A recent study reveals an astonishing link between music and neuroscience. To put it simply, over time, musical training improves one’s cognitive abilities such as learning, language and memory. Perhaps that’s why it was so easy for Jazz vocalist, trombonist, and songwriter, elizabeth!, to delve into music after studying neuroscience at Harvard. Newly based in Vermont, Los Angeles, she is ready to share her one-of-a-kind jazzy pop tunes via her debut album, Brainchildren, on Nov 1st. The album was recorded in Brooklyn, NY in one day, featuring other gifted musicians who have worked with Beyonce, Bjork, Beirut and many others. elizabeth! will tour the East and West coast in support of the release beginning this fall. – Nicole Dawley

This past week, Saint Motel popped back into the lime light by presenting their new music video for their song, ‘Puzzle Pieces”, on MTVU. From the minds of film students/musicians, AJ Jackson, Aaron Sharpe, Greg Erwin, and Dak comes a video that thinks outside the box. Already receiving much buzz from the song itself, and being featured on E! Hollywood News, in Nylon Magazine, and the Top 10 Videos of the Week on Consequence of Sound, it’s only the beginning of a good start for Saint Motel. What really defines the video is how it was shot. Frontman and director, AJ Jackson, decided to deliver the video with a new spin, having it filmed from the point of view of himself. Giving off a ‘Being John Malcovich perspective, the audience travels with AJ through parties, makeout sessions, and even getting a little sick in the gills. Supported by the beautiful madness of the songs’ melodies and lyrics, the video for ‘Puzzle Pieces’ only helps further the rumors that Saint Motel is a must see act. – Mary Boradbent

With a troubadour’s ear for story telling, Long Beach quintet The Brook Lee Catastrophe have just completed their ambitious two companion piece albums, American Hotel and Motel Americana. Inspired by the different sides of the band’s musical personality, the compilation ranges from the vivacious rock, in American Hotel, to the intimate sounds of Motel Americana. Embracing the record’s organic and roots feel, it is only fitting that Motel Americana be released on vinyl. Limited edition vinyl copies will be sold at local record shops, including Origami Vinyl and Fingerprints in late October. 

 It’s been three years since the Los Angeles-based fivesome Willoughby released its debut album, "I Know What You’re Up To", and in those years, the band’s founder, Gus Seyffert, worked on perfecting his art as touring bassist for the Black Keys and Norah Jones. When the jet setting musician finally returned home, and back to the studio, his experiences gave him an eagerness to tweak the band’s sound on the second album. According to Seyffert, the new tunes aesthetically possess some of the same qualities as the first album, but the energy is a bit more buoyant, as opposed to the heartbroken, melancholy feel of Willoughby’s debut. This liveliness can be heard in the five-piece’s first single off the record, “This Will Be Your Drink,” which the band pressed as a 7-inch vinyl in advance to the record, with a cover of Leonard Cohen’s, “Everybody Knows,” as the B-side. The quintet will be releasing the single on Tuesday, October 25, at The Satellite, with plans to tour the west coast this fall. – Katrina Nattress

The Mint, nestled inbetween Culver City and West Hollywood, is the epitome of the smoky blues club, using fog machines to create the smoke in the atmosphere because, after all, you can’t smoke indoors basically anywhere anymore. But that presents no authenticity problem, because stepping into the dimly lit space is like taking a step back in time.

Which seems only appropriate, since last Friday night, the nostalgic sounds of local group Mojo Stone graced the stage with their music that seems to exist in another era. The group consists of students from Loyola Marymount University, who’ve turned their college project into a full-fledged band. The group even went on a tour of the South this past summer and are doing shows locally in LA while school is back in session.

They streamed in, one at a time, to take the stage and once the music started, the buzz around the room all turned their undivided attention to the whirlwind happening onstage. One of the things you notice right away about Mojo Stone is that they are a combination of big personalities. Nobody is content with blending in. Guitarist/vocalist David Donaldson is dapper in his pirate style blousy shirt, bassist Neil Wogensen is the bandanna-donning renegade, guitarist Henry McGill is spiffed out in a suit, and enigmatic drummer Pedro Honess makes the beats in the background. (It also seems that the Pedro fanclub showed up to the show, with choruses of “Pedro we love you” erupting from the house after nearly every song.)

It’s a band of distinguishable characters, and that is no exception when it comes to their main vocalist, Natalie Meadors. She seems to be the glue that holds the manic energy together, even though she is jumping on speakers and dancing around too. Her sultry vocals weave in and out of the pounding guitar lines, with an onstage confidence that is incredibly enrapturing. You can’t help but watch as the frantic chaos on the verge of total collapse manages to hold on, and you feel the catharsis of just letting go and getting swept away.

They’ve really tightened up their sound since the early days of playing open-mic nights at their school, whom now manage to capture the sweetness of an old folk record with the intensity of a hard rock group thrashing around onstage. A few songs in, the crowd was fully warmed up and there was dancing going on all around on the floor, especially to the inescapably upbeat “Keep My Man.” Mojo Stone invites you into their overwhelmingly sensory environment, where to dance and move will cure any temporal blues.

