Hotly-tipped pop chanteuse Zella Day has garnered heaps of attention for her sweeping, uplifting synth pop, a marked evolution from her days living in a small ranch in Pinetop, Arizona. At an early age, Day would perform at her family-owned coffee show, playing a variety of covers in what could be described as a stately, idyllic setting. These days, Day is pursuing a grander, more accessible sound, in which an atmospheric veil of droning synths and pompous, thundering drums crash against her simple, yet affective vocals. Day may write finely-polished ballads that have the potential to become big hits, but they’re also intricately produced and suffused with a sultry elegance that’s equally exacting and fulfilling. Expect her still nascent career to really take shape in 2015.Day’s debut self-titled EP is slated for a fall 2014 release via B3SCI records. And make sure to catch her play a set at The Echo next wednesday, September 10th.  

Nicholas Krgovich, a multi-instrumentalist originally hailing from Canada, is set to release his first full-length studio album, On Sunset,  on September 22nd. The album is a dynamic mix of experimental pop and modern 80’s dance rhythms with a slightly melancholy edge. Krgovich, also of No Kids, GIGI and P:ANO, has ventured out on his own for On Sunset. The standout track, "Along the PCH on Oscar Night", is a quiet night drive in off-duty LA. The video captures Los Angeles loneliness whether intentionally or not, by painting Krgovich upon a background of empty Hollywood landmarks. There’s a restlessness to this particular night which perfectly suits Krgovich’s dancey pop melodies. For a city that functions primarily around celebrity, "Along the PCH" separates Los Angeles from its’ glamourous Hollywood counterpart. There is something anxious and exciting about the city through this perspective. Krgovich laments about "going home empty-handed" in the ironic loneliness of the city’s most popular night. – Jennifer Mergott

Echo Park septet Sweet Bump It can be described as the unlikeliest garage revivalists, playing a more agreeable and less snotty form of chugging blues rock that is loaded with primal power and an utter sense of fun. The video for the track "Dauphine" shows the band members playing in true form, featuring singer/guitarist Nicole "Paco" De Leon" wielding her guitar with a soulful disposition as the other band members – and three backup dancers to boot – augment the song’s musicality. Sweet Bump It could very well be a reimagining of a Daptone act with a punk spirit, and "Dauphine" is proof they’ve got the chops to live up to that promise. 

Opening for festival closers The Strokes, Haim took the stage with intense energy, finishing out the last show of their Days Are Gone tour with fervor. It’s no secret why the three sisters have gained national attention as the pop-rock nineties band of today. They have a vibrancy when they perform, and their closeness as sisters reflects in the form of a familial fan-base. “I like seeing people on top of other people’s shoulders,” Este announced. And their fans were happy to oblige – immediately jumping up on each other’s shoulders as the sister’s opened with “Falling”, a fan favorite off the stacked album. They wanted the show to feel like one of their house-party jam sessions – as Este announced before they broke into a seriously gnarly version of Fleetwood Mac’s “Oh Well”. Danielle’s time in the music business is glaringly apparent, especially during these moments – she toured with both Jenny Lewis and Julian Casablancas when she was just 17. Their intensity continued as they yelled their love of everything LA into the crowd. Hailing from San Fernando Valley, it’s not surprising the sisters were excited to play their last show of the tour at home. Home: the theme of the evening. – Jennifer Mergott

Living up to their hardcore punk reputation, The Bronx opened a spirited show with vocalist Matt Caughthran stage diving into the crowd. Their 10+ years together as a band were apparent throughout the set as they played to their high energy strengths and appeased their zealous fans. Caughthran delivered a screaming version of “Knifeman” and then cursed the end of the weekend, “Live and let die. Monday’s no joke… Let’s dance. Let’s dance.” The band, who also performed at FYF under their associated act, Mariachi El Bronx, continued to thrill as the sun set during “Shitty Future”. Between profanity laced call and responses with the crowd and a generalized hatred for the looming work week, The Bronx definitely knew how to get their fans riled up and the energy lasted long after the sun set. – Jennifer Mergott

Flying Lotus, who’s LA roots are deep (he named his second album after the city), was in his hometown element on Sunday. Perhaps also hyped from the anticipation of his fifth studio album You’re Dead, FlyLo performed for all the senses. In front of his trippy Layer 3 visuals, which worked in unison with the music, FlyLo performed a mix of “Putty Boy Strut”, “Physics for Everyone” and “Clock Catcher” to a crowd of loyal listeners. His show, as expected, was by far the most interactive at the festival. His performance of “Zodiac Shift”, which samples both Carlos Santana and Alice Coltrane (his great-Uncle) sent the crowd into a fury, with background mimicking the music video. Between the visuals and trippy beats and mixes, FlyLo more than set the stage for his next album. – Jennifer Mergott

