Beatique

  • 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. 

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  • 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.

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  • 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. 

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  • 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.

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  • 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. 

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  • 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. 

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  • Klub Nocturno Is Back at Catch One on August 8 + More Happening This Weekend in L.A.

    Klub Nocturno flyer Friday, August 8, 2025

    Nocturno is back at Catch One (4067 Pico Blvd. 90019) for five rooms of dancing on Friday, August 8. You’ll find me in the darkwave vs. indie sleaze room, which is also where Vilevo is playing live. On top of that, I’ll be playing an extra dose of She Past Away tunes for you throughout the night. Tickets are available now on Dice for this 18+ night.  Check out my set list from last month’s Nocturno and make plans to join us on Friday night. 

    Here’s what else is happening this weekend and early next week. 

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  • The Uplifting Soul of Annie and the Caldwells

    Annie and the Caldwells (Photo: Annie Forrest)
    Annie and the Caldwells (Photo: Annie Forrest)

    As soon as Annie and the Caldwells took to the stage at Zebulon, I felt a sense of levity. It was early June and the mood in Los Angeles was heavy. ICE raids had triggered protests, which led to an overreaction that landed downtown, where I live, under an 8 p.m. curfew. Meanwhile, in nearby neighborhoods, like Frogtown, where Zebulon is located, it was business as usual. At least, that’s how it looked inside the club. The room was full and completely alive. As Deborah Caldwell Moore belted out the heartfelt lyrics of “Wrong,” we caught the groove and kept it going throughout the set. The tempo ebbed and flowed as they played, but the energy remained high. Hands were thrown in the air during “I Made It.” It wasn’t just a good show, but an uplifting one. 

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  • New N8NOFACE, Ora the Molecule and More of What You Heard at Club Underground on 8/01/25

    Club Underground at Grand Star Jazz Club August 1, 2025
    View from the DJ Booth (pic: Liz O.)

    It was hard to decide which new N8NOFACE song should get played first in my sets. Then, while playing at Underground last night, it hit me that “Everything We Thought We Knew” would work well with the one Molchat Doma song that everyone knows. I think it’s a keeper. Finally got around to playing “Nobody Cares” by Ora the Molecule last night too and that also did well. 

    There’s one new song that I really wanted to play last night, but couldn’t fit it into the set, so you’ll have to wait a few weeks until I’m back at Underground. Other than that, thanks for dancing and here’s the set list. Anything new-ish is linked to a related post or, if there is no related post, a YouTube clip.  

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  • Monday Nights Opens This Saturday, Plus More Happening in L.A., 7/31-8/06/25

    A wee bit of Sean Carnage's photo collection from Monday Nights: L.A.'s Scene of the Century 2005-2016. Show opens at Leiminspace in Chinatown on Saturday, August 2, 2025 (Photo: Liz Ohanesian)
    A wee bit of Sean Carnage’s photo collection from Monday Nights: L.A.’s Scene of the Century 2005-2016. Show opens at Leiminspace in Chinatown on Saturday, August 2, 2025 (Photo of installation by Liz O.)

    I spent a decent chunk of Tuesday afternoon at Leiminspace with Sean Carnage and Miguel Rodriguez listening to Cold War Kids, CSS and Bloc Party while hanging Monday Nights: L.A.’s Scene of the Century, 2005 -2016. The top photo is actually a before pic from Tuesday. We added a lot more to the wall and there are more walls and more photos and I’m getting pretty excited for people to have the chance to see it. The show opens on Saturday, August 2, with the festivities happening between 4 p.m. and 8 p.m. Do join us in Chinatown’s Central Plaze at Leiminspace (443 Lei Min Way) for the opening. If you can’t make it, the show is running through August 23 and regular gallery hours are Saturdays from 1 p.m. until 6 p.m. We also made a 120-page mook/exhibition catalog that will be sold at the gallery. Stay tuned for more programming announcements too. 

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