Rarely has a debut album sounded so fresh and endearing — without your suspecting the writer copped somebody’s songbook — as the Morning Benders’ “Talking Through Tin Cans.”

The Berkeley-based quartet metes out three-minute dollops of youthful pining as if love songs were something they just sprang on the Internet. “We’re just looking to do something that sounds authentic,” says frontman Chris Chu, an unabashed fan of classic pop who, at 21, appears years away from his first encounter with a razor. “Most of the music I look back on [fondly] has an honest emotion.”

The Benders’ formula of scratchy-but-tasteful guitars, agile melodies and wizened-not-whiny sentiment evolved as if by fate. Chu, a Santa Monica native (in fact, three of the four Benders have SoCal roots), “picked up a friend’s guitar when I was home sick from school one day and started playing,” he says.

Off he went to Cal, where he eventually found Joe Ferrell (guitars, keyboards), Julian Harmon (drums) and, now, Tim Or (who has replaced original bassist David Perales). “After I moved up to Berkeley, I just started writing songs — yeah, I had some girl troubles, but I had some good things happen too,” Chu says. “All the songs are kind of a snapshot of what was going on at the time.”

And to gauge from Chu’s enthusiasm, the album, released this week by fledgling label +1 Records, is just the start. “We love playing music, and so far everything about it is exactly how I wanted it to be,” he says. “We want to make another album already.”

||| Live: The Morning Benders play their album-release show Thursday night at the Echo (free to those who buy the album at Virgin Megastore or at the label’s website). (They will also be back in L.A. on May 19, opening for the Kooks at the Wiltern.)

||| Download: “Boarded Doors.”

||| Watch: The Morning Benders’ new video for “Boarded Doors” is the brainchild of Daniel Stessen, creative director of the L.A. art-film-music collective People Food. Given Chu’s boyish looks, it’s, um, a perfect fit.

Upcoming in L.A.
Speaking of Stessen, he and his People Food cohorts (including the Gray Kid) will perform Saturday night at downtown’s Redwood Bar. … Local psych-poppers the Parson Red Heads celebrate the release of their new EP, “Owl & Timber,” with a show Friday at Spaceland. … And Saturday at Spaceland, Sky Parade marks the release of its new EP,  ”High on Desire,” with a show supporting impressive U.K. newcomers Air Traffic. … The Donnas’ 15th anniversary show Friday at the Viper Room is sold out — as is Saturday’s show at the Troubadour featuring the Duke Spirit, whose new album, “Neptune,” measures up as one of the most solid rock records so far this year. … Electro-poppers Casxio just released a free four-song digital EP (go to their website for the goods) and have a show tonight at UC Riverside (and May 15 at the Continental Room in Fullerton). … With its second EP, “Bloomsbury,” just out, Princeton plays a support slot for Le Switch’s residency on Monday at the Echo. … And it’s a big night in store Monday at Indie 103.1’s weekly shindig at the Viper Room — Everest (its debut “Ghost Notes” just out) and Film School are on the bill.

– Kevin Bronson

Morning Benders photo by Timothy Norris

Aaron Kyle sings as if he’s never five minutes from his last whiskey, or five minutes from his next, occasionally lurching into a down-deep growl you wouldn’t think could come from an angular white dude in a collared shirt and old browline spectacles.

But it’s that voice, and the woeful tales it conveys, that have endeared L.A. fans to the distinctly vintage soul-pop of Le Switch. “We’re not the fashion police,” Kyle says. “I think if you write a good song, people are going to respond, no matter whether it’s gonna end up in Vice magazine. Besides, I’d trade soul for cool any day.”

There’s plenty of that on “We Are Le Switch,” the debut album due this month on Autumn Tone Records (a local imprint run by Justin Gage, the man behind the Americana-leaning blog An Aquarium Drunkard).

