I’ve  been on a severe Kinks kick as of late. So it’s not surprising that I’ve fallen in love with Princeton — an LA band similarly formed in part by brothers (in this case twins) Jesse and Matt Kivel. Princeton echoes soothing Washed Out beats, coupled with Biff Ross wit-romantic filled lyrics (‘Show Some Love, When Your Man Gets Home’), and the layered vocal harmonies of the Beach Boys. Calypso Gold, Princeton’s single, is a fine example of this mix with the added bonus of invoking LA’s fun-in-the-sun vibe anywhere you may be.

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A swirling mix of reverb-drenched guitars, pounding rhythms and beautiful, stratosphere-scraping harmonies, Darker My Love are returning with their ironically titled sophomore effort, 2. With Dave Cooley (Silversun Pickups) responsible for production duties and new member, Will Canzoneri, manning the organ and claviet, this eleven track record will stick in your head long after the needle has left the groove. 2 will be released in the US on August 5 courtesy of Dangerbird Records. With the band comprising of Los Angeles and San Francisco residents, Darker My Love plan to unveil their polychromatic LP with dual-hometown residencies throughout July. Which will culminate in two back-to-back album release shows in San Francisco (The Independent) on August 5th and Los Angeles (Troubadour) on August 7th.

No Age are doing something different to the mass of noise-laden, guitar-drum duos canvasing the lo-fi airwaves at the moment. I’m just not sure quite what. Their album, Nouns, is receiving top-rate reviews after sell-out crowds after screaming, obsessive fans. The music is simply massive: a vast landscape of heat haze, somehow both tranquil and manic, punctuated by singer Dean Sprouts backdrop of barely intelligible vocals and Randall’s distorted, archaic sounding drums.