Books

‘The Ferryman and His Wife’ Travel Through the Space Between Life and Death in New Novel

Cover of The Ferryman and His Wife by Frode Grytten

November 18 is the last day of Nils Vik’s life. And, for his final act, the elderly ferryman boards his boat and navigates the fjord, as he has done on so many other days. This time, though, he is joined by his dearly departed, yet still trusty, dog. As he travels the waters that he knows so well, Vik encounters a legion of passengers who, like his dog, have already died. As memories and revelations of his life rise to the surface, Vik awaits the one person with whom he wants to reunite, his late wife. 

The latest novel from Norwegian author Frode Grytten, The Ferryman and His Wife is also his first to be translated into English. In Norway, Den Dagen Nils Vik døde (English: The Day That Nils Vik Died, according to Wikipedia) was released two years ago and went on to win the country’s prestigious Brage Prize. The U.S. edition, translated by Alison McCullough, came out just last week and it’s a must-read. 

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Interview

From The Centimeters to Elf Freedom: The Musical Evolution of Nora Keyes

Artist musician Nora Keyes
Photo courtesy of Nora Keyes

Nora Keyes is a woman of many bands and, if you’re even slightly acquainted with Los Angeles’ DIY scene, you probably have seen her on stage. Maybe it was with The Centimeters, who were active between the late ‘90s and early ‘00s and will reconvene on November 29 for Spaceland’s 30 year reunion bash at the Regent. Or, maybe you’ve seen her with ‘00s glam outfit Fancy Space People, who also recently reunited for select shows. More recently, there is Tinglez, Keyes’ Italo disco side project with and Bebe McPherson and Eric Nordhauser, and her primary musical focus, Elf Freedom, the improvisational psychedelic band whose 2024 album, Solstice earned raves from Bandcamp and a number of genre-specific publications and was recently released on vinyl via Greek record label Twisted Flowers.

Recorded on the summer solstice of 2023, the album began as a jam session that evolved later with overdubs and became a collection of songs that you likely won’t hear live. “If someone asked us to play that album, we would probably do a variation of the chord progressions, but it would be a whole other improvised thing,” says Keyes. 

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The Playlist

New Saint Etienne and Everything Else You Heard at Underground on 11/14/25

Saint Etienne International album cover
Cover of International, the final album from Saint Etienne

Had been meaning to get “Save It for a Rainy Day,” from the latest Saint Etienne album, into my club sets for a good minute. It was sort of appropriate that the first time I played it out was at Underground last night, on account of the rain and all. The whole album, International, is fantastic. It’s also Saint Etienne’s final album, so do pick it up when you have a chance. 

I forgot to take pics. It’s okay, we can use our imagination. Shout out to the handful of people who were on the dance floor for nearly the entire night and to the Kneecap fans who know all the words to “H.O.O.D.” I was impressed. Set list is below. The new-ish stuff is in bold and links to other mentions of the artists on this site. 

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Interview

Kim Theory Releases Debut EP, Bitch Scene

Kim Theory press photo
Kim Theory (photo courtesy of the band)

Three Kims inspired the name of L.A. up-and-comers Kim Theory: Deal, Gordon and Shattuck. On the band’s debut EP, Bitch Scene, you can hear the influence of all three indie icons. The punk spirit of The Muffs lives on “Child Star Teenybopper,” where the legacy classic Pixies albums, as well as the Breeders, echo on “GrowingUp” and a noise rock dirge reminiscent of Bad Moon Rising Sonic Youth opens “Wish You Were.” 

Kim Theory’s own story begins when Audrey Cymone, Lula Seifert and Zoey Su were in middle school, which wasn’t all that long ago. Cymone and Seifert performed one cover from each of the famed Kims for Seifert’s Women’s History Month school assembly. Su, who was in the crowd that day, recalls one kid proclaim, “Oh my god, they’re playing Sonic Youth!” when the girls busted out a cover of “Kool Thing.” 

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Adventures in L.A., Live Music, Music

Purity Ring Builds a Better World On Stage at The Novo

Purity Ring live at The Novo on November 12, 2025 (Photo: Liz Ohanesian)
Purity Ring at The Novo 11/12/25 (Pic: Liz O.)

A few songs into their set on Wednesday night, Megan James of Purity Ring thanked the crowd for masking up. She talked about a world where we are “caretakers of the land we live on,” where there are no prisons or genocide. “It starts at home with material care for others,” she told the crowd, “like wearing a mask. No one is going to save us. We care for each other. We keep each other safe. Free Palestine.” 

The night began with security passing out masks near the entrance to The Novo It ended with guards near the photo pit handing out water bottles to people in the crowd, something I have never seen happen at a show before this one. All of this connects to Purity Ring’s new, self-titled concept album, which was released in September. Inspired by RPGs like Nier Automata and Final Fantasy X, the album is itself a soundtrack for an imagined game, wherein the characters’ quest is to built a better world. 

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Happening in L.A.