Le Switch’s sound, which nods to the likes of Leon Russell, Dr. John and Randy Newman, first began to take shape when Kyle fell in with drummer Joe Napolitano in 2005. Maria DeLuca (trumpet, viola, vocals) joined next, and by the time keyboardist Josh Charney and bassist Christopher Harrison had come on board, Kyle was eager to “make the Leon Russell or Harry Nilsson album we wanted to make,” he says. “Everybody in this band listens to a huge assortment of ’60s and ’70s music — there’s not a lot of new music I can drive with.”

||| Live: Le Switch plays every Monday this month at the Echo.

||| Download: “Pristine.”

Photo by Charlie Chu

Five more L.A. residencies you’d do well to see this month

Mezzanine Owls, whose noisy pop suggests the unlikely collision of Jeff Buckley and Ride, play Mondays at Spaceland. Download: “Snow Globe”

Local six-piece Castledoor is honing (and maybe even adding a bit of edge) to its contagious indie pop every Monday at the Detroit Bar in Costa Mesa.

Party-pop trio Porterville does Mondays at the Silverlake Lounge.

Gran Ronde, the local post-punk quartet whose debut, “Secret Rooms,” came out this spring on Filter, rocks out Tuesdays at Spaceland (and, just to pile up the miles, Thursdays at the Beauty Bar in Las Vegas).

And Camp Freddy — five famous dudes (Billy Morrison, Dave Navarro, Matt Sorum, Donovan Leitch and Chris Chaney) who like to remind you why they’re famous — demonstrate on Thursdays at the Roxy why they might be the best cover band ever. Sugar Ray’s Mark McGrath is joining them this month, and last Thursday’s first installment of the residency featured guests such as Lemmy Kilmister, Steve Jones, Paul Cook, Poe and Nuno Bettencourt. That’s some guest list.

– Kevin Bronson

Ellen Allien would like to set the record straight about her genre of “minimalist electronica.” You might think the term means bone-dry repetitiveness or barely-there soundscapes, but Allien’s music is nothing of the sort. It’s playful, restless, almost-danceable techno that would be hypnotic if it ever stood still, and avant-garde if not for Allien’s love of melody and songcraft.

She’s touring (and stopping by Avalon Hollywood on Saturday) to support her newest mix album “Boogy Bytes Vol. 4″ and her forthcoming album “Sool,” which deconstructs her ideas of sound and song structure even further. We talked to her about the real meanings of minimalism and gender politics in electronica and whether Berliners appreciate those arty Americans snapping up the good apartments there.

“Sool” seems much more obscure and less song-oriented that “Orchestra of Bubbles” or your earlier solo work. What prompted that?

First, I really wanted to work with AGF [Antye Greie-Fuchs], she is one of my favorite producers and I appreciate her work so much. Besides that, she is a friend and I wanted to experience our shared working process. And I thought that AGF would be ideal for supporting me in my wish to do something quite conceptual and minimal, without poppy ambiance. Just something abstract but smart and elegant. And it worked. I used voice only cut up. And it made me happy to create something totally different to my previous albums.

How did working so closely with Apparat on your collaborative last album “Orchestra of Bubbles” affect what you wanted to do with “Sool”?

It affected me to think about the structure of songs, tracks and the single elements. We experienced something very strong by playing live together. And that gave me a different feeling for the arrangement within each track and also the way I used — or avoided to use — my voice unmediated. I used it just for one track, Frieda; which is dedicated to my dead grandmother. But Apparat was and still is a quite inspiring person for me.

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Some say that one day in Finland can feel like a month. Perhaps that explains why Helsinki’s Poets of the Fall sound like they are stuck in 1993 (the band may remind you of oft-maligned post-grunge act Live, except with less-grating vocals and better lyrics, despite the fact that English is lead singer Marko Saaresto’s second language).

But POTF, as their fans call them, don’t seem to care that their earnest rock sound is out of favor. The band doesn’t need America’s stamp of approval anyway; in Finland, their first two records are platinum-sellers, and their just-released offering, “Revolution Roulette,” is likely to follow suit.

Now, thanks to Myspace and YouTube, the Finnish foursome threesome* (the band is touring with an additional member) are gaining a small cult following in the U.S.

But this is no Finnish metal act, mind you.

