The latest track by duo We Are The West, "Regards", couldn’t be more apropos for this holiday season. The tender, meditative track by members Brett Hool and John Kibler appears on their latest EP of the same name,  which is composed of three tracks that are meant to be a "thank you" to their fans as they continue to work on their continuing four part album series.

Psych pop marauders Drinking Flowers know their way around a chorus that sticks, one that whirrs on and on as the quartet performs with a nonchalance that points at their unfettered rhythmic sensibilities. Stoic it isn’t, though, and what makes "Pop Underground" such an earworm is how those ringing guitars and massed vocals carry forward an almost entrancing thrust. It all culminates into a very satisfying coda with a swagger that’s nothing more than pure, unsullied rock n’ roll. The track comes off their latest EP Shadow Show, which was recently released through Lollipop Records. 

Post-rock outfit Whale Fall are set to officially release their second full-length The Madrean next month, a fully instrumental recording with a cinematic feel that conveys a quiet intensity in its sheer scope. This is music to get lost to, boasting a guitar-oriented sound accentuated with horn parts that patiently build up without resorting to any cheap cathartic moments. The Madrean is meant to be listened to from beginning to end, as its eight tracks pay homage to the Madrean region of North America. The album can be streamed in its entirety on their bandcamp page.

Brady Erickson is Life Leone, an indie rock musician with raw energy, perfectly executed tones and dizzy guitar lines. Erickson, after returning home from Vietnam to work as a guitar craftsman, sat down and let his creativity pour with Eastern influences. Keeping with his indie roots blended loud fuzzy guitars (similar to hard rock), energetic tempos, and extended guitar strums to create that psychedelic balance. After releasing his single, “I Can’t Say No”, Erickson toured soon after in support of his EP, Comes Crashing In. His exploratory passion found its shining moment in Life Leone. – Kayla Hay

All-female trio Susan share a punk-meets-pop ethos that puts them in the same bracket as other power-pop bands like The Go Go’s and early Bangles. The brisk seven minutes that make up their debut 7" Just Call It are short, sweet and to the point, cheerful, jangly tunes with a surf-rock edge that highlight harmony and sharp hooks. The 7" inch is just a taste until they release a five-song cassette through Burger Records early next year. 

What happens when an unstoppable force hits immovable object? A Controversy. Laura Vall, andThomas Hjorth are the unique and talented duo that make up The Controversy, an electro pop band with psychedelic elements with influences that range from Bjork and Beck to Portishead and Massive Attack. Their newest single, "Two Voices", holds nothing back. “Two Voices is about the insecurities we all battle with everyday,” Vall says, “the doubts that we face and how these can hold you back, even if they are just in your head.” Growing up is inevitable; we begin to realize as adults that the only thing truly stopping us is ourselves. But hard work pays off, and in 2012 the band won Artist of the Year (Artists In Music Awards) and Best Alternative Song (Hollywood Music In Media Awards), but that didn’t make the room smaller for this group. “It was great validation and a pat on the back for us but we know that we need to keep pushing forward and keep fighting. We know that there is still a long way to go and this is just the beginning.”

Varying in analog and digital synths, electronic beats, and even sampling inanimate objects to create a unique sound, The Controversy stops at nothing to keep their audience captivated on their sound. Nothing is out of the question – pencils hitting a glass, bumping pots and pans together and even pieces of wood are used to create that illuminating sound that is unlike anything we hear on the radio. After not playing a live show for over a year, Vall has plans for 2015 that include an exciting light show, a full experience and a strive for greatness. The Controversy is both the immovable and the unstoppable. As Vall suggests, “Just let go and free yourself from all these demons, you’ll enjoy life more and feel better about yourself." – Kayla Hay

The debut single by four piece Talk In Tongues, "Still Don’t Seem to Care", fills up the senses like a drug that’s beginning to take effect. A lysergic guitar lead enraptures the track as a constant drum pound marks its swirling contours, and yet it keeps a steady rhythmic propulsion instead of letting it drift. And just as the chorus cycles through just one more time, the track decides to end abruptly. The effect has worn off, and you’re immediately compelled to take another dose. The band is set to play two shows in the month of December, an in-store at Origami Vinyl on the 5th followed by a gig supporting Lou Umbra at The Cellar Door on the 20th.

 Fullterton,OC punn mainstays Audacity have just given an update to the Delta 5’s "Mind Your Own Business", giving the 1979 post-punk track more of a kick with a fierce guitar lead even if it retains the essence of the original. The track can be found on their latest 7", which is out on December 2nd on Suicide Squeeze Records.  

The gorgeously executed new video by The Bulls – Anna Bull Brook and Marc Sallis of the Duke Spirit – artfully demonstrates the suffocating image of a being who is bound by a heavy, intertwined rope. It ties in flawlessly with their latest track "Come Unwound", which soars gently with its tremolo-lead guitar lines and towering drum patterns as you see both of them engage in mournful reflection. A compelling introduction from what would seem like an unlikely pair, we can expect more from them once they release their debut EP later this year. 

A winding guitar opens the latest track by low-key psych-folk duo The Tulips, "Scorpio Moon", overlayed with a slow-burning organ that’s endowed with a melancholy, mournful yearn.  The languid pace is conveyed with seductive splendour, and the Macarthur residents make hurt sound beautiful in the spacious, burning sorrow that persists. The song’s sense of ghostly detachment partly symbolizes their second full-length, Echo Blue, which was recorded in uncanny locales such as the basement of an old historic building and a cathedral church. Echo Blue is coming out sometime in early 2015.

Living in a world where technology rules and controls everything around us, I find it quite ironic to listen to an electronic band that pays homage to the vinyl roots most of us grew up to. Claire Evans and Jona Bechtolt of YACHT are slowly becoming Los Angeles’s future of music technology. Within their single, “Where is the Disco?”, Claire and Jona engraved their entire musical catalogue into the background of the song; however it is unplayable in the grand scheme of things, we are taught that music is more than an emotional thing, but is actually tangible. Something society is slowly losing grasp of – with so many ways to download music straight off the internet, we lose the simplicity of physically holding our media close to us. YACHT’s electronic abilities to extend the boundaries of how we see and hear music works like magic, creating a genre-defying concept that infiltrates every type of music. A satisfying twist to how we hear our music, rethinking the possibility of teaching an old dog new tricks; YACHTs utopian style of music has just set the bar that much higher. – Kayla Hay

Aria Pullman and Jason Rivera banded together in 2012 under the streaming boulevard lights of Los Angeles to create Some Go Haunting. The musicians first bonded over their dueling love and passion for rock and roll; they first released a self titled EP that dialed into that genre and boasted a variety of sounds that included fast rock, dance mash-ups, calming vocals and feel good rock-able beats. This year, the dynamic duo won a Sports Network Music Competition called “beIN the Beat” and was flown to The Hit Factory in Miami to record their hit single, "Me And You",for the Madrid vs Barcelona soccer pre-game. The live recording was aired on October 25th at 9am and the two walked away with $3,000 as a prize. Some Go Haunting’s unforgettable lyrics in their single, "House of Arcadia", set me back into a dream-like daze, Pullman’s voice so subtle and powerful she creates a nirvana that only builds and escalades with the help of the track’s smooth guitar and drum beats. Their new album, Wandering Souls, is set to be released in 2015. – Kayla Hay