The Thermals, who turn out the kind of tight, high-energy songs you can jump around to, first met label mates and fellow indie pop-rockers Thao with the Get Down Stay Down in 2008. That's when, after six years at Sub Pop Records, they found a new label to call home at home in Portland, Oregon, with Kill Rock Stars. Read more...

Photo: KILL ROCK STARS From left to right, guitarist-vocalist Hutch Harris, drummer Westin Glass and bassist-vocalist Kathy Foster, of the band The Thermals, will be performing at the Troubadour on Thursday. The band, with a self-described “post-pop-punk” sound, will be joined by Thao with the Get Down Stay Down, a self-described “dirty pop band” with folk-rock flair. The two bands are spending the month doing a California tour.

In their first ever United States tour, U.K. pop band Wild Beasts is going to give Americans a first-hand look at the musical subtleties that come through in the group's live performances. The tour will launch in Los Angeles at the Troubadour on Feb. 10. Read more...