Indie pop sensations the Shins will join Lily Allen, Rodrigo y Gabriela, Bitter:Sweet

and Cold War Kids as headliners at the sixth edition of KCRW-FM’s A Sounds Eclectic Evening. Official

announcement was expected later today.

The show is Saturday, April 14, at the Gibson Amphitheatre. Tickets go on sale to the

general public on Feb. 27, but are available earlier for members.

The annual

show, which this year features an after-party with electronic act the Pinker Tones, has

hosted the likes of Beck, Coldplay and Norah Jones over the years.

Photo: The

Shins (Brian Tamborello)

Coachella, don’t stand so close to me: Let’s just arrest that talk about the Police

playing this year’s festival.

The massive gathering in Indio may be unofficially subtitled the Great Reunion in the

Desert (with Rage Against the Machine, the Jesus and Mary Chain, Crowded House and the

Happy Mondays taking bows together again), but don’t believe the hype that Sting, Andy

Summers and Stewart Copeland are back in synchronicity for a stop at the Empire Polo

Field. The whispers gained traction this weekend when a presale of tickets for repeat

customers presented the cryptic password "Roxanne." But turn on the red

light.

"No, the Police are not playing, I can tell you that," promoter Paul

Tollett tells Times staffer Geoff Boucher. "This is the show right now as it’s

going to be on the big stages. The main-stage lineup and second-stage lineup for all

three days are locked in."

Welcome to the first Super Tuesday of 2007, when a tsunami of new releases floods

remain some of our favorite people) — for a pick of the week:

Top shelf

Kristin Hersh,

"Learn to Sing Like a Star" (Yep Roc): Remember when Hersh sounded, well,

breakable? This tour de force, her first solo outing since 2003, is punk rock

with strings, all spine and no saccharine, filled with songs that cower from nothing.

The album’s laconic title rings like a comment on a culture so crass it threatens our

very perception, but Hersh’s spirit is unbowed. Her foreboding rasp, counterposed

against gutsy guitars and sturdy percussion, reveals a woman not so much weary of the

world as confident in her ability to sort it out. So it is no hollow plea when the

former Throwing Muses muse and 50 Foot Wave noisemaker sings, "We are wanted / We

are wanted." 

Other recommendations

Of

Montreal, "Hissing Fauna, Are You Destroyer?" (Polyvinyl): This is a

freakout of epic proportions, a wild ride through Kevin Barnes’ technicolor

consciousness. New genre: speed-psychedelia.

Clinic,

"Visitations" (Domino): The cinematic Liverpudlians weigh in with a fourth

album that can only be described as a blacker shade of dark.

The

Broken West, "I Can’t Go On, I’ll Go On," (Merge): Open jewel case,

remove disc, insert disc in CD player, digest for 45 minutes, feel better.

The Shins, "Wincing the Night Away" (Sub Pop): James Mercer

and crew seem to go to great lengths to keep it interesting on their third effort. They

largely succeed, even if some of the experimentalism leaves a mess in the

laboratory.   

Dustin Kensrue, "Please Come

Home" (Equal Vision): Solo outing from the Thrice front man finds a songwriter

awash in rootsy influences. And the twang thang suits him well.

From behind the counter

Today’s recommendation

2nd St., Long Beach:

The Bird and the Bee, "The Bird and the Bee" (Metro

Blue/Blue Note): L.A. local duo Inara George and Greg Kurstin, otherwise known as the

Bird and the Bee, have been creating quite a buzz in our hive. Mixing Brazilian groove,

room-filling girl-group sound, harpsichord and a bit of heavy horn,  their pop

sound gives you the same grateful feeling that you get witnessing another sunrise. It

doesn’t hurt that Inara George earns her nightingale title in this dreamy twosome.

