With the success of Kina Grannis’ debut album, Stairwells, and high-traffic YouTube channel, it is hard to believe that the singer-songwriter was once a bit of a recluse when it came to sharing her music with others. Almost eight years ago, while attending the University of Southern California, she quietly perfected her skills on any secluded stairwell she could find so no one could hear her. The silence was considered to be her safe place to create music – her private studio. A record deal and three self-released EPs later, the Mission Viejo, CA native can be seen and heard worldwide with her candy-coated second single, “The One You Say Goodnight To,” that recently premiered on mtvU. You can catch Grannis live at the Largo in Los Angeles on July 28th before she begins her European tour in October. Kina’s album, Stairwells, is available now through One Haven Music. - Nicole Dawley
Funeral Party blends punk aesthetics infused with a nuevo Indie vibe that blows the doors off The Strokes, Killers, and Arcade Fire. This LA group breeds a new crop of the next generations distain for the mundane. Released on March 29th, The Golden Age of Knowhere expresses the angst of youth and gives off the same vibrant energy you experience attending their live performances. The defiance, competitive nature, and taunting in "New York City moves to the Sound of LA" says it all. Every track on this album has a strength to it that when tied together play as a cohesively tight album. The stand out tracks are "Finale", "NYC Moves 2 the sound of LA", and "Youth & Poverty", but even that breakdown isn't fair given the great effort from this band on the verge. Funeral Party opens for Panic! at the Disco at The Wiltern, June 21st.