Melt-Banana Live and More Happening in L.A. 11/13-11/19/25

Ora the Molecule live at El Cid in Silver Lake on May 15, 2025 (Photo: Liz Ohanesian)
Ora the Molecule opens for Cut Copy Friday night at the Bellwether (Pic: Liz O.)

We have another concert-heavy week coming up in Los Angeles, with Melt-Banana, Cut Copy and Ora the Molecule, Maná, Sigur Rós and more playing in town, as well as the sold out Camp Flog Gnaw happening over the weekend. There are also a handful of worthwhile movie screenings to check out around tow, in addition to new release and releases in theaters. I’m not DJing this week, but have compiled info on some budget-friendly dance club and bar events that you might want to check out, so keep reading.

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Books, Interview

Simon Raymonde Talks Cocteau Twins and New Book, In One Ear

Simon Raymonde author Photo
Simon Raymonde will be at Book Soup in Los Angeles on November 14

“Honestly, I never really considered writing a book until, literally, five minutes before I started doing it,” says Simon Raymonde on a video call. For decades, Raymonde has been making and releasing music. He spent much of the 1980s and 1990s as a member of Cocteau Twins, contributing to now-classic albums like Treasure and Heaven or Las Vegas. For close to 30 years, he has run Bella Union, the record label that helped introduce the world to Fleet Foxes, Beach House and Father John Misty. Raymonde’s memoir, In One Ear: Cocteau Twins, Ivor and Me, is set for release in the U.S. on November 18 and he’ll appear at Book Soup in Los Angeles on Friday, November 14. 

In One Ear traces Raymonde’s life in music, from his early bands in post-punk London to his tenure with Cocteau Twins to his work as a producer and label-head. Raymonde also delves into the work of his father, Ivor Raymonde, himself a musician, songwriter and producer who worked with the likes of Dusty Springfield, The Walker Brothers, Los Bravos and David Bowie. Throughout the memoir, Raymonde keeps the focus on the music. 

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Adventures in L.A., Live Music

Mariachi El Bronx Introduces New Songs to Fans at L.A. Bar La Cita

Mariachi El Bronx on stage at La Cita, November 8, 2025 (Photo: Liz Ohanesian)
Mariachi El Bronx on stage at La Cita, 11/08/25 (Pic: Liz O.)

Matt Caughthran didn’t need to remind the crowd inside La Cita to show their enthusiasm. even if Mariachi El Bronx were filming for a new music video inside the sold out, Saturday night show. This crowd, packed close to the narrow stage inside the downtown Los Angeles bar, was already hyped. And “Bandoleros,” from the forthcoming album, Mariachi El Bronx IV, is a jam with a cumbia rhythm that automatically gets people dancing.

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Interview

After Years of Collaboration, Solo Artists Laura Jinn and Tatum Gale Formed New Duo Mercy Land

Tatum Gale and Laura Jinn of Mercy Land in cover photo for "Kid A" Photos: Mia Teresa @howboutmia Creative Direction: Virginia Walcott @virg________
Mercy Land “Kid A” cover photo. Photos: Mia Teresa @howboutmia Creative Direction: Virginia Walcott @virg________

Laura Jinn and Tatum Gale were set on making music as solo artists. The catch, though, was that the music they made together was really good. “It was obvious to our close friends much earlier and we were really rejecting it,” says Gale on a recent video call. 

For a handful of years, though, the two New Orleans-based musicians would play as solo artists who collaborated with each other. “It was a little bit confusing for the audience,” acknowledges Jinn. The performances, though, helped shape would become their new project, Mercy Land, whose debut EP, Termites, dropped on Halloween. “I think the process of playing together also built a lot of trust between us, in the sense that, together, we were something different and better than we were individually and the music that we had made together was our best music and all that stuff,” says Jinn. “So, it emerged from that process.”

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Happening in L.A.

Substance Festival, Bar Italia, The Darkness and More Happening in L.A. 11/06 – 11/12/25

Taleen Kali and Josephine Shetty (Pride Month Barbie) performing at The Love Song bar in downtown Los Angeles on February 8, 2025 (Photo: Liz Ohanesian)
Taleen Kali, seen here at The Love Song, plays Substance on Friday, November 7 (Pic: Liz O.)

On Tuesday night, I went to see One Battle After Another, the new Paul Thomas Anderson film. Leonardo DiCaprio plays a middle-aged former revolutionary living incognito with his teenage daughter in a sanctuary city, where Benicio del Toro is a martial arts instructor running an Underground Railroad for migrants. It’s a movie that hits hard given this year’s ICE raids and, y’know, fascism, but there’s enough humor in it to keep the movie from feeling too heavy. The pacing is also fantastic, which is more or less to be expected from the director of Boogie Nights. I hadn’t realized that nearly three hours passed when the lights in the theater rose and I pulled out my phone to see messages that Prop 50 passed and Zohran Mamdani is New York’s new mayor. One Battle After Another  is playing  at a bunch of theaters in Los Angeles right now and that’s my one movie recommendation of this week because there are loads of concerts happening in the next few days. 

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Indie music and alt culture blog from Los Angeles. By Liz O.