BUZZ BANDS

I love you, and I've chosen darkness

Darker My Love put an obsidian sheen on fierce guitar riffery, and Building a Better Spaceship are already wistful for '90s alt rock.

July 6, 2006

Welcoming a dark and ominous sound

Los Angeles' psychedelic music scene bursts with more hues than a store full of lava lamps, and sometimes the fare seems just as commercially precarious. Black Rebel Motorcycle Club started as a shoegazer outfit before segueing to Americana; other purveyors of dense guitar trippiness such as the Brian Jonestown Massacre and the Warlocks have carved out strong cult followings, while their more pop-minded brethren twiddle and twang on the fringes, sometimes finding more of an audience in England than at home.

Now comes Darker My Love, holding forth every Monday this month at Spaceland.

"People seem to be gobbling it up," singer-guitarist Tim Presley says of the quartet's droney stylings. "Maybe they're just bored of listening to dance punk."

Or maybe they just long for the days when the sheer force of music seemed to give it more resonance. "Some people grew up with Hendrix," Presley says. "I think we all wish we had."

Darker My Love's jagged, ominous tones — featuring Jared Everett on guitar and pinned to the furious rhythms of drummer Andy Granelli (ex-Distillers) and singer-bassist Rob Barbato — caught the ear of producer Dave Cooley, who recommended that local indie Dangerbird Records have a listen. In August, Dangerbird will release "Darker My Love," the band's debut.

"The thing we're trying is to not sound dated," Presley says. "Everybody pulls influences from so many different places that our sound can't stay in one place.... It has elements of a lot of different music."

Now they want to win a label

Building a Better Spaceship keeps winning the little skirmishes; now singer Vinn Lombardo pronounces the Hermosa Beach quartet ready to embark on the larger battle of getting signed and releasing an album.

BBS' twist on driving, post-grunge rock — think '90s Foo Fighters mixing it up with today's emo masses — won the band admirers in last year's Global Battle of the Bands, and more recently the group emerged victorious in a scrum in Las Vegas to earn a slot Friday at the Pomona stop on the Vans Warped Tour (they've since been added to the bill Wednesday at Dodger Stadium).

"Things keep snowballing," Lombardo says. "We seem to be getting some interest from labels too."

The quartet's album demo seems to have enough radio-friendly hooks to keep the day jobs at bay. After all, not long after Lombardo moved to L.A. five years ago, he found himself cleaning dog kennels.

A couple of years, a couple of jobs and a couple of bands later, he auditioned for the spot as Building a Better Spaceship's vocalist — and was amazed at what he heard on the tracks written by guitarist Rick Johnson, bassist Ross Facundo and drummer Adam Holt.

"Ross met me, dropped me off a demo CD, and I wrote to a couple of the songs," Lombardo says. "After about three or four days, I knew it was a good fit. We all seem to be able to write together very easily."

Fast forward

Touts: Also I Like to Rock, the Hammer Museum's Thursday night series that is co-presented by Indie 103.1-FM, kicks off tonight with the strong pairing of Silversun Pickups and Run Run Run. It'll be SSPU's last local date before the July 25 release of its debut album "Carnavas." Run Run Run recently released its debut, "Endless Winter." ... Not that a museum outing should put a dent in tonight's club crowds. The best of those offerings include the estimable Greyboy All-Stars at the Avalon, Tilly & the Wall with Now It's Overhead at the Troubadour and strong locals Sky Parade (at Safari Sam's), the Brokedown (at the Echo) and Dengue Fever (at Tangier).... Then on Friday, rising stars the Little Ones headline an Echo show that includes Dios (Malos) and the Submarines.... Next week, the Shys join Monsters Are Waiting on Monday at the Troubadour, and Bedroom Walls starts a run of Tuesday night shows at El Cid.... And husband-and-wife electronica duo Halou (new album: "Wholeness & Separation") visit the Troubadour on Wednesday.



Recommended downloads

Listen to Darker My Love's "Summer Is Here" at www.myspace.com/darkermylove.

Download Building a Better Spaceship's "This Time" at www.myspace.com/buildingabetterspaceship.

Stream Silversun Pickups' "Little Lover's So Polite" at www.myspace.com/silversunpickups.

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