In The Sunflower Boys, Sam Wachman Weaves a Touching Portrait of Ukraine and the Impact of War on Youth

cover of The Sunflower Boys by Sam Wachman

Sam Wachman was in Romania helping to organize an English immersion camp for youth from Ukraine, drinking tea with some of the kids. A year had past since the start of the war and, after hearing their stories, he suggested they write a book. “They said, we’re busy,” he recalls, “you write it.” 

Six months later, Wachman had a first draft of The Sunflower Boys, which was released on August 12. In it, a Ukrainian boy on the cusp of his teens, Artem, sees life forever changed when war comes to his hometown. After tragedy strikes his family, his priorities shift as Artem must now escape the country with his younger brother in hopes of reuniting with their father. It’s a riveting, and heartbreaking story. In fact, there are two, equally compelling stories that intertwine in The Sunflower Boys because, while Wachman was able to complete the novel after that conversation over tea, he had actually started work on what would be his debut novel before the war began. 

Continue reading In The Sunflower Boys, Sam Wachman Weaves a Touching Portrait of Ukraine and the Impact of War on Youth

Tomata du Plenty at MutMuz Gallery and Art as a Human Act

Inside MutMuz Gallery in Chinatown, Los Angeles for the opening of Tomata, a retrospective show of the art of Tomata du Plenty
Inside MutMuz Gallery for the opening of Tomatâ

On Friday night, the party at MutMuz spilled out of the gallery and onto the otherwise quiet Chung King Road, a semi-hidden pedestrian street in Chinatown that’s known for art galleries. First wave L.A. punks mingled with my own generation of electro-weirdos, while a handful of teenagers milled about the gallery owned by Mark Mothersbaugh. On the walls was a retrospective of of the late artist Tomatâ du Plenty, including his paintings, as well as photos and ephemera related to his performances, including his time as the frontman of seminal synthpunk band the Screamers. 

Continue reading Tomata du Plenty at MutMuz Gallery and Art as a Human Act

New Alison Goldfrapp, Tyler the Creator and Everything Else You Heard at The Mermaid on 8/17/25

The Mermaid Little Tokyo Los Angeles August 2025 (Photo: Liz Ohanesian)
Inside the Mermaid 8/17/25 (Pic: Liz O.)

It’s been a minute since I’ve DJed at The Mermaid, long enough where I hadn’t seen how the corner near the DJ booth now looks like an underwater cave (see pic above). It’s super cute. Anyhow, last night was an open format set, so you heard everything from new Alison Goldfrapp and Tyler the Creator to oldies from Brenton Wood and Creedence Clearwater Revival to everything in between. Set list is below. 

Continue reading New Alison Goldfrapp, Tyler the Creator and Everything Else You Heard at The Mermaid on 8/17/25

Alison Goldfrapp Brings Dance Floor Heat on Flux

Alison Goldfrapp Flux album cover

If you’ve been paying attention to the singles that Alison Goldfrapp has dropped this year, then you have an idea of what to expect from the singer’s new album, Flux. It’s a pop-minded album that does, at least at times, recall her work with Goldfrapp, the duo that bears her name. Still, “Reverberotic” and “Find Xanadu” aren’t the only jams on this album and, if you’re a fan of those two songs in particular, definitely get Flux in your queue asap. 

Flux is Goldfrapp’s second solo album. Two years ago, she released The Love Invention, a dreamy disco collection that was one of my favorite albums of 2023. With Flux, the sound is a little more rooted in the singer’s legacy while maintaining a contemporary sound. 

Continue reading Alison Goldfrapp Brings Dance Floor Heat on Flux

Nuovo Testamento Continues Their Dance Pop Experiments on Trouble

Nuovo Testamento press photo by Kristopher Kirk
Nuovo Testamento (Photo: Kristopher Kirk)

Good things take time and Nuovo Testamento is a band that’s keenly aware of that. About a year after releasing their 2023 full-length, Love Lines, the L.A.-based trio returned to the studio and, just last month, they released the result, a five-song EP called Trouble. In the context of recorded music’s history, two-and-a-half years isn’t much of a gap between releases. Still, singer Chelsey Crowley says, during the in-between time, the band heard, “you guys haven’t put out music in so long.”

It’s an extension of the art vs. content debate. How often should bands be releasing music? Should you pump out the jams to satiate the platforms or wait until the songs you want to make are ready? Crowley offers a definitive answer. “We prefer to have songs that we like,” she says. “We’ll let them marinate for a second.”

It’s an attitude that’s reflective of the band’s roots too. While Nuovo Testamento’s music is steeped in late 20th century pop influences, they’re still punk to the core. They tend to tour extensively and are proponents of physical media. “It’s not just about this digital space,” says Crowley. 

Continue reading Nuovo Testamento Continues Their Dance Pop Experiments on Trouble

Tomata du Plenty Art Show, Echo Park Rising and More Happening in L.A. 8/14 – 8/20/25

buttons on jackets and t-shirts hanging outside of Leiminspace in Chinatown for opening Monday Nights: L.A.'s Scene of the Century (Photo: Liz Ohanesian)
See Monday Nights: L.A.’s Scene of the Century and make your own buttons on Saturday, August 16, at leiminspace in Chinatown

I’m not DJing this weekend, but have a pretty good amount of recommendations for shows, dance parties, movie screenings and more. Keep reading for my top picks of events happening in L.A. between Thursday, August 14 and Wednesday, August 20.

