A Look Back at 2018’s Best Music Outta Long Beach

Not only was this year chock full of amazing shows by local acts—Fodder at Qué Sera, the Ikey Owens Tribute at MTG, Headless Palms at 4th Street Vine, The Blck Noise at Harvelles (to name a few)—but there were also some killer albums, EPs, mixtapes, and singles bestowed upon us. We’ve compiled a list (in no particular order) of some of our members’ favorite 2018 releases from Long Beach musicians, and a Spotify playlist with even more. Check ‘em out, then go buy their music and merch!

Dirty Merlin – “Post Perfect” (album) | Released: November

Dark, throbbing, shadowy samples, and techno tempos—this is what a cyber-kinetic record sounds like. There’s something vaguely erotic about it, but with tracks like “Not My Face” and “Defunct Member,” it’s an eroticism tinged with dysphoric darkness and maybe some unrequited desires.

Post Perfect is the latest release from Dirty Merlin, a member of the Long Beach-based art and music collective GRN+GLD, whose membership includes Repeated Measures, Mu., and Lobo Incognito. This album was released on Dark Magnet Records.

The artist described the concept behind the album as a follow-up to 2016’s “Perfect Princess” and in a social media post says the album finds the Princess, our protagonist, “retreating from the world of illusion, yet far from disillusioned. Has the world changed at all or has she changed? Which is more likely? The sounds have grown darker.”

—Joe Brizzolara

LITRONIX – “Santa Monica” (song/music video) | Released: December

While this song is an homage to another, lesser (I’ll say it), coastal city, and Kevin Litrow isn’t strictly from Long Beach, he’s on local label Porch Party Records’ lineup. He’s been around for years, playing around town with the late, great 60 Watt Kid (if you haven’t heard of them, seriously, check ‘em out. They’re one of the best experimental pop outfits of the 2000s.) before going solo with NOW!, later reconceptualized as LITRONIX. Porch Party describes LITRONIX as a “music machine inventing irresistible futuristic pop songs.”

Litrow’s performances are like a new age revival. Pulsing mechanical drums, manic operatics, stark synths, with Litrow delivering esoteric proclamations ( “your eyes are dilated. My spirits elevated. The ocean’s habitated. We’re no longer opinionated”) with a healthy dose of irony ( “let’s throw a party and practice happiness” ).

“Santa Monica” is a departure from the characteristically electronic LITRONIX sound—a restless acoustic hymn with some puttering percussion and Litrow’s wistful, almost angelic voice.

Father, will you bless my ocean breeze

Father, the smog is choking the grass beneath

Santa Monica, will you pray for me to breathe

Santa Monica, like you cried for Augustine

Santa Monica, make me holy and pristine

The music video for the song was made by Jack Campise and Jack Massura and recorded on VHS. We get to see Kevin Litrow walk around sunny Santa Monica in a mirror bedecked dark blazer. Pretty chill.

—Joe Brizzolara

Slice – “S/T” (EP) | Released: March

Slice is Meg, Barb, Alex, and Kelsey. You don’t need to know their last names because you probably already know them if you’ve ever been to a show in Long Beach. They released a tiny yet mighty EP “S/T” back in March, and it begins with their banger and audience-obsessed hit “Horchata Teeth.” This memorable, groovy tune will never fail you. You could be stuck in 405 traffic, stuck in line at a food truck, or anxiety-stricken at Qué, and the song will get you swaying and bopping until your mood changes for the better.

The three-track EP brings you to its close with talented timing on “Celadon City” and ethereal harmonies on “Strata.” Like the musicians of Slice, S/T is undeniably melodic and tantalizing.

—Madison D’Ornellas

Alina Kano – “it’s over” (Single) | Released: October

Leave it to Alina Kano to slyly release music on my birthday. She’s coy and mysterious, a thoughtful and meticulous artist. “it’s over” is her first public self-release, and it’s one of the most sad, beautiful things I heard this year. Her Bandcamp categorizes the single as “alternative” but the track ebbs and flows through psychedelic spaces of sounds; it feels like a retro lullaby while still holding a modern feel. It emulates 2018: it’s rugged, it smothers, and it’s heartbreakingly revealing.

Tomisin Oluwole
Face the Music, 2022
Acrylic on canvas
24 x 36 inches

Click here to check out our interview with Tomisin Oluwole, a literary and visual artist based in Long Beach.

Instead of gunking up our site with ads, we use this space to display and promote the work of local artists.

