There are few artists who can appear out of nowhere and have a lasting presence that resonates long after they emerge. Since first catching wind of Duniven’s sound less than a year ago, it can be guaranteed he’s one of those artists who’s going to make that imprint possible.

Having spent the rest of 2011 supporting his first EP, Trying For the Girl, with local shows, an East Coast tour, and a landmark performance at ASCAP’s CMJ showcase, it’s a wonder how he’s found the time to get back in the studio and already hit us hard with his next EP, These Dreams, released on April 30th. But he has raised the bar for all new and driven musicians to contend for the spotlight yet again.

However, this is only the beginning of a new year, one in which Duniven has already been a headliner for one of the infamous Satellite Nights, a 10-night event at The Satellite every January that showcases the biggest and the best local bands in Los Angeles. And after successfully walking away as the best night out of all ten, he was personally invited back by The Satellite for their April residency. “I was honored to get the offer to do it, and you just don’t turn that down…[Having a residency at The Satellite] is the kind of the gig in town that you want.”

Although a residency at The Satellite is one of the most desirable gigs an LA-band can get, there can be a little trepidation and pressure for musicians. However, Duniven has already executed his first two Mondays in April without a hitch. He not only brings a captivating and poetic performance to the stage himself, but also has a great roster of remarkable bands supporting him such as Liquid Love Letters, United Ghosts, Shadow Shadow Shade, Bixby Knolls, Youngblood Hawke, and Lemon Sun.

With a plethora of talent every Monday, and Duniven acting as the keystone to hold the evenings together, Mondays at The Satellite are a great chance to be exposed to some of the front runners for the best bands in LA. It’s no doubt the best gamble for a good time, and a guarantee that every week will start off right ….and did we mention it’s FREE? Doors are a 7:30pm with the show starting at 8pm sharp! – Mary Broadbent

The members of Los Angeles-based band Dot Hacker are no strangers to the stage. Before friends Josh Klinghoffer, Clint Walsh, Eric Gardner and Jonathan Hischke started the band in 2008, they each already had solid resumes recording and touring with the likes of Beck, Gnarls Barkley, PJ Harvey, Charlotte Gainsbourg, The Butthole Surfers and Broken Bells. To add to that already impressive list, a year later after forming, lead singer Klinghoffer joined the Red Hot Chili Peppers as the band’s guitarist. Fast forward three years and the four friends finally have the chance to focus on the music of Dot Hacker. The band will be celebrating the release of its full-length debut album called ‘Inhibition,’ which will be made available via ORG Music on May 1st. On the album, the band switches from strong, driving tracks like "Order/Disorder" to songs like "Eye Opener" and title track "Inhibition," which feature textures that are a bit more dreamy and cozy with velvety vocals. The album is now available for pre-order at ORG Music, including a limited edition colored vinyl. – Karla Hernández

There’s something endearing about fuzzy, lo-fi recordings. They just sound so much more genuine than overly produced tunes (and they probably are). I respect that. The LA-based duo, Spaceships, produces a hazy, true form of garage rock that gleams with reverb and static. Vocalist Jessie Waite guides the tracks with her delightfully wailing voice, as screeching electric guitar and pounding percussion promote a sense of punk-like urgency. With a self-titled EP (released in January) under its belt, Spaceships is playing some shows in California in April and is currently in the process of mastering a 7". Download the EP for free here. – Katrina Nattress

Spaceships LIVE:
4/10—Silverlake Lounge, Los Angeles, CA
4/20—Infoshop Café, Fresno, CA
4/21—Max Steiners, Long Beach, CA

The Red Sparowes have always been, strictly speaking, an instrumental rock act. It’s not that they had anything to say, as the song titles themselves read like abstract, evocative story fragments. So for those who’ve always been curious know what they’d sound like with the addition of vocals, it looks like the equally experimental-leaning act Marriages have finally answered that question. Comprised of three members of the aforementioned, this “side” project feels more like a shortly-timed departure with a keepsake to hold on to until the fateful reunion – there’s still an emphasis on employing a dark, echoing sound that’s just shrouded in mystery, but Marriages like to get to the point more quickly instead of embarking on interminable jams. In the track “Ten Tiny Fingers”, Emma Ruth Rundler’s soft-toned, slithering vocals project over a smokescreen of hazy, tremulous guitars and crisp, pounding drum work. The band still takes their time to envelop the listener with a warm and dreadful chill, but there’s always the sense that you’re close to reaching the light at the end of the tunnel. Marriages’ six track long debut release, entitled Kitsune, will finally be unveiled in its entirety on May 1st.

From first listen, the initial reaction to Modern Time Machines is, oh, this sounds like Silversun Pickups. And although this is a fair assessment—both bands feature hazy, baritone vocals atop whimsical shoegazing rock—this Los Angeles-based quartet is far from a copycat band. For starters, the band produces epic walls of sound by layering guitars, percussion, melodies, and violin that wash its listeners ears with loud, extravagant arrangements that groups are lucky to achieve at any point in their careers. Which brings me to my next point: MTM is gearing up to release its debut full-length, Continuity Girl, which is slated for May 22nd. When listening to this album from start to finish, it is hard to believe it’s a freshman effort. But hard work pays off, and the shoegazers have already landed airplay on KROQ, a taped live set on Adult Swim, and a FREE April Saturday residency at Casey’s Irish Pub in downtown Los Angeles. – Katrina Nattress