Last night, POTF played a mini acoustic set a la Nirvana’s “Unplugged” at the posh Bel-Air home of the consulate general of Finland in advance of the band’s official U.S. debut at the House of Blues tonight.

The audience seemed to be heavy on businessmen and women (many not even tangentially in the music industry), although a few had fancy titles like “head of program management” at Nokia Music.

Saaresto says the purpose of the group’s first foray to the U.S. is simply to see if there might be a bit of record label interest, and to “come here and sort of introduce ourselves.”

HOB might want to order an extra case of Finlandia. Anyone who has seen Jim Jarmusch’s 1991 film “Night on Earth” knows Helsinkians are a tough bunch, who know how to hold their vodka (Poets of the Fall’s nervous-looking guitarist asked for a shot after the band’s first song last night).

“We are very welcoming,” Saaresto says of his countrymen in general. “People [from Finland] are not, you know, the most talkative people in the world, but once you get to know them or if you need help or anything, they’re always there to help you.”

Welcome to L.A., Marko, where vapid blonds will talk your ear off and the men will “help you” — if traffic isn’t too bad on the 10, that is.

Tonight’s show is technically part of an annual A&R showcase called Muse Expo, but it shouldn’t be too difficult to get into HOB. To be on the safe side, more information and the ability to register for the Muse Expo (happening over the next few days at the club), is here.

– Photo and post by Charlie Amter

*See comment for further clarification on the band’s line-up.

To listen to the mix in its entirety, click here!

LA Riots don’t do nuance. The Riots’ remixes for A-list electro acts such as Justice, Hot Chip, VHS or Beta and Kid Sister break the faders on every ingredient that matters to a packed dance floor: crunching bass, anthemic hooks and jittery edits that have come to define crossover dance music in the last year.The duo recently signed on with MSTRKRFT’s management and got a record deal with Fools Gold, the label co-owned by Kanye West’s longtime DJ, A-Trak, which has been running the table on flinty hip-hop and electronica. But the Riots made time to craft an L.A. Times-exclusive DJ mix of artists performing at Coachella that they feel define the electro scene this year. It’s 20 minutes of relentless party-starting cuts from France, England, Australia, Brazil and exotic Canada that you can expect to hear in this year’s dance tent, and features several of their own hotly tipped remixes of Coachella artists. Here’s what the Riots had to say about what went into this mix:

“We chose artists that we feel directly relate to what’s going on in electronic music today. It was pretty easy with the lineup at this year’s Coachella because so many of the artists are staples in our sets. Every single song we used in this mix we’ve played in the clubs recently.”

Polish your Wayfarers, don your gold-lamé swimsuit and remember that Paris doesn’t have a lockdown on sweat, sex and techno. We do just fine on our own here.

Hot Chip — “Ready for the Floor (LA Riots Remix)” Buy it here.

Kavinsky — “Testarossa Autodrive (sebastiAn Remix)” Buy it here.

Justice — “DVNO (LA Riots Remix)” Buy it here.

Bonde Do Role — “Gasolina (Radioclit remix)” Buy it here.

Uffie — “Hot Chick” Buy it here.

M.I.A — “Bamboo Banga” Buy it here.

Kid Sister — “Control (LA Riots Remix)” Buy it here.

Cut Copy — “Saturdays” Buy it here.

Chromeo — “Needy Girl (Vandalism Remix)” Buy it here.

Boys Noize — “oh! (A-Trak Remix)” Buy it here.

Justice — “The Party (LA Riots Remix)” Buy it here.

Yelle — “A Cause des Garcons” Buy it here.

Tegan and Sara — “Back in Your Head (Morgan Page Remix)” Buy it here.

Photo: ronysphotobooth

It isn’t as if fans at the Silverlake Lounge never heard an epic guitar solo, but some were surprised on a recent weeknight to see Oystein Greni’s — played after he hopped atop the bar at the Eastside club. “We’re from Scandinavia; we’re allowed to be weird,” the singer-guitarist for the Norwegian trio BIGBANG says good-naturedly.