◊ ◊ ◊

Tonight’s touts: The

Bird and the Bee celebrate their album release with a show at the Troubadour, with  the multi-talented Michael Andrews opening. … The Broken West toasts its album with an

in-store gig (7 p.m.) at Sea Level Records

in Echo Park. … Blogging wunderkind Radio Free Silverlake is putting up

one of its Let’s Independent shows at Boardner’s featuring Tigers Can Bite You, the Black Pine and Let’s Go Sailing. … Longtime

friends-to-my-ears Dada play the

Whisky. … Safari Sam’s happenin’ Tuesday

crowd gets a taste of Midnight

Movies, whose new album "Lion the Girl" is due April 26. … Bay

Area-based Gypsy band the Fishtank

Ensemble starts a string of local dates with a show at the Derby, where pianist Dustin O’Halloran (of Devics) is also

performing. … Newbies To Live and Die in

L.A. perform at the Echo. … Singer-songwriter Beth Thornley plays the Temple Bar. … The Procession continues its

residency at El Cid. …  And Helmet plays a not-so-secret show at the Viper Room.

… If you do choose to stay home tonight, click here.

Apparently the Coachella Valley Music

& Arts Festival poster was up on the Web for a heartbeat or two this morning, so

it’s not much of a secret that the Jesus and Mary Chain has been added to the bill. The

brothers Reid officially disbanded in 1999, although the September 1998 show at the

House of Blues revealed a huge rift in the band.

Rage Against the Machine,

the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Bjork were announced this morning as headliners for the

three-day shindig, April 27 to 29 at the Empire Polo Field in Indio.

Other

bands to play in the desert:

The preliminary lineup, subject to changes and

additions: Tiesto; the Arcade Fire; Interpol; Manu Chao; Willie Nelson; Air; Happy

Mondays; Decemberists; Faithless; Gotan Project; the Good, the Bad and the Queen; Paul

Van Dyk; Arctic Monkeys; the Roots; Jarvis Cocker; Sonic Youth; Crowded House; Placebo;

Satellite Party; Stephen Marley featuring Jr. Gong; Kings of Leon; DJ Shadow; Kaiser

Chiefs; Kokono No. 1; LCD Soundsystem; Nickel Creek; Travis; Damien Rice; the Black

Keys; Blonde Redhead; Infected Mushroom; the New Pornographers; Peeping Tom; Placebo;

Rufus Wainwright; the Rapture; Explosions in the Sky; Richie Hawtin; !!! (Chk Chk Chk);

Benny Benassy; Felix Da Housecat; Hot Chip; Jack’s Mannequin; Julieta Venegas; Lily

Allen; Lupe Fiasco; Ozomatli; Peaches; Ghostface Killah; Jose Gonzales; Amos Lee;

Brazilian Girls; Fountains of Wayne; Regina Spektor; VNV Nation; Coco Rosie; Cornelius;

Gillian Welch; Junior Boys; Pharaohe Monche; Roky Erickson and the Explosives; Soulwax;

Sparklehorse; the Kooks; Tilly and the Wall; Andrew Bird; Peter, Bjorn & John; the

Frames; Gogol Bordello; Comedians of Comedy; Justice; MSTRKRFT; We Are Scientists; Yeva;

Grizzly Bear; Amy Winehouse; Avett Brothers; Circa Survive; the Coup; the Cribs; CSS;

Digitalism; Erol Alkan; Evil Nine; Girl Talk; Klaxons; the Noisettes; Spank Rock; Tapes

‘n Tapes; Fields; Tokyo Police Club; Rodrigo y Gabriela; DJ Heather; the Feeling;

Fratellis; Mike Relm; Silversun Pickups; Busdriver; Brother Ali; the Nightwatchman;

Bojones; Mika; Pop Levi; Anathallo; and Fair to Midland.

Coachella promoters

acknowledge they have more surprises up their sleeve. But I guess we’ll have to

wait.

The official poster is above.