The Haim sisters, Damielle, Alana, Este and their drummer, Dash Hutton, bring forth to listeners a free taste of their eclectic talent and diverse musical palette with their EP, entitled Forever. The EP delivers a good sampling of the girls’ sound with trippy psychedelic guitars, ’80s bass riffs, and even a well-balanced usage of various tribal percussion beats. The vocals on the album pull it all together for the record, and are reminiscent of Martin Page’s ‘In the House of Stone and Light.’ The girls recently promoted their sound and Forever at the SXSW music festival in Austin, TX with a four-day run of shows, and they’ll later return to Los Angeles in the summer for an already sold-out show at the Troubadour on June 13th. To get your own free copy of HAIM’S Forever, feel free to check them out on their webpage, or visit their Facebook for more information. – Mary Broadbent

 This week is the SXSW festival in Texas, which is the breeding ground for up and coming bands as well as unknown acts. One of those up and coming acts is Silver Lake-based duo The Violet Lights. After packing up and leaving their hometown of Green Bay, Wisconsin, the pair of Joel Nass and Amber Garvey ended up in Los Angeles and have been carefully crafting their unique blend of homegrown garage rock and melodic pop riffs. Their debut EP "Sex and Sound" is available to stream on their website, which also offer goodies like their blog which chronicles their adventures in making music. Catch them here locally at Hemingway’s on March 27, since it’s a big of a trek to Texas for SXSW. – Taylor Lampela

Italian Japanese has released a video for the single "Two Islands," which is just as endearing and whimsical as the band’s heart clenching rhythms and swelling vocals. Like one of the scenes in the video where lead singer Allen Nicholas sits in the meadow blowing bubbles, this San Deigo band has a delicate indie rock sound that gives off a sense of being in a safe and comfortable environment. Inspired by the film, "The Science of Sleep," the video follows a love story with the use of paper cut-outs. Grinding guitars weave in and out in the background as the video leads to a happy ending for the two characters. Italian Japanese is working on releasing a full-length, but until then, the band will be showcasing at SXSW and touring the southwest. – Karla Hernández

Pan through Southern Californian desert: close up of sand and dune beetle; cut to crevasse with man in tuxedo climbing out, grasping half a bottle of champagne. This is the first 22 seconds of LA-based trio Facts on File’s new video, “How Will We Get Along.” It is also perfect imagery to describe the band’s sound—gritty and carefree, but with a hint of class. The three-piece creates infectious ‘60s-inspired pop tunes that burrow deep in your eardrums and invoke dance parties wherever they are played. Aside from the video debut, expect a record release from the retro poppers in the spring, and check them out live with Tubby Boots, and The Deli LA’s current Artist of the Month, both 3 ½ and Bikos, at The Cinema Bar Saturday, April 7th. – Katrina Nattress

If there was anything music in the eighties taught us, it’s that there’s always time break into dance and leave logic out the door. Or maybe that’s how the plot to the Breakin’ films unravel. Either way, it’s hard to avoid the enduring influence of synth- pop in today’s younger bands. And while the mission of most is to distort its spotless, primitive arrangements with noisy bursts of riotous vigor, there’s also those who shun the idea of experimenting for experimenting’s sake and opt to bust out the Casio and put it on auto-pilot. The self-proclaimed millenials Mirror Talk fall into the latter – the songs off their self-titled EP resonate with a playful spirit, filled to the brim with contagious excitement. Seemingly meant to be taken in the same context as a “choose life” t-shirt, they share a song titled with the eponymous eighties slogan. And the sentiment couldn’t be any more apropos with the song’s vitality – going for an arena-level synth pop sentiment, in which they exclaim is it true love with upbeat jubilation, the hyper-balled unabashedly melds a finely-tuned production that feels very now with a glorious sense of the past.

Lee Noble is quite the anomaly. First of all, he is an ambient drone artist, which in today’s epitomized caffeine-fueled dance party rage lifestyle, isn’t something that would immediately catch on. But it’s clear that he’s not trying to appeal to the fast-paced masses; he wants you to slow down. Slow down and take a minute to listen. His bandcamp page features six albums, but his latest one, entitled Horrorism, is the one I listened to. The album oozes empty church vibes to me, with the analog synths he uses imitating a organ doused in reverb. This is especially prominent in the second track "Goes Sentimental," and on that note, I’d assume that church was haunted. Ambient is not a synonym of lazy, rather it probably takes more effort to create engaging music that is so soothing and haunting at the same time. On his last.fm page, it reads that Noble is a multi-instrumentalist, which means he uses more than synths to create this music. He’s playing a show at the Home Room on March 1st, and I can imagine it will be quite fascinating to watch him recreate these sounds live. – Taylor Lampela

There are some bands who are able to demand a listener’s attention by playing their music at a high volume and inserting unnecessary chaos into their songs. Then there are bands like The New Limb who grab people’s attention by being loud in a non-literal way. Rather the band’s indie pop sound is powerful in a colorful and sophisticated way that is hard to ignore. The songs demonstrate the push and pull emotions of love in such a beautiful and dramatic way that it becomes enchanting. Emotions seem to escalate and then fall in unexpected ways with sweet piano lines and interchanging male and female vocals. There is a strong sense of yearning on songs like "Work I’ve Done" and "Refugees," the latter being a recently released song, which will be on the band’s upcoming album. Other songs like "Birds and Stuff" are bit more light-hearted and bring to mind work by the Postal Service. The New Limb will be playing at the Silverlake Lounge on Thursday before heading off to Austin for their first-ever SXSW showcase. – Karla Hernández