Not that the band’s roots in Oslo — where they were stationed for six albums over the last decade-plus — have given them much else in the way of traction. Greni and bandmates Olaf Olsen and Oyvind Storli Hoel moved to L.A. in September and “got severely punished,” the frontman says from his Echo Park home studio. “It’s like going to a weird school. You’re so naive and blue-eyed. … There have been many people here who talk so much and do so little — it seems you can make a good long career out of eating lunch, drinking coffee and talking to people.”

Still, the trio that played to thousands in their homeland remain undaunted, releasing their “Wild Bird” EP, paying dues in small clubs and readying the September release of their debut U.S. album, which will mix new material with old. Therein lies another hurdle. BIGBANG’s sound could loosely be described as classic rock played with skate-punk ferocity, but comparisons are all over the map: the Allman Brothers, Bad Company, Rush, the Byrds, to name a few.

“Most American bands are very aware of their demographic, and we’ve never worried about playing to a specific genre,” Greni says. “I love all kinds of music … and a good song is a good song.”

||| Live: The trio plays tonight at Crash Mansion, Wednesday at the Silverlake Lounge and Thursday at the Viper Room’s pre-Coachella party.

||| Download: “Wild Bird” from the trio’s EP of that name.

– Kevin Bronson

Photo by Jan Erik Svendsen

A battle turntablist for the last decade or so, DJ Neil Armstrong found his niche making mixtapes featuring ’80s synth pop, rock, underground hip-hop and other treasures from the crate. He dubbed it his (All Out King) Series, a reference to a line from the pivotal graffiti movie “Style Wars“: “You gotta do everything: If you specialize in just one thing, you can’t call yourself an all-out-king!”

Armstrong is the official DJ for the Mary J. Blige and Jay-Z Heart of the City Tour, a major coup, to be sure. So how did he get there? Story goes that one of Armstrong’s tapes fell into the hands of a Roc-A-Fella Records employee and it went up the chain to Jigga man himself, who used it as inspiration to formulate the highs and lows of his classic “Black Album.”

The 34-year-old Queens, N.Y., native has been making his mixtapes as a labor of love. “I’ve never done this for money,” he said. He’ll make one giant leap for mixtapes tonight at the Hollywood Bowl with Jay-Z and Blige. We caught up with the sonic astronaut last week before he grabbed dinner in Houston.

– Camilo Smith

You’re not even halfway through the 28-show Heart of the City Tour. What’s it been like so far? Any highlights?

[The highlight] hasn’t happened yet. It will be when we hit New York City and play Madison Square Garden [on May 2, 6-7]. Every time I’ve passed by it, I’ve always thought to myself: “I wish I could play in front of a crowd over there.” But I never figured out how it would be possible. And now I’m gonna get that chance.

There are lots of DJs who could have been chosen for this gig. What made you the top pick?

I was told by my bandmates that there were DJs who were called before me that were sent home because they didn’t have enough of a turntablist background to mesh with the band. But from what I understand, I also had the right people pushing for me. One person in particular is N.Y. it girl Vashtie Kola.

You made a mixtape for Roc-A-Fella records a while ago. Did you ever meet Jay-Z because of that?

I met Jay about 20 minutes after I got off the plane in Miami for rehearsals. They set up my turntables right next to him, and the road manager said, “Get your gear, it’s time.”

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The Echo can seem like a smarmy place, host to an implausible number of meaningless hookups, unfriendly elevator eyes and worst of all, bands that pass off little that’s genuine and true. But that’s on a bad night.

On a good night, someone like Thao Nguyen, 23, blows in, with her black hair, laidback strumming and a set of charmingly downplayed lyrics that seem lived in, cozy. Don’t miss her opening for Xiu Xiu tonight at the Echo. Tonight will be a good night, a showcase for her mellow, absorbing Kill Rock Stars debut, “We Brave Bee Stings and All.”

I talked with Nguyen last week as she was tucked into a van in the middle of Texas with her band, The Get Down Stay Down.

–Margaret Wappler

So you’re in a van somewhere outside El Paso. Do you enjoy touring?