“We’re gonna have no breath left after this next one, so hold on one second,” Meadors said before going into their last song and then following up with an unplanned encore of “Gritty Love Blues”, making sure that nobody in the crowd left the venue still breathing either. – Taylor Lampela

To describe the music on his EP, poet and rapper Satnam says that it is about a girl "who deserves more than just the average pickup line." And in a way he has the same respect for his listeners. Satnam’s favorite topic may be women, but his style of expression is not that of an ordinary rapper. The Orange County native released the four-track EP, called "The 18th Letter Diaries", last year, which showcases his ability to flatter the ladies with his verses. The songs are full of elegance and references to basketball and movies, making them witty and fun to follow along. Most impressively, and for some upmost pop culture cred, he also manages to name drop Pavement and Drake in the same song. Keeping up with current affairs, Satnam released a single earlier this year called "Stop Cryin’, Yo!", which was inspired by a friend who committed suicide. In response to that and a recent wave of suicides across the nation, he has pledged to donate all the money earned from that single to a handful of charities who work to prevent and provide support to combat suicide. The single will also be part of Satnam’s upcoming album, called ‘Heart of a Lion.’ The new album is set to be released later this fall. – Karla Hernández

 

Like many musicians residing in Los Angeles, Emily Cook and David Klotz, of Fonda, have day jobs…in the entertainment industry. Cook spends her days writing screenplays (“Ratatouille” “Gnomeo and Juliet”) and Klotz is the music editor for a little television show you may have heard of—“Glee.” On top of working time consuming gigs, the couple recently had a son, Henry, and officially put their dream pop music project on the backburner. The duo admits that the bulk of the recording process for its latest (first in eight years) EP, Better Days, was based around Henry’s nap schedule. Lucky for the new parents, this record was not their first go around. Cook and Klotz have been making music together for nearly 17 years, and in that time have released three successful LPs, showcasing a knack for meshing 1960s-styled indie pop with 1990s shoegaze (think My Bloody Valentine). This latest release comprises six tracks that fit the standard Fonda sound—wispy male/female harmonies floating effortlessly over a wall of reverbed guitars and synth. The twosome released the EP back in June, which indie pop label Minty Fresh quickly snatched up. Look for an extended re-release on November 22nd. – Katrina Nattress

LA-based band Nite Jewel is set to release their sophomore album in early 2012, but since that’s a long time to wait, they’re going to give us an early treat. On December 6th (just in time for the holidays), Nite Jewel will release a 7" with the single "She’s Always Watching You", off of Love Letters Ink, which is part of the Secretly Canadian label. The 7" will include links to exclusive making-of videos, a handwritten letter from vocalist Ramona Gonzalez AND a $1.00 donation to the Lauren Abramson Memorial Fund to Benefit Citizen Schools of California. The staccato of the 80’s style synth sends the listener on a music time travel odyssey. Gonzalez’s voice is both light and full of a confidence that suddenly makes it ok that she’s always watching you. Stream the single on their Bandcamp page, and be sure to pick up the physical copy when it comes out in December. – Taylor Lampela

At first glance, At first glance, Gothic Tropic has all the earmarks of California natives Abe Vigoda and Fool’s Gold with their jolty rhythm section and pop-infused compositions. The Echo Park trio, whose ironically penned name brings to mind a mascara-drenched Siouxsie look-alike riding the 720 towards Santa Monica on a scorching summer, is actually less frenetic than their peers, with piercing guitar lines and across the fretboard taps fluttering at a steadier pace. Cecilia Della Peruti’s reverbed vocals (of Rumspringa fame) give an added numinous quality to the band, whose recent EP, Awesome Problems, breezes by with casual allure and a touch of quirky experimental grooves. Gothic Tropic only has one planned gig, which will place at the Silverlake Lounge on November 3rd.

Whitton’s sweet-sassy single, “Turn Off The Light”, showcases the doe-eyed songstress as a 1940s housewife begging her aloof, lazy husband for some sexy time. The single is from her new album, “Rare Bird”, which honors the mid-20^th century Americana sound. Whitton is currently touring about the Westcoast to promote the release. See her live at Villain’s Tavern, every Tuesday beginning November 1^st. – Nicole Dawley

Formerly known as The Smiles, the young group of guys who are now playing under the name The Miracals will be performing their fist show with the new name on Saturday at the Satellite as part of Monte Mar’s record release party. The Miracals’ debut EP is available as a free download on Bandcamp, and from the first note of "Cala Cola" to the ebullient guitars of "California Girls," it is capable of giving listeners a toothache. Regardless of the season, The Miracals manage to make it feel like summer all year long. The sweet lyrics flow effortlessly and the melodies quench the need for genuinely fun pop songs like a splash of lemonade on a hot summer day. The band has just wrapped up its second EP and is set to be released later this year. – Karla Hernández

 

The San Diego-based rock quartet Transfer was meant to play stadiums. The foursome follows a standard rock ‘n’ roll band structure—vocals, guitar, bass, drums—but the wall of sound these musicians create resonates like the work of an orchestra. It is so full, so loud, and so well produced that it is hard to believe it is the work of four men. It is also hard to believe that this band is about to release its debut record. Transfer’s songs are so polished, each track hooking its listener with catchy pop riffs and anthemic lyrics, and then reeling its listener in with layers of psychedelic guitars, that it sounds like this is not the band’s first go around. But it is. The four-piece will release its freshman album, Future Selves, on October 11 via Cool Green Recordings, and then head out on a European tour with Kaiser Chiefs. – Katrina Nattress

Transfer – Losing Composure