wants to make records the old fashioned way. He wants the same equipment, the right band, and the right format. Boy oh boy has it been paying off. Copies of his latest LP “Is That Clear” sold on Ebay for over $200. Why? Because that hearty little disk will make even the most jaded and tired want to jump up and shake that rump. Unlike many other retro-revival outfits that are out there, Waterhouse is building a brand that is distinctly his own. For more see: Nick Waterhouse: The Young Man Who Makes Old R&B
NO; Credit: Piper Ferguson
2. NO
While his band Steriogram is on hiatus, Bradley Hanan Carter needed to get some things off his chest. Sean Daniel Stentz, Joseph Sumner, Reese Richardson, Mike Walker, and he have dropped a dark, brooding, exceptionally romantic first EP. Be sure and pop this in the car next time you're out for a late night drive, watching the glittering lights fly by and wondering why things just didn't work out.
FIDLAR; Credit: Alice Baxley and Ryan Baxley
1. FIDLAR (Fuck It Dog, Life's A Risk)
Unwashed masses of skateboard punks rejoice, FIDLAR has got your number. They're everything our greasy little hearts desire. With singles like “Wake. Bake. Skate.” and “Max Can't Surf” FIDLAR won over critics and slackers alike with their brand of chaotic garage rock. They're one of the few bands that can get a mosh pit started at 8 pm at the Echo on a Tuesday night. With an EP that should be absorbed with cheap beer and nachos, they're the band to bet on in 2012. For more see: Purgatory Pizza: The Punk Rock Pie Shop
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