—Madison D’Ornellas

WARGIRL – “WARGIRL” (album) | Released: October

Like their hometown predecessor and more masculine namesake, WARGIRL’s music is flavored by the percussive sounds of the conga, campana, and güiro. But that backstop is only the beginning as strutting post-punk bass lines, anthemic indie rock choruses, and sultry rhythm and blues all make their way into the album’s musical vocabulary—one that’s as diverse as the band members. The sextet features Cold War Kids singer/producer Nathan Willett on guitar and is fronted by Samantha Parks, daughter of James Lafayette Parks, the leader of the 1970s funk band Bull & The Matadors.

Disco necromancers in their rug-burning opening track “Poison,” the band layers airy synths, wah guitar, and punchy bass lines to create a track that both sounds fresh yet could also be on the soundtrack of a 1970s spy flick. As a testament to their versatility, seven songs later you find yourself immersed in the steamy, psychedelic jungle jam “I Know I,” which is drenched in electric organ and reverbed-out, chicha-esque guitar with Parks’ smoldering voice sifting through existentially pained lyrics.  

WARGIRL has an upcoming show at the Echoplex in Los Angeles on Jan. 8 before setting off on a Euro tour.

—Kevin Flores

Nesma Jones – “Lost Files” (mixtape) | Released: June

From the first time I listened to this mixtape after randomly stumbling upon it while cruising through Bandcamp, I have not been able to get it out of my mind. Nesma Jones raps about the gospel of “pronoia”—the opposite of paranoia—in one way or another throughout five roman numeral-ed tracks. It’s the kind of positively optimistic everything-is-going-to-work-out stuff that I normally wouldn’t go for, but it’s so damn sincere it has the power to convert.

There’s no real production here, so it’s definitely rough-around-the-edges, but there’s something dizzyingly engrossing about a simple beat, a mic, and a woman, who can go from a manic, guttural flow that at times recalls Eminem to Noname sing-song chill. There’s a lot of raw talent here. So check her out.

—Kevin Flores

Ellen Warkentine – “Nonsense Mouth” (album) | December

“Nonsense Mouth” is a particularly ambitious project by theatrical multi-instrumentalist composer and performing artist Ellen Warkentine that is truly a gift that keeps giving. Jokingly referred to as her “poor woman’s Lemonade” (tongue-in-cheek reference to Beyonce’s visual album about heartbreak and empowerment with a nod to Ellen’s considerably smaller budget), her six-video visual album was masterfully brought to life with the help of a wide range of Long Beach talent.

Ellen’s sound is often compared to Björk (she also credits her as a big influence) and Joanna Newsom, as the music brings you into a beautifully weird but relatable landscape complete with gorgeous harmonies, piano, strings, and lyrics that take time to soak in but give you more and more each listen. Nonsense Mouth was recorded at Big Ego Studios in Long Beach and released by Monte Bre Records, a new record label formed by local musicians Alyssandra Nighswonger and George Madrid. Look out for the stunning accompanying music videos which are set to be released in 2019.

—Erin Foley

Nonchalant Savant’s – “¡Spark!” (EP) | Released: March

A familiar face at the monthly “Fight Club” held every first Friday at Que Sera (both with the band Via Leaves and his solo self-titled project), Nonchalant Savant is known for his big grin and funky, Latin, reggae, and rhythm and blues-flavored beats that take you to another dimension while keeping the dance floor hyped.

Whereas Via Leaves feels a bit more irreverent and fun, Spark takes you on a slower, sensual ride through his mind as he gazes at his lover or helps you “take a lift up to the sun”-without losing the infectious percussion that keeps you moving and grooving along. Stand out tracks for me were “Mixed Signals,” “Cupcakes,” and “Via Leaves (3 wishes)”—the latter has become a crowd favorite that has most everyone singing along every time he plays it live at Fight Club.

—Erin Foley

The Vespertines – “Cabellero Tranquilo” (single) | Released: October

Lead singer Vanessa Acosta’s soaring vocals and guttural tones are somewhat reminiscent of Heart’s Ann Wilson, and yet the sounds she makes are pure magic and all her own. When her vocal stylings are combined with the skillful playing of Chris Walker on drums, Alex Kater on guitar (who, disclaimer, is also the very skilled coder behind this here website), and Kyle Cavaness on bass, The Vespertines dexterously spin their classic quartet into something totally original and incredibly powerful. With their engaging sound and inspiring longevity it is no surprise that they remain a well-respected favorite in the Long Beach scene and beyond.

Their newest single, which translates into “The Quiet Gentleman,” manages to make their brand of unvarnished rock n’ roll more compelling than ever. In “Cabellero Tranquilo,” Acosta completely lets her vocals fly while staying grounded to the earth-she is anything but quiet- she is a force of nature with her heart on her sleeve. This single promises to be just one exciting taste of what is to come from The Vespertines in 2019 and I am definitely here for it all.

—Erin Foley