We were an hour overdue and loudness was all we could hear. Black metal and small talk warmed the atmosphere as the trio Exray’s lined the stage — well it wasn’t really a stage, but the gap made it seem otherwise. The intimacy of Trust a Robot and Jon Bernson’s continued beckoning tightened spaces between the crowd and them, if only for the last two songs. And the crowd only got tighter as Naytronix followed, with an efficacious live set of Mister Divine — a medley of tambourines, cowbells, Costa Rican-inspired drumming, and Nate Brenner’s resonant basslines.

Headliner Deb DeMure came forth with a bust of Apollo to bless the set, wearing a pink changshan to juxtapose. Drab Majesty showered the Non Plus with piercing guitar tones redolent of ’80s wave, and we stood transfixiated in darkness. Up last, Creepers thanked those who stayed for the end — it was just us, friends, and the Non Plus residents. Their hard-hitting lysergic psych filled the near-empty space and burrowed deep into our ears. Shiv Mehra’s SG came untuned, but even the discordant yaws felt at home as the last of the audience nodded on to synthetic screams and cacophonous overlays of Lush — loudness was all we could hear. And it was glorious. Check our Instagram @TheDeliLA for more pictures of the night. – Ryan Mo, photos by Michelle K. McCausland

From the twinkle of emo-tinged post-rock to the suffocating gravity of drone, OC’s trio The Human Machine wields an amorphous sound that is undeniable in its grandeur and technique. Displaced by geography — Jake Ingalls (bass) and Patrick Whitehill (guitar/vocals) lived in the Bay for a time, while Jonathan Modell (drums) stayed in the OC — the three built the "Contrashiva" EP on modulating textures, down-tempo rhythms and chordal intricacies — stuff that would make Don Caballero and American Football fans ecstatic. Following a split EP with Oakland’s Stars Are Projectors (now Valley Girls), THM released their 2014 self-titled debut album. Tonally rich and unapologetically honest, the seven-song album immersed listeners in jazz cadences and psychedelic atmospheres.

Their newest album Patterns is the second body of work (following January’s "Palimpest") that the trio have had the luxury of working on at length — "All material up to "Palimpest" was done under time limitations and living throughout different parts of California," says Modell. Shedding some shoegaze and post-rock influences in favor of improvisational and functionalist grooves, Patterns welds textures of Duster and Can with the thrum of Earth into titanic passages. "My inspiration behind Patterns was to make music that sounded desolate," says Whitehill. "Music that makes you anxious; music that makes you feel like you are moving slowly through a desert."

Modell adds, "THM’s progression as a band has been a very natural arc that shifted with our influences. I wouldn’t call Patterns a hard shifting point. It was the natural step for us after "Palimpest" — focusing less on the technicality and more on the textures and grooves that can be carried for extended lengths of time."

Tonight, The Human Machine celebrate their newest album Patterns with a release party at Beatnik Bandito with New Balance (of Canyons), Dead Recipe (Santa Cruz), Young Jesus, and Known Bird Sightings. – Ryan Mo

To be clear, the Winter Solstice is happening on December 22. But that shouldn’t stop you from celebrating the darkest night of the year (in advance) with the Non Plus crowd this Sunday. The illustrious Deb DeMure, aka Drab Majesty, performs its last show with some novel Bay-area lovelies. Exray’s conjure their signature grainy sci-fi sounds, followed by the experimental pop project Naytronix (of tUnE-yArDs), whose live set is rumored to reimagine songs from his latest album Mister Divine. Creepers will end the night, drawing out some drug-addled psych visions. Guest DJs Kerry McCoy and George Lesage IV of Deafheaven facilitate our journey into the dusk. – Ryan Mo

Aliso Viejo’s Pedestrian recently released Healthy Ways to Die, an album that gives new meaning to the phrase "freezing-point depression". Nine songs draw from solitude and capitulation, transmuting the propulsion of Brand New and Explosions in the Sky with the desolation of Deathconsciousness. It’s austere, boundless, and cold as the deserts of the South, with thick sheets of Luke Feilberg’s and Logan English’s guitars that arrest their solemn and soft-spoken lyrics. Hypothermia never sounded so sweet.

