Chains of Love started when Guitarist Felix Fung, the engineer and owner of Vancouver's Little Red Sound, hatched a plan to start a girl group with guitarist Clint Lofkrantz. It wasn't hard to figure out who the girls would be. Nathalia Pizarro, who shares the vocal and lyrical duties of the band, was known as one of the best singers and all around performers on the scene, and with her voice and the harmonic help of Rebecca Marie Law Gray, Felix and Clint knew that they had something truly amazing on their hands. The two had what they call a "memory of that girl group sound" and a free studio on Tuesday afternoons, so they started inviting their friends over to see what they could make of this fortuitous combination. What you have in your headphones is what came of these nostalgic happenings, Spector harmonies, Motown basslines and rich, thumping drums.

Along with like-minded Texans Fergus & Geronimo and Teenage Cool Kids, Houston's Young Girls make tuneful, polaroid-quality garage pop that feels impassioned and sincere without losing a certain tongue-in-cheek self-awareness. The not-so-recent-surge of retro pop-punk encompasses a range of themes that is, generally speaking, not bottomless: last nights, girls, summer/bummer, you/blue. But like a perfectly faded pair of denim, some things never lose their appeal. Check out Young Girls' MySpace for details on an upcoming Houston show with Magic Kids.-DONTDIEWONDERING
The last band on was Young Girls. I talked to them a little before the show and apparently it was only their second or third show together but they definitely brought it. They had a tight, clean, well-composed indie-pop sound that made me want to dance during their entire set. Young Girls did a very good job using thei...r bass playing effectively and used it to produce complex melodies when compared to an average indie band.- POST PUNK'D

Rain Phoenix has appeared in dozens of movies, including Gus Van Sant's Even Cowboys Get the Blues and Othello. She's also lent vocals to bands like R.E.M. and Red Hot Chili Peppers. But with her musical project, papercranes, she's the one who's front and center. The collaborative work of a rotating cast of members, this experimental band is a dark blend of psych-inflected rock, folk and atmospheric melodies that conjure up comparisons to everyone from Radiohead to Warpaint.

I wash dishes as soon as I am done with them so they don't pile up in the sink. I live in the Silver Lake neighborhood in Los Angeles. I make music slowly. My new album "The Last Seduction" was released on Manimal Vinyl February 14, 2012.