Having Stephen Brunner, known for his stage name of Thundercat, at the Lawn stage of this year’s festival made perfect sense. The six-string bass maestro brought his peculiar brand of avant-garde jazz to what was suitably the chillest of all the stages, and though a good few of us were standing up, you could sense that the majority of relaxed attendees – most of them laying face up and letting the sundays hit – were letting his improvisational psychedelic arrangements sink in. Brunner plays with crisp sophistication, letting his masterfully precise fingerpicking speak for itself with the backup of top-shelf musicians who each add their own improvisational grit with seamless momentum. It was a welcome respite from the bustling activity going around the festival grounds, all of us nodding in unison with casual ease as the sun began to make its descent. – Juan Rodriguez

Photo Credit: Jennifer Mergott

One of last year’s surprises was Kelela’s startling mixtape Cut 4 Me, a fine collection of experimental R&B featuring a who’s who of producers that shined the light on a bright and exciting young voice. Glowing in a darkened arena inside the LA Coliseum during a mid-afternoon scorcher, the MacArthur park resident caught the attention of a modest amount of attendees who were instantly drawn by her dark, yet inviting dance music. Kelela’s voice shimmered and soared above a series of perturbing, icy synths, demonstrating a great deal of overpowering versatility even when the samples she plays against are so commanding. She also gave one of the most genuine call-outs in the festival’s two days, thanking her fans for supporting her mixtape with an affable glee after mentioning how she was working at a call center in the Valley just a year ago. Kelela may be a fiery, even threateningly seductive on stage, but her warm radiance and humility outside of it makes it easy to root her. She enter a new stage in her rising career, proving that her journey to megastardom is just getting started. – Juan Rodríguez

Photo Credit: Carl Pocket for FYF Fest

Slacker rock foursome LA Font continue their prolific streak with the video for the track "Onshore", a ramchackle lo-fi romp that finds them echoing the straightforward hooks of Robert Pollard. As for the visuals that accompany the track, well, imagine if the band takes the concept of "loose lips sink ships" into literal terms; the band members play guitar heroes as they fend off a flying army of vicious, computer animated lips causing havoc around Echo Park, Hitchock style. LA Font is currently touring the East Coast, but they’ll be back soon enough. I mean, seriously, haven’t you seen them yet?

Kayla Cohen, otherwise known by her moniker, Itasca, is set to release her first full-length album, entitled "Unmoored By The Wind", on October 14th under Matt Mondanile’s (Real Estate) label, New Images. Originally hailing from New York, Cohen moved to LA in 2012, the same year she released "Grace Riders on the Road". Almost two years later, the growth in Unmoored’s standout track, "Nature’s Gift", is apparent. Cohen has a distinct and slightly ironic mix of influences past and present. Her unique and wandering vocals have the ancient, other-worldly sound of a Gregorian chant, but the new age melancholy of modern day powerhouses Lana Del Rey and Sharon Van Etten. There’s an ethereal exoticism to her lyrics that is both captivating and sensual. She invites you into her world; a vulnerable, dream-like setting that’s hard to say no to. – Jennifer Mergott

Former Riverside residents Francisco The Man play a finely-tuned brand of indie rock that is instantly timeless, bringing to mind a large number of late 90s, early 2000s bands that primordially relied on a catchy hook and a driving melody when alterna-pop was still especially all the rage. A tiny whiff of atmosphere accompanies the urgent beat in "Progress", the first single from their upcoming debut full-length Loose Ends, which could’ve lightened up a number of early-afternoon festival slots this summer had festival curators been truly paying attention. Singer-guitarist Scott Cantino’s high-ptiched, yet luminous vocals are refracted against an explosion of twinkling guitars and airy synths, accompanied by a dense, yet bouncy charge that’s smartly accesible. Loose Ends comes out on September 30th via Small Plates.

Youth Code’s electro-hardocore mash is an industrial assault. Their recent single, "Consuming Guilt," off their new EP, A Place to Stand, is an intense collection of heavy synths, pounding back beats, and plenty of noise. Ryan George and Sara Taylor make up the complex duo; their use of samples and sonic manipulation create strange fusions of 80’s hardcore claustrophobia with synth noise chaos. Their EP is out on Da Is Records, and stream the single below . – Jake Saunders