[First in an occasional series of ruminations on some of the unsigned bands that

perform:]

Mere Mortals sound as if they’re angling

for a spot in the Britpop pantheon, nurturing a jangly, neo-psychedelic sound that

brings to mind early Primal Scream, Supergrass or maybe Oasis as fronted by a man who

smiles at the world rather than sneers. The merry band of do-it yourselfers

self-released the all-wheat, no-chaff "Rebel Radio" EP late last year, and

several of the disc’s seven songs cracked the specialty charts (which track the amount

of airplay on "specialty" shows where the DJs program their own music).

German-born, London-reared Axel Steuerwald’s deft songwriting touch makes the Mortals

slam-dunks to make Jonesy’s jukebox. Maybe  they can make yours too.

Exclusive download: A non-album track by the Mere Mortals: "Reverberations" The band’s "Rebel Radio" EP is available at iTunes.

||| Mere

Mortals play tonight at the Silverlake Lounge.

Photo, from left: Wil Holland,

Mimi Star, Sean Burgess and Axel Steuerwald (by Terresa Burgess).

◊ ◊ ◊

Glacier Hiking gets a lot of

mileage out of two bodies. Of course, one of those bodies is Tommy Walter (Abandoned

Pools), who plays guitar and manipulates an array of samples that give the duo’s music

an almost caustic electronic backing. And since wise-guy vocalist Ross Golan can write

(and deliver) big, clever choruses, you figure Glacier Hiking will end up on the radio

somewhere. The twosome is finishing up its debut album, "Life Expectancy,"

which Golan says might be expected in April. A video for the song "Cried for

You" is also forthcoming.

Exclusive download: "Wish Me

Luck," off the forthcoming album by Glacier Hiking.

||| Check the

band’s MySpace page for upcoming local dates, which include a Feb. 19 show at the

Echo.

◊ ◊ ◊

Tonight’s touts: Linus of Hollywood plays at the Hotel

Cafe. … Gliss and Gosling head a nice lineup at the Indie

103.1-sponsored night at the Viper Room. … The Idyllists and the Rolling Blackouts tee it up at

Safari Sam’s. … The Western

States Motel and Ferraby

Lionheart support the Broken West

at the latter’s residency at Spaceland. …  Signal Hill Transmission supports the Submarines at the latter’s residency at the

Echo. … And Jonezetta, New Year’s Day and Waking Ashland perform at the

Troubadour.

Rage Against the Machine, the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Bjork top the bill for the

Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival, the three-day festival April 27 to 29 at the

Empire Polo Field in Indio. Here are the other announced acts, straight from the this

morning’s press release:

The preliminary lineup, subject to

changes and additions: Tiesto, the Arcade Fire, Interpol, Manu Chao, Willie Nelson, Air,

Happy Mondays, Decemberists, Faithless, Gotan Project, the Good, the Bad and the Queen,

Paul Van Dyk, Arctic Monkeys, Roots, Jarvis Cocker, Sonic Youth, Crowded House, Placebo,

Satellite Party, Stephen Marley feat Jr. Gong, Kings of Leon, DJ Shadow, Kaiser Chiefs,

Kokono No. 1, LCD Soundsystem, Nickel Creek, Travis, Damien Rice, Black Keys, Blonde

Redhead, Infected Mushroom, New Pornographers, Peeping Tom, Placebo, Rufus Wainwright,

the Rapture, Explosions in the Sky, Richie Hawtin, !!!, Benny Benassy, Felix Da

Housecat, Hot Chip, Jacks Mannequin, Julieta Venegas, Lily Allen, Lupe Fiasco, Ozomatli,

Peaches, Ghostface Killah, Jose Gonzales, Amos Lee, Brazilian Girls, Fountains of Wayne,

Regina Spektor, VNV Nation, Coco Rosie, Cornelius, Gillian Welch, Junior Boys, Pharaohe

Monche, Roky Erickson and the Explosives, Soulwax, Sparklehorse, the Kooks, Tilly and

the Wall, Andrew Bird, Peter, Bjorn & John, the Frames, Gogol Bordello, Comedians of

