I spent my Valentine’s Day with eight men. Don’t get too excited. Fifty Shades of Grey didn’t inspire me to get that exploratory. Do get reasonably excited, though, because seeing locally bred bands PAPA and Harriet at The Roxy is much more scintillating than my sex life.

Both bands have hooky alternative sounds rooted in a lot of rock n roll, a little bit of electronica and a little bit of folk. Alex Casnoff, the lead singer of Harriet and former member of both PAPA and Dawes, best described the sound in an interview for LA Weekly, saying it resembled “an American Radiohead. And that means integrating electronics with rock and roll the way Radiohead does, but with a very American heart.”

He later stated, in regards to his own persona, that he’s “controlling in a fun way,” which is reflective of Harriet's music. Their sound provides well-calculated and multi-faceted brain candy, but still has the ability to get you spilling gin all over your velvet crop top as you spin around in circles like an overgrown child lost in an after-hours haze. I appreciate that quality in a man… and his music.


I first fell in lust with Harriet when I saw the video (above) for their early single, “I Slept With All Your Mothers,” off their debut 2012 EP, Tell The Right Story. It's cheeky, lyrically and literally, as a naked woman's bum features prominently in the clip.

Harriet is scheduled to release their first EP via Harvest Records, entitled Irish Margaritas, on 3/3. A little birdie tells me you can expect a video for the title-track around that time as well.

And that's not all. Their debut full-length, It's Totally Cool, I Wouldn't Even Worry About It, is set to drop later this spring/summer. Indulge in the cinematic video for its premiere single, "Burbank," below.


Meanwhile, PAPA's music has an undeniable hip-swaying quality and gentle groove that's perfect for sunshiny days filled with suckin' on lollipops and long dips in the pool. Get hot and wet with lead single "I am the Lion King," off their latest release, 2013's Tender Madness, below.


PAPA recently embarked on a special four-date Romantic Getaway Tour for the month of February, but as their official site says, they've been "locked up writing and working on a new record." Previously signed to Loma Vista, they're currently pursuing an indepedent direction. If their new stuff is even half as wonderful as Saturday's cover of Billy Idol's "Dancing With Myself" I may just go into cardiac arrest. Take a deep breath and count slowly to ten; help is on the way.

xx,
Samantha Hissong