I just came back from a much-needed vacation in San Diego, and listening to Elevator Fight’s new tracks make me wish that I had them for my rental car rides to the surrounding parks (by the way, I highly suggest checking out Balboa Park, Cabrillo and Torrey Pines if you make the trip out). The band came together in early 2009 and seems to have found some great chemistry on their latest effort Post Empire, which is slated to come out “sometime later this year.” Catchy, summertime tunes like its title track and “Little Ghost” are songs that I wouldn’t be surprised to hear getting some serious airplay or making it in your favorite new commercial or coming-of-age, romantic comedy. Yes, more lo-fi vocals that sound like they are coming through a megaphone, but they hit it out of the ballpark with the production of lead singer Zoe Kravitz which can instantaneously be felt on tracks like the eerily disenchanted “500 Birds”. And yes, that’s Lenny Kravitz’s daughter flexing her rock star genes, and she’s being nicely supported by the skillful guitar work of axe man Dominic Angelella and rhythm section of Joe Baldacci on skins and Khari Mateen on low-end. I think that Post Empire will be a release that you’ll be hearing more about in the near future. – Q.D. Tran