Comedy, Justice, MSTRKRFT, We Are Scientists, Yeva, Grizzly Bear, Amy Winehouse, Avett

Brothers, Circa Survive, the Coup, the Cribs, CSS, Digitalism, Erol Alkan, Evil Nine,

Girl Talk, Klaxons, the Noisettes, Spank Rock, Tapes ‘n Tapes, Fields, Tokyo Police

Club, Rodrigo Y Gabriella, DJ Heather, the Feeling, Fratellis, Mike Relm, Silversun

Pickups, Busdriver, Brother Ali, Nightwatchman, Bojones, Mika, Pop Levi, Anathallo and

Fair to Midland.

Talk amongst

yourselves.

The reunion of Zack de la Rocha and his bandmates after a seven-year hitaus might be

all the Rage, but pop fans will be just as excited by the news that Crowded

House is re-forming and will play the Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival.

Front man Neil Finn and bassist Nick Seymour are beginning the search for a drummer to

replace Paul Hester, who committed suicide two years ago. Crowded House has not

performed since its farewell show in November, 1996.

In a story running in the Times on Monday, my

colleague Geoff Boucher reports that Rage Against the Machine will join the likes of the

Red Hot Chili Peppers, Bjork, the Arcade Fire, Interpol, Willie Nelson, the Roots, Sonic

Youth, the Arctic Monkeys, Air and Tiesto at this installment of Coachella. Who will

play which day has yet to be determined. Tickets for the three-day festival (April

27-29) go on sale Saturday.

As usual, Los Angeles will be well-represented —

with Satellite Party (the new project from Perry Farrell) and artists such as Silversun

Pickups, Busdriver and Ozomatli lined up to play, according to a variety of sources. The

contingent of English bands is also characteristically strong.

Most

anticipated?  Maybe Damon Albarn’s new band, the Good the Bad and the Queen, which

features bassist Paul Simonon (the Clash), guitarist Simon Tong (the Verve) and drummer

Tony Allen (Fela Kuti).

Pulp front man Jarvis Cocker will be at Coachella

too, touring behind a strong solo release. Up-and-comers the Kooks and the Cribs are on

the bill, as are soft-rockers the Feeling and — in the Whatever Happened To Dept. —

Travis.

More names as we learn them. Nothing on the official Coachella website or on the fest’s MySpace yet.

Davey Ingersoll knew his band’s record label was in trouble, but that didn’t

soften the blow much last Friday when the Gosling singer-songwriter received a text

message from a writer at the LA Weekly: "Sorry to hear about the V2 D-Day."

The label’s demise made free agents out of a lot of

high-profile artists — including the White Stripes, the Raconteurs and Moby — as well

as a slew of up-and-comers. Gosling’s debut, "Here Is …," was released Aug.

22, and the L.A. quartet had gotten its fair share of props for its inventive, cinematic

pop-rock.

"It’s always a little unsettling, but we knew what we going

on," Ingersoll says. "At this point, it seems like any record label that

specializes in rock music is having a pretty hard time, so it wasn’t a huge shock. It

would be nice to know, though, how we’re going to pay for our next tour."

For now, Ingersoll and mates are looking only as far ahead as Monday’s date at the

Viper Room. They are booking a tour with L.A. trio Gliss that will take the bands to the

South by Southwest Music Festival.

Neither was the death of V2 a surprise to

another L.A. band on its roster, the

Adored. "We’re not as upset as you’d expect," guitarist Drew Seventeen

says. "Since the merger [with Artemis], it turned into a completely different

company. When we first signed, it was the coolest place in the world."

The band plans to reconvene in L.A. in a few weeks to start work on its next album.

"It’s a new year, a new start," Seventeen says.

|||

Gosling, Gliss, the Human Value and Modern Memory play Monday at the Indie

103.1-sponsored "Check 1,2 …" night at the Viper Room.