Continue reading Tomata du Plenty Art Show, Echo Park Rising and More Happening in L.A. 8/14 – 8/20/25

Jeffrey Runnings’ Piqued Is A Beautiful Final Solo Album From the Late For Against Bassist and Vocalist

Piqued by Jeffrey Runnings on vinyl out now on Independent Project Records
Jeffrey Runnings’ final solo album is out now on Independent Project Records (Pic: Liz O.)

In the extensive liner notes by Camilla Aisa, Jeffrey Runnings says that it wasn’t his intention to release the music that he was recording on a thrifted 8-track machine. But, in a tragic turn of events, Piqued  would be Runnings final solo album. Last fall, the musician, known for his work as bassist and singer of For Against, learned that he had advanced stage cancer. Over the course of the next few months, he was able to finish up the collection of songs and work with Independent Project Records, who had previously released For Against albums, to begin approving the artwork. Runnings died on March 3, 2025 at the age of 61. Piqued was released posthumously in July. It is both a testament to Runnings’ creativity and a loving tribute to the musician. 

Continue reading Jeffrey Runnings’ Piqued Is A Beautiful Final Solo Album From the Late For Against Bassist and Vocalist

The Sound of Saturday Night in Downtown Los Angeles

HLLLYH live at The Smell on Saturday, August 9, 2025 (Photo: Liz Ohanesian)
HLLLYH live at The Smell on Saturday, August 9, 2025 (Pic: Liz O.)

I’m trying to think of the last time I had been to The Smell. It was so long ago that I nearly forgot to enter through the alley in the back. Maybe I haven’t been here since before the pandemic? The last show I remember seeing at the venerable L.A. DIY space was that dog and Graham Coxon. It was a night hotter than this one, sometime during the summer before the timeline went awry. A lot has changed since 2019. That The Smell still exists says a lot about the venue. I probably should go to shows here more often, but the thing is that, once you hit a certain age, hanging out at an all-age punk venue with no specific purpose can be a little awkward. Like, do I really need people to assume that I’m a mom keeping an eye on her weird kid when I’m still, mentally, the weird kid?

Tonight, though, I have a specific, age-appropriate purpose. I’m going to see HLLLYH, which is the new band spawned from The Mae Shi, who I saw at The Smell more than once back when I was young and downtown was still a ghost town after dark.

Continue reading The Sound of Saturday Night in Downtown Los Angeles

New Alice Glass and Lebanon Hanover + More of What You Heard at Nocturno (Darkwave/Indie/New Wave Room) on August 8, 2025

Vilevo live at Nocturno in Los Angeles on August 8, 2025 (photo: Liz Ohanesian)
View from the DJ booth: Vilevo live at Nocturno (Pic: Liz O.)

Vilevo played live last night at Nocturno and their set was fire. I watched from the DJ booth, both above and behind the stage, so I really could only see the backs of the musicians, but I saw the way the crowd lit up when they played and that was really cool. Anyhow, I bought their album, Recopilación, this morning and am listening to it right now. Give it a listen when you have a chance. 

Alice Glass dropped a new single a couple weeks ago, “Catch and Release,” and it slayed last night. Instant banger. You’ll definitely be hearing this more in the coming weeks/months. Other new tunes in the set include “My Love” from Lebanon Hanover, which turned up pretty early in the set, plus “Everything We Thought We Knew” from N8NOFACE and “Rearrange” by Sextile, both of which I started playing at Underground in the past few weeks. Then there are the new-ish songs that I’ve played at Nocturno previously this summer, but are definitely getting more people out on the dance floor now: French Police “Sugar Killer,” Mareux “Nonstop Romance” and Ultra Sunn “Wrong Floor.” Set list is below. 

Continue reading New Alice Glass and Lebanon Hanover + More of What You Heard at Nocturno (Darkwave/Indie/New Wave Room) on August 8, 2025

Rain Parade Reintroduces Listeners to Crashing Dream with New Deluxe Edition

Rain Parade press photo by Billy Douglas
Rain Parade (photo: Billy Douglas)

If you already have the new, deluxe reissue of Crashing Dream, the 1985 sophomore album from Rain Parade, jump ahead to “Gone West.” Tap your foot to the steady beat and tune into the guitar jangle and spectral voices. Listen closely and you might hear an L.A. band that is steeped in ‘60s psychedelia, yet foreshadows the sounds that would emanate from the U.K. by the end of the decade, from The Stone Roses to Primal Scream to Ride to Teenage Fanclub.

We’ve always been hermits. We didn’t really know this until we started playing again in about 2012, but, at that time, we started running into these people, like Mani from the Stone Roses,” says Rain Parade co-founder Matt Piucci. “He contacted me on social media  and was like we love you guys and we wanted to be you guys.” Piucci heard something similar Teenage Fanclub’s Gerard Love. And, several years ago, he attended a Ride show and heard a Rain Parade album playing before the show. 

Continue reading Rain Parade Reintroduces Listeners to Crashing Dream with New Deluxe Edition

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