The Ringers
Three above-average Joes (and one Patrick) rock out onstage and onscreen.
By Mikael Wood 11.21.08 5:41 PM
The Ringers have played plenty of memorable shows since frontman Joe Hursley, 29, and bassist Joe Stiteler, 29 -- community-college pals from Austin, Texas, who moved to Los Angeles to pursue acting -- formed the live-wire garage-punk outfit four years ago.
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Japanese Motors, 'Japanese Motors' (Vice)
Boarding brosefs take their skinny-tie jams out in the sun.
By Mikael Wood 11.06.08 4:22 PM
Like a West Coast beach-bum version of the Strokes, this Orange County foursome (with pro surfer Alex Knost on lead vocals) sing amiably about wearing one's hair in one's eyes and sitting in traffic on the 405 over poppy, sloppy garage-punk grooves that sound like they were written simply to score a fistful of drink tickets at Costa Mesa's Detroit Bar.
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The Bronx, 'The Bronx (III)' (White Drugs/Stay Platinum/Original Signal)
Mosh pit on the Sunset Strip takes a surprisingly hooky turn.
By Mikael Wood 11.04.08 4:52 PM
This is the third time these brash Los Angeles bombers have released an album titled The Bronx, but don't think they're scraping the bottom of their metallic punk recycling bin: Here they dial down the Black Flag–derived chaos of The Bronx (I) and (II), unleashing sharper melodies and boogie rhythms that Axl Rose might've admired before getting cornrows.
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Ryan Adams & the Cardinals, 'Cardinology' (Lost Highway)
Restless singer-songwriter puts his inner child to bed.
By Mikael Wood 10.31.08 6:27 PM
Anyone who's followed Ryan Adams' career during the decade since he left Whiskeytown might've wondered if last year's Easy Tiger was a fluke -- an all- too-rare instance of Adams wrangling his creative wanderlust long enough to craft a consistently compelling full-length.
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The 88, 'Not Only...But Also' (Island)
Hey, if they're catchy enough for Neil Patrick Harris...
By Mikael Wood 10.31.08 3:40 PM
A trio of biz-savvy power-pop nerds from L.A., the 88 built a following the 21st-century way -- by placing songs in commercials for Target and Sears and TV shows like How I Met Your Mother.
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John Legend, 'Evolver' (G.O.O.D. Music/Columbia)
Well-connected soul man bores in bedroom, excels in studio.
By Mikael Wood 10.30.08 2:25 PM
Though he's unlikely to encounter much trouble selling these romantic conceits to his female-heavy fan base, some of the scenarios on John Legend's third studio album could be fresher: In "Good Morning," for example, he attempts to convince his lady to skip work and spend all day snuggling.
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