Lead singer Richard Araiza's theatrical baritone and a healthy helping of bongos define the sound of Los Angeles indie surf-punk band The Buttertones, a staple of the Echo Park hipster scene. Israel's Arcade explores a similar sound, blending post-punk instrumentals with Strokes-like indie sleaze vocals.
Alternative indie group Practically People headline this local band roundup at the Valley Bar. Bands? Four. Cost? $15! An ideal HarperQuest.
Sophia Allison, alias Soccer Mommy, emerged as one of a crop of indie-rock revivalist girls in the late teens, but quickly distinguished herself with her clever, ironic lyrics; her catchy pop harmonies; and her louche, modishly-depressive perspective. Also writes a hell of a bass riff. Hana Vu shares Allison's bedroom-indie aesthetic, mining the crunchy, distorted guitar sounds of 90s indie alternative bands and filtering them through a skein of teenage-girl journal pages.
Shaggy Miami alt-funk collective Magic City Hippies merge the sensibilities of funk and indie rock, with a soupcon of smooth R&B, acid jazz, hip-hop lyricism, and the sample-driven eclecticism of early Beck. Intentionally genre-bending, the band in many ways resembles the Red Hot Chili Peppers, but much less irritating; and, above all, is just trying to groove.