fri 1/31

Dessy Di Lauro

HARVELLE'S SANTA MONICA

Dessy Di Lauro defines her songs as “feathered frowhawk futuristic art deco centric Harlem renaissance hep music.” While that's quite a mouthful, the phrase aptly encapsulates the seamless way in which the local pop/R&B singer ties together vastly different eras. A native of Montreal, Di Lauro has performed with various Cirque du Soleil productions, but she really created her own musical niche with her co-writer husband, Ric'key Pageot, on her most recent album, This Is … Neo-Ragtime. You've never heard the venerable “Sweet Georgia Brown” quite like this, as Di Lauro's honeyed vocals wind sinuously through a merry jumble of speakeasy-era stride piano and sophisticatedly modern R&B arrangements. Her original songs are smart, sassy and sensual, layered with funky horn retorts and jazzy harmonies. —Falling James

Mayer Hawthorne

PALLADIUM

Pop-soul artisan Mayer Hawthorne is a tougher dude than he gets credit for. Well, OK, his song “Crime” on recent album Where Does This Door Go seems to be about the kind of low-key, excuse-me-sir police situation that happens when your house party gets just a little too loud, which admittedly isn't much as far as criminal credentials go. But he was out there singing and playing (with fingerless gloves) in the cold and blowing snow at the NHL Winter Classic on New Year's Day, and he's been a relentlessly ambitious — even fearless — producer and musician since his house-party days in his native Detroit. Now Hawthorne is confident, rested and ready (like his fellow Pharrell collaborators Daft Punk) to craft the most perfect makeout music the future permits. You know what they say: That which breaks your heart only makes you stronger. Quadron and Gavin Turek open. —Chris Ziegler

Robert DeLong

EL REY THEATRE

If anyone could be excused for wanting to take some time off, it would be 27-year-old Robert DeLong. Nearly a year after unleashing his debut album, Just Movement, the multi-instrumentalist has taken his show on the road, spending the better part of 2013 performing at some of the biggest festivals in the world while hearing his blend of EDM and alt-rock played across various radio formats. After a quick, two-week Western run, which saw him play Sundance and travel from Vancouver down the West Coast, this show will be DeLong's last before a much-deserved break. Don't be surprised if his already electric show gets turned up a notch in front of his adopted-hometown crowd. —Daniel Kohn

sat 2/1

Andreilien, Gladkill, Russ Liquid, Sugarpill, ChrisB., GoldRush, jOBOT

EL REY

The “interactive environments” created by L.A.-based events company the Do LaB are a sight and sound experience guaranteed, as The Twilight Zone's Rod Serling used to say, to blow your mind. Their Headtron Takeover DJ event features Heyoka, who reportedly was abducted by a virus from outer space, surgically enhanced on the planet Marklar and returned to Earth in improved form and with a new moniker: Andreilien. His glitchy fractal landscapes and sub-bass to the 10th power will bang your skull and raise your consciousness. Gladkill likes the big-bang clubby beatscapes; Russ Liquid brings the future-vintage vibe choicely laced with anthemic melodies and wicked polyrhythmic beats. Sugarpill provide a West Coast crunk style stirred in third-ear harmony, and local production wiz ChrisB. offers a savory line in ye olde dark soundscape-y vibe, no skimping on the 808. —John Payne

Yuck, GRMLN

TROUBADOUR

London-based five-piece outfit Yuck hit the ground running with their 2011 self-titled debut, but when their lead singer left in early 2013 to pursue other projects, the group had some adjusting to do. After releasing their second album, Glow & Behold, Yuck debuted their new lineup at last year's CMJ to mixed reviews, as fans and critics were concerned with the drastic difference in vocals. Despite some softened edges, Yuck are still heading down the distorted-indie-pop lane with confidence. With the help of producer Chris Coady (Islands, Beach House), Yuck substitute gentle melodies for fuzz-coated rhythms, shifting their direction from raw '90s rock to soothing '90s shoegaze. While comparisons can still be drawn to Sonic Youth and Yo La Tengo, easy-listening tracks such as “Middle Sea” and “Losing My Breath” sound like something meant to soundtrack an episode of Girls. Up-and-coming pop-rocker GRMLN will kick off the night with his dreamy rock tunes. —Britt Witt

sun 2/2

Frankie Rose

THE ECHO

Frankie Rose was an early member of such beloved bands as Vivian Girls, Crystal Stilts and Dum Dum Girls, and the Brooklyn singer reveals some of the same garage-pop instincts on her solo albums Interstellar and 2013's Herein Wild. But whereas those groups often sound fuzzier, more reverbed out and '60s retro, Rose's guitars exude an ethereal, post-punk allure on songs such as “Night Swim,” which lives up to its title, with watery, haunting vocals flecked by those lighthouse guitars. “Gospel/Grace” is crowned with more starry-eyed guitar and cooled down by Rose's sweetly soothing vocals. —Falling James