It’s so fascinating, such an unnatural lifestyle. It can be amazing and it can be awful. At any point, either good or bad, you say to yourself, “I can’t believe this is my life.” You harness it in a good way… when it’s good, it’s the best thing you could think to do. When you’re with a really warm crowd, who know all the lyrics to your songs, it’s totally worth it.

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The steely, smoky tones in which Sara Lov narrates the rapturous songs on her debut, “Seasoned Eyes Were Beaming,” hint at old wounds viewed through new resolve. For Lov — and yes, that’s her real name — it’s the sound of a thirtysomething finding her own voice while Dustin O’Halloran, her longtime collaborator in the L.A. band Devics, advances his solo career.

“When Dustin started having all these great things happen with his career, I thought, ‘Maybe I should do something myself,’ ” Lov says. “I feel confident as a singer, but I don’t feel like I have a lot of vocabulary musically.”

While Devics’ albums and their Mazzy Star-like shimmer resonated with burnished textures and what Lov calls “Dustin’s complexities,” her own material keeps it simpler “and maybe a little bit darker,” relying on experiences and images culled from a high-mileage life. Lov was kidnapped by her father at age 4 and lived in Israel and then Minnesota until landing in L.A. at age 12 to be reared by an uncle. She met O’Halloran at Santa Monica College, and after Devics was signed to the Bella Union label by the Cocteau Twins’ Simon Raymonde, the duo spent several years in a small town in northern Italy writing and recording their 2003 album, “The Stars at Saint Andrea.”

It was in Italy, where Lov kept an apartment until recently, that she first penned “a few tunes that didn’t feel like Devics songs,” she says. When O’Halloran’s “Piano Solos” gained traction (and earned him a slot as tour opener for k.d. lang), Lov began flushing out more songs, with the help of producer-multi-instrumentalist (and sideman for the likes of Fiona Apple, Alanis Morissette and Gnarls Barkley) Zac Rae.

“He’s done it as kind of a labor-of-love-type thing,” she says. “I’m very lucky that a lot of really great musician friends have come in and played on the record.” Release plans for the album are uncertain. “I’ve learned not to have too many expectations about that sort of thing,” she says. “I’m just happy that I made something that I feel good about.”

–Kevin Bronson

||| Live: Lov is playing tonight, and the remaining Wednesdays in April, at Tangier.

||| Download: “A Thousand Bees.”

Just think of the Ruby Suns’ sound — an arrestingly wide-ranging palette of psych-pop, island flavors, Asian exotica and traditional African music — as influenced mostly by frontman Ryan McPhun’s dual citizenship.

McPhun, 25, was reared in Ventura, the son of a Kiwi father and an American mother, a fan of bands such as the Beatles, Sloan, Jason Falkner, obsessive about the Beach Boys and Nirvana, “and a little bit too shy for a lot of the emo and hard-core stuff” that was popular with his friends, he says.

Off McPhun went to New Zealand, where after a short stint at university, he traveled the world and settled in Auckland. He fell in with pop artists on Kiwi indie label Lil’ Chief and played with the Brunettes and the Tokey Tones while finishing up his own album, a 2005 Beach Boys paean released under the rhyme-alicious name Ryan McPhun & the Ruby Suns.

“Some of the songs I had written before I moved, but I was changing very quickly,” he says. “I started getting into less straightforward stuff … other music from all over the globe. I became less worried about style and more concerned with rhythms and earth sounds.”

That’s reflected on the Ruby Suns’ sophomore album, “Sea Lion” (a March release in the U.S. on Sub Pop), whose miasma of instrumentation, sweet melodies and sounds found in places like New Zealand’s South Island, southern Africa and Thailand make for meditations that border on hallucinations.

“It’s a very broad album,” McPhun says. “Geographically speaking.”

||| Live: The Ruby Suns perform with Le Loup and Princeton on Saturday at the Echo.

||| Download: “Tane Mahuta”

||| Download, from the Ruby Suns’ debut album: “Look Out SOS!”

Photo courtesy of Sub Pop

– Kevin Bronson