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Again, some of them may be already familiar names to you. From the LA Times:
10 More Homegrown Artists You Ought to Know
Giant Drag, Go Betty Go and the Vacation are among the bands highlighted.
September 29, 2005
Giant Drag
Album: "Hearts and Unicorns" (Kickball/Interscope), released Sept. 13
At once waif-like and irascible, 24-year-old Annie Hardy packs a punch, from her gauzy guitar tones to her arresting stage presence to her potty mouth. On "Hearts," Hardy and drummer Micah Calabrese (who sometimes plays keyboards left-handed) only modestly advance their 2004 EP, which made the L.A. duo underground favorites. But Hardy's serrated worldview, perfect for an age when everything, and nothing, is ironic, figures to win legions of fans.
Recommended: Stream or watch the video for "This Isn't It" at giantdrag.com
Go Betty Go
Album: "Nothing Is More" (SideOneDummy), Sept. 13
Latina quartet with roots in Glendale segues effortlessly from English to Spanish and infuses its barbed pop-punk with all the requisite 'tude. It's working-class rock, delivered with undeniable charm, from guitarist Betty Cisneros' shredding to Nicolette Vilar's vocals. And "I'm From L.A." is a soundtrack to showing up late for a date.
On the Web: gobettygo.com
Inara George
Album: "All Rise" (Everloving), Jan. 25
The 30-year-old Topanga native's musings on life and love harbor some nifty surprises — she opens with "Mistress" on her debut. So effortless is her storytelling and so understated the arrangements, it's as if she's already wrestled her demons, and won. That's poise, folks.
Recommended: Stream "No Poem" using the pop-up radio at inarageorge.com
The Vacation
Album: "Band From World War Zero" (Echo), April 26
Their visceral, extend-the-index-finger-and-pinkie rock is nothing L.A. hasn't seen before, but the fact that the quartet tacitly acknowledges their forerunners — and even thumbs their noses at their dangerous proximity to parody — is part of the appeal. Rail-thin front man Ben Tegel is a dervish, prancing amid a shower of sweat and beer. C'mon, Axl, you wish you wrote "Destitute Prostitutes."
Recommended: Stream "White Noise" at thevacationmusic.com
400 Blows
Album: "Angel's Trumpet and Devil's Trombones" (Gold Standard Labs), May 10
Maybe the best punk band in Los Angeles, and — considering how the term has been vitiated by commercialism — perhaps one of the only ones. This trio makes concessions to nothing. Skot Alexander shrieks over atonal blasts from guitarist Christian Wabschall, and drummer Ferdinand Cudia assaults the senses and stiffens the spine.
On the Web: 400blows.net, or stream "The Beauty of Internal Darkness" at myspace.com/400blows
Dios (Malos)
Album: "Dios (Malos)" (Startime/Vagrant), due Oct. 11
Hawthorne quartet, already veterans of Coachella, follows up their uneven but engaging 2004 debut with an album of smart, sensitive-guy pop, stirring Britpop and rootsier elements into a retro psychedelic stew.
Recommended: Stream "I Want It All," at myspace.com/diosmalos
Bleed the Dream
Album: "Built by Blood" (Warcon), April 26
This Orange County quartet soldiered through the year despite the April death (of leukemia) of drummer Scott Gottlieb, who provided tracks on the record between chemotherapy sessions. Behind the screams of Brandon Thomas, Dave Aguilera leads a relentless guitar-and-rhythm attack that never overwhelms its melodic sensibility.
Recommended: Stream "Legends Die" at myspace.com/bleedthedream
Limbeck
Album: "Let Me Come Home" (Doghouse), Aug. 9
With its second album since transmuting into alt-country rockers, the O.C. quartet has achieved a winsome twang that acknowledges both where it's from and where its tour van has taken it. Imagine the Jayhawks being embraced by metal-minded suburban kids — that's the audience Robb MacLean's heartfelt songwriting has won.
On the Web: limbeck.net or stream "Home Is Where the Van Is" at myspace.com/limbeck
The Like
Album: "Are You Thinking What I'm Thinking?" (Geffen), Sept. 13
The young trio, whose fathers have music-industry résumés, has followed up a batch of self-released EPs with an album of mostly bouncy and sometimes poignant pop bouquets, seemingly all ready for radio. Just wait till life calluses songwriter Z Berg a little bit.
Recommended: Watch the video for "What I Say and What I Mean" at ilikethelike.com
Chris Pierce
Album: "Static Trampoline" (Prana), Sept. 13
The native son appears just about ready to take his soul singing beyond the coffeehouses: He recently toured as Seal's opening act, and his album was picked up by an indie label for wider release this month.
Recommended: Stream "Are You Beautiful" using the pop-up radio at chrispierce.com
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These are the ones to look out for next year, according to the article:
Ones to watch: '06
Seven bands whose shows and/or early recordings make them artists to track next year:
Cold War Kids: In recent club shows and on a homemade EP, Jonnie Bo Russell's stabbing riffs and Nathan Willett's pained vocals augur greatness for this potent Orange County quartet.
Lavender Diamond: This L.A. quartet, built around the pristine vocals of Becky Stark, has self-released an EP, "The Cavalry of Light." It's pop to dream to.
American Eyes: Capable of mosh-worthy punk, searing metal and edgy dance-rock, the David Henry-fronted L.A. quintet is already a big draw in Hollywood.
Great Northern: Great promise from the project fronted by Solon Bixler and Rachel Stolte, and part of the Ship Collective, a fraternity of groups that record at the Eagle Rock studio the Ship.
Foreign Born: There's a touch of '80s revivalism, and hints of more, on this Los Angeles quartet's "In the Remote Woods" EP.
Agent Sparks: On its new EP, "Not So Merry," the L.A. quartet featuring the vocals of Ben Einziger and Stephanie Eitel (with production by Ben's brother, Incubus' Mike Einziger) blends the sound of Pixies influences and punk referents.
Takota: The Orange County quintet fronted by vocalist Grant Arnow has some metal aspirations and some pop sensibilities.
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