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mon 2/3

Moses Sumney

BARDOT

By the time you read this, Moses Sumney will be … actually, who could even guess? Usually, when an artist supposedly comes out of nowhere, they really just came from a long time spent in some secret music scene where no one was paying attention. But Sumney seems like he really did POW! into existence with a fully realized yet still-evolving sound, which marries up-to-the-minute digital loopery to the most daring folk experiments of the late '60s and '70s. (On Twitter, he mentions he's just getting into Joanna Newsom — someone make that introduction!) In about six months, Sumney has gone from the bedroom to the main stage, and by the time he gets out a full-length, people should be (rightly) losing their minds. —Chris Ziegler

The Bots

BOOTLEG THEATER

There are just two Bots, but they combine to make an unholy, Afropunk roar that's louder and more fearsome than the din created by much larger groups. As if that's not enough, brothers Anaiah Lei (drums) and Mikaiah Lei (guitars) have been playing onstage together since they were 12 and 15, respectively. Now, at the ripe old ages of 16 and 20, the Glendale duo is far more than a cute kid-rock act. Simply put, The Bots are one of the few truly original and bracingly exciting new punk bands, amply capable of dishing out sludgy slabs of hard rock like “Notre Monde” and such contemplative, bluesy ballads as “No One Knows” alongside more traditional light-speed bursts “I Like Your Style” and “Northern Lights.” It's no surprise, then, that the Lei brothers' smashing of disparate influences has attracted disparate fans including Damon Albarn and Rise Against's Laura Jane Grace. —Falling James

tue 2/4

The Hounds Below

BOOTLEG THEATER

Jason Stollsteimer is often remembered for his messy altercation with The White Stripes' Jack White back in 2003, but he's always been a melodic pop-rock songwriter, whether with his longtime Detroit group, The Von Bondies, or his latest band, The Hounds Below. The Hounds' new album, You Light Me Up in the Dark, is full of hard-rocking power-pop anthems such as “Chelsea's Calling,” where Stollsteimer's wistful vocals are torched further by Mathew Hofman's guitar. “For You and I” couldn't be further from a typical Motor City garage-rock revival. It's a stirring anthem that inverts Arcade Fire euphoria with a more lyrically cynical (yet ultimately romantic) perspective, bathed in Hofman's sparkling blips of Cure-like '80s guitar. —Falling James

wed 2/5

Stone Sour

HOUSE OF BLUES

Turns out there's only so much an artist can express while clad in a creepy mask and jumpsuit, fronting a frenzied mega-metal band of blokes in creepy masks and jumpsuits. So Slipknot singer Corey Taylor also emotes through Stone Sour, a more mainstream, less image-conscious act, which actually precedes his musical mothership and has been too prolific, popular and enduring (formed in 1992) to still be a “side project.” These Iowans' music, literally and metaphorically, beats from the American heartland: a solid-hewn melding of contemporary heavy metal and post-grunge radio rawk distinguished by Taylor's charismatic, big-brotherly baritone. Last year's House of Gold & Bones — Part 2 finds Stone Sour in fiery form, with clenched-teeth riffs and burly beats offset by grown-up strings and contemplative keys. —Paul Rogers

thu 2/6

Action Bronson

ECHOPLEX

Action Bronson's delivery bears an eerie sonic resemblance to Ghostface Killah's. He also cooks a mean lamb burger. After graduating from the Art Institute of New York's culinary program, the outspoken Queens native worked regularly throughout his 20s as a gourmet chef. Since releasing the well-received 2011 mixtape Bon Appetit B****, he has self-released four mixtapes chock-full of witty wordplay and food references. In 2013, he was named a member of XXL magazine's Freshmen Class, and the father of two also hosts a food series on Vice.com. His Vice/Atlantic records debut, Saab Stories, was released in June. Tonight's attendees are warned not to bum-rush the stage, as the big-boned wrestling fanatic is known to body-slam stage crashers. —Jacqueline Michael Whatley

LoveyDove

TAIX

Dan West and Azalia Snail are the poster children for grown-up romantic mush, and their psych-pop trio, LoveyDove, excels at delivering rich, fully realized, celebratory treatises on the subject. The band's intricately arranged songs carry a penetrating, organic appeal, one borne of the ardent lovers' psych-sync and unmatched natural-fact musicality. Snail has long and successfully toiled in the lo-fi underworld, while West is an accomplished composer-arranger, and rarely have professionalism and passion combined with such artistic merit. LoveyDove is not just about self-stimulating declarations of passion, however; the band actively aims to uplift its audience and illuminate a path out of the dark jungle of anger and resentment in which so many of us endlessly wander. A tall order, yes, but in their hands it has led to a superbly crafted set of songs, all featured on their self-titled debut CD, which tonight's show is celebrating. Prepare for a profoundly transportive flight. —Jonny Whiteside

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