Echo Park quartet Feels used to be six-piece Raw Geronimo, back when vocalist Laena Geronimo was mixing volatile amounts of jungle, punk, soul, goth, surf— whatever felt right. It was cool though; their cocktail of drone, discord, dirt and harmonized vocals had a strong DIY bite that wasted house parties, East LA venues, and even 2014's Austin Psych Fest. Word caught on about Feels' ferocious sets and everyone from Buzzbands to Lo-pie had to get a taste — at 2014's Burger-a-Go-Go Fest, LA Times' Contact Reporter Randall Roberts commented that the four-piece "pushed forth heavy, hard punk with more swagger than many of the acts on the main stage." 

Name change hasn't stopped their momentum, and Feels still play songs from Raw Geronimo's "Dream Fever" LP while sprinkling in new works, like "Bitched" from their live recording at Gaucho's Electronics. Last year, the band launched an Indiegogo campaign to help fund album production and a trusty tour van, slayed at Burger's SXSW Caravan, came back for seconds at 2015's Burger-a-Go-Go Fest, and toured with Tomorrows Tulips and L.A. WITCH, playing almost 80 shows total — 23 of which were here in Los Angeles, according to Oh My Rockness! 

Feels performs their first show of the year at the Echoplex with WALTER, Adult Books, and GAL PALS. Get out of the rain and soak up the sound tomorrow night — watch for the release of their self-titled debut LP (produced by Ty Segall) on Castle Face Records. We're calling it now: 2015 was the year of the meme, and 2016 will be the year of the Feels. - Ryan Mo

LA just got a big ole gift from the city of Austin, Texas, as rocker pair Gal Pals has made the big jump further west. Gal Pals makes stripped-down, up-energy summer pop that’s a good bit garage, and also a good bit of bubblegum and fun. Y’get the feeling listening to their music that these two ladies moved to Cali just to put their music in the right setting, which is undoubtedly a beach party in the warm day, with the Gal Pals’ lazer-bright clothes and sunglasses standing out against the blue sky as they blast out their guitar-and-drums-and-nothin’-else pop music. The band will be playing official shows at SXSW this coming March.

LA just got a big ole gift from the city of Austin, Texas, as rocker pair Gal Pals has made the big jump further west. Gal Pals makes stripped-down, up-energy summer pop that’s a good bit punk, and also a good bit of bubblegum and fun. Y’get the feeling listening to their shit that these two ladies moved to California just to put their music in the right setting, which is undoubtedly a beach party in the warm day, the Gal Pals’ lazer-bright clothes and sunglasses standing out against the blue sky as they blast out their guitar-and-drums-and-nothin’-else pop music. Give that track a listen below, and dance 'til summer can't help but get its ass back here.

You’ve heard this idea before. Surf beat, reverb vocals, lo-fi-ness all around. But unlike other garage pop groups, GALPALS isn’t wholly boring; quite the opposite in fact. Bands that use retro aesthetics (so…all of them basically) are under the misperception that their music has to be lackluster and mellow (because I guess that’s what they think 1950-1988 was like). They follow this concept to a fault. This is not a mistake to be made by learned people. GAL PALS seems to have picked up on this as their new single “For Our Sake” is far from jaded. The guitar progressions are quick, bouncy, and have a natural feel. The vocal melodies are what sell the track. Even the reverb heavy background vocals instill vigor and swing into your step (the backup vocals which are, by the way, perfectly placed within the song). To miss this new group would be folly. -Taylor Browne