Listen to Healthy Ways to Die, released on Sun Terrace Records on Bandcamp, iTunes, and Spotify. Pedestrian celebrates their record release with The Swan Thief, Conheartist, and Ridgeway this Saturday, more details here. – Ryan Mo

I was listening to one of the staff members at White Oak Music & Arts as he told me about a ska show that broke capacity and a restroom sink.

That was mayhem compared to Wake Up, SFV, which floated upwards of 100 occupants shuffling between main stage and the lobby. On Sunday, the almost-nondescript music store, nestled with mechanic shops and powered by the will of 818, was host to a plethora of bands that not only called attention to the Valley’s diversity, but more importantly its spirit. From 5 p.m. onwards, neighborhood youth shared cigarettes and sipped on tallboys as homespun vendors displayed their arts and crafts with decorum, beaming with a confidence and sincerity rarely felt in Los Angeles.

And I moved with the crowd through the different phases that claimed my musical adolescence — the genres that waxed and waned in popularity, but never lost their tenacity. From Tone in Georgia‘s well-groomed freakouts to The Aeons‘ feel-good maximalism, 100 Once‘s acapella cover of Evanescence and R!OT‘s dextrous remix of Shia LaBouef. The Unending Thread‘s toe-tapping emo-soul and those cathartic shivers of COEX, down to the fog-heavy end of the Fever The Ghost‘s glitched-out mecha fantasy. Every band brought their all, and the spirited youth gave back tenfold. 

Happy anniversary, White Oak Music & Arts. And thank you for wake-up call, Cesar Alas. – Ryan Mo

From the subzero depths of the Diamond Valley Lake, Shojo Winter premieres the title track to their upcoming EP release, "Somewhere Else", the first sign of life since their summer debut "Eternal Snow". Kevin McVey and Patrick Capinding, commonly associated with the ear-rending, emotionally destructive shoegaze band Crisis Arm, started on a new project to embrace glacial bleakness of coldwave and ethereal dreampop. Teaming up with Patricio Bautista, the three reimagine the glossolalic verve of Cocteau Twins and Lowlife in the wake of a post-Third Impact world.

Shojo Winter are holding a two-part release show, details below. – Ryan Mo

Dec. 18 — The dA Center for the Arts (Pomona) with The Victoriana, Shit Giver, The Lowered

Dec. 19 — House show (Lawndale) with Cruelty Code, Chikochikorita, and C. Kiten (Brittany Scheffler).

It’s fitting that the trio GUIDES would buzz with visceral tone and asymmetric structure after spending their incubation period in recording studio comp’ny — womb to the sound babies of Nic Hessler, Ducktails, DRINKS, and more. The three have sculpted rock with defibrillating textures since 2012, into songs that exemplify the coastal resurgence of noise and agitas. Their fall EP "Abstract Mind" builds off 2013’s self-titled 7", howling as it dances in pools of drone. And more recently, the bristling new wave release "Leave Me Alone", featuring pianist/singer Kristeen Young, shows GUIDES’ aesthetic taking new form without dulling its edge.

GUIDES are coming up on the last days of their West Coast tour, places and dates below. – Ryan Mo

Dec. 11 @ Kelly’s Olympian (Portland, OR)

Dec. 12 @ Wandering Goat (Eugene, OR)

Dec. 13 @ Le Voyeur (Olympia, WA)

Dec. 15 @ LowBrau (Sacramento, CA)

Dec. 16 @ El Rio (San Francisco, CA)

Dec. 17 @ Temblor Brewing Company (Bakersfield, CA)

Dec. 19 @ Audie’s Olympic Tavern/Club Fred (Fresno, CA)

The red-eye psychedelia of Alexander Brettin called for a club meeting at The Satellite, and we answered along with half of Silverlake. Mad Alchemy‘s Lance Gordon propped up analog visuals with some old-school projectors, leaving an astringent smell in the air to mingle with hops and weed. Blobs of liquid color painted the artist Ted Feighan (Monster Rally) as he turned the audience on to exotica sweets over a bed of hip hop beats. Frankie & The Witch Fingers kicked it into high gear with the fast-burning petal power of their acid rock, followed swiftly by the thick groove and bright jangle of Oxnard’s surfpoppers Sea Lions. Brettin’s Mild High Club took the stage last, and of course they slayed the stage with their slack-jawed psych jams. But it was only half an hour long, and we wanted more. 

