New Music: Moostache, Wrapping Paper, States

MoostacheMoostache‘s debut, Anything, Alone, finds the Huntington Beach band following the scrappy guitar tradition of a number of local heroes — the Henry Clay People, the World Record, pretty much any L.A. act that’s ever made it onto Aquarium Drunkard. (Love you, dude.) The album’s a winning set of fuzzy riffs and post-Buddy Holly melodies, but I like them best in sentimental mode on “EOS,” a not-quite ballad with a wounded melody that recalls dear, departed indie-pop heroes Pants Yell! (Anything, Alone is out now on Bandcamp)

Moostache – “EOS”: mp3

Robert Pollard still breathes, but there are others keeping the power-pop torch burning. Chief among them: Wrapping Paper, a sunny, lo-fi project led by Crazy Tim. The band’s You Could Appear Anywhere EP, only its third official release, shimmers in the summer heat like an exceptionally well-maintained ’72 Trans Am. (Get the EP for $1.99 from Giantship Records)

Wrapping Paper – “You Could Appear Anywhere”: mp3

We need more bands like Paramore. States is one of those bands. The new group — full of emo scene veterans — borrows just enough from Hayley Williams & Co. for debut set Room to Run to sound like contemporaries, not rip-offs (though on songs such as “Everlasting,” they come pretty close). It’s an album of enthusiastic, riff-heavy pop-rock with enough gloss for the radio and enough passion for you not to care. (Room To Run is out now on Tooth & Nail)

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