◊ ◊ ◊

Tonight’s touts: Cold War Kids will pack the Silverlake Lounge,

with Fold promoters saying there "may

be some spaces opening up" if there are no-shows. Folks who wait in line at the

Lounge and can’t get in will be given passes to the show down the street at El Cid,

where (ex-Rex Aquarium frontman) Charlie

Wadhams and the Harmony Brothers and Biirdie perform. Wadhams has been recording

with movie composer/producer Michael Andrews (Inara George, Gary Jules, among others).

… Subtle, with Pigeon John supporting, plays at

the Troubadour. … Tony Lucca performs at the

Hotel Cafe, as does singer-songwriter Ernie Halter, who has an album coming out Feb. 6

(more on him in advance of his Feb. 12 record-release show). … And the real

Supernova entertains at the Scene Bar in Glendale.

Photo: Courtesy

www.goslingmusic.com.

He has

busked in Brea, strummed outside the cineplex at the Irvine Spectrum and sung over the

whir of espresso machines at most any coffeehouse that would have him. But the most

serendipitous 15-minute performance of Tyrone

Wells’ career came a year ago at the National Assn. of Campus Activities convention

in Boston.

"I played ‘No Good Without You,’ then I told a story,"

Wells says of the showcase in front of collegiate talent buyers that led to about some

150 offers to play gigs. The son of a preacher from Spokane, Wash., ended up taking more

than 100 of them; then, in a manner of speaking, he ran the table on 2006, getting

signed to Universal Republic, which on Feb. 6 will release his "Hold On."

"Sometimes I felt like I was pushing a boulder up a hill," Wells says.

"Then I got to the top and everything started rolling."

Read Full Story

You don’t have to listen to much of Low Vs Diamond’s first single to get an

idea of where songwriter Lucas Field is coming from — dirty and restless guitars, muted

atmospherics, vocals pleading to “show you ‘Life After Love.’”

“As a middle-schooler in Seattle, I listened to the things you’d expect — Mudhoney,

PJ Harvey, Sonic Youth, Nirvana,” Field says. “Then I went to Colorado for school, and

it was like, ‘Oh, the String Cheese Incident is playing tonight.’ It sent me in a

different direction.”

For now, the L.A.-based quintet stands precipitously between overwrought melancholy

and chimey hopefulness, avoiding both excesses. While Field’s introspective songwriting

leans toward the former, the band’s music plays to an optimism that stops short of

outright glee.

Not that Low Vs Diamond’s commercial prospects don’t suggest the latter.

Singer-guitarist Field, drummer Howie Diamond, keyboardist Tad Moore, guitarist Anthony

Polcino and bassist Johnny Pancoast hooked up with British label Marrakesh Records

(formerly Lizard King, which initially signed the Killers) for a debut EP out Feb. 5 in

England. Then Epic inked to the band to a U.S. deal.

Only a year after playing around town as Colored Shadows and retooling its lineup,

Low Vs Diamond is recording its debut with producers Stacy Jones and Bill Lefler. “It’s

going to be sweet,” says Field, 26. “I’m always going to be into arrangements like [in

the songs of] Bacharach, Marvin Gaye and artists like that. But I want to incorporate

the big moments that rock fans love.”

||| Low Vs Diamond plays Thursday night at the Troubadour.

||| Hear "Life After

Love."

◊ ◊ ◊

Tonight’s touts: Cut Chemist holds forth at Safari Sam’s. …

Singer-songwriter Priscilla Ahn kicks off a residency at the Hotel Cafe (where Patrick

Park also performs). … Scissors for Lefty brings its dance party to Club Moscow at

Boardner’s. … And Daphne Loves Derby, Meg & Dia and Ronnie Day play an acoustic

show at the Knitting Factory — their dates Friday and Saturday at Chain Reaction in

Anaheim are sold out.

Photo: From left, Tad

Moore, Howie Diamond, Lucas Field, Anthony Polcino, John Pancoast (by Jade Loop)