With shouts for an encore, Mild High Club threw out one last song that left The Satellite faded beyond recognition, and satisfied for the night. More pictures of the show on our Instagram @TheDeliLA.  – Ryan Mo, photos: Michelle McCausland

Fever The Ghost are bringing girl glitch and Gundams this Sunday as they perform with a dozen more local bands for the fourth Wake Up, SFV celebration. What started as the bedroom project of singer-guitarist Casper Indrizzo (ex-Seems), who frequeted SFV’s mom-and-pop venues like Guitar Merchant, has grown into a sparkling ’70s bubblegum flavored lovechild of MGMT and Starfucker. The four-piece mixes flutter, funk, and futurism in their debut LP Zirconium Meconium, an album best described as sci-fi pop (Kyary Pamyu Pamyu is a noted inspiration) and self-described as "Easter bunny poop." Fever The Ghost has quickly risen to critical acclaim for their glamorous live sets and unorthodox sounds, backed by talents like The Ghost of a Saber Tooth Tiger, Temples, and The Flaming Lips.

They’ve played outside California for much of the year, so this is probably the last time you’ll get to see their reworked live set. Listen to "Sun Moth" off their debut LP below. – Ryan Mo

On Saturday, the Ghost Noise album release party drew together acts with unparalleled vigor under one roof, moved by the currents of Wes Johansen and KXLU’s Mukta Mohan, and the familiar musk of leather jackets and alcohol.

Intimatchine pulled Non Plus Ultra in with its dreamspun pulsations. Once close, Chelsey Rae Holland passed a vial of holy water to the audience, and sat amongst them as she sang. Jessica Nicole Collins’ channelled BERU‘s "Adult Emotions" with her brother and sister-in-law, clad in skull mask and gold leopard jumpsuit. In the spirit of ’80s dance, they ended with a cover of Laura Branigan’s "Self Control". Josh Dean, Gawby Moon, and John Connolly brought the party to midnight in noise-droning end with songs from their debut and their sophomore release Our Heaven of Darkness.

In loving memory of their friends and family and fans, the trio performed "Amethyst" as an encore special — the first song they’d ever written as a band.

Our Heaven of Darkness is available for stream and purchase on the Ghost Noise Bandcamp. You can find more pictures of the Ghost Noise album release party on our Instagram @TheDeliLA. Thanks to BoredToDeath for producing. – Ryan Mo, photos: Michelle McCausland

Last night’s birthday bash for Dirty Laundry TV’s Michael Grodner was pretty epic, confimed by The Deli’s guest photographer David Foley. Read his first-hand account of the performances at Harvard & Stone and find more pictures on @TheDeliLA!

"Deep Fields felt like an electronic river of synth leading to a waterfall of whammy bar. You could tell the band members were enjoying being on stage together, and this translated into an uplifting wall of sound.

Colleen Green was like strawberry bubblegum, but with a bite. She had a very laid-back yet punkish vibe.

The Abigails were like raw molasses: down home rockabillies singing about love and death. Their lead singer was super expressive and entertaining, and I can’t remember a song that didn’t have a guitar solo."

We got into the Bootleg Theater for Miya Folick‘s EP release party thinking it’d be a pretty intimate gig. Some people trailed in as the sound guy checked levels with his iPad, but it looked sparse. No one was staking claim to the tables in front of the bar stage.

Then, five minutes before the set, a flash mob fashionably swarmed out of the theater end. It was lit.

Shannon Lay of Feels started the night with songs from her solo debut Holy Heartache while Alaska Reid (Alyeska) traded banter and set fire with her newest single "Medicine River". Miya Folick’s performance, enhanced with the visuals of Vinyl Williams, drew a crowd so tight the photographers could barely move around. Lena Fayre‘s ethereal voice drew the night to a close with songs from her summer EP "Is There Only One?" Shoutout to Liv Marsico (Liphemra) for spinning in-between sets (we did cry), and we think we caught a glimpse of Jeremy Katz (Froth, HOTT MT)? That was tight.

Check our Instagram @TheDeliLA for more pictures from the show, and catch Miya again at The Satellite on December 17th for a benefit show with Mereki and Madi Diaz! – Ryan Mo, photo: Michelle McCausland