Anyone who knows me personally has already gotten an earful about the Local Natives. Their self-funded album “Gorilla Manor,” produced by the excellent Raymond Richards here in LA, maintains everything I love about their live shows – a controlled ruckus filled with passionate percussion and beautiful melodies. These guys seems like brothers – both on stage and off – and their mutual admiration and collaborative spirit lifts their music to new heights. I put this CD on my best of ’09 list because I was lucky enough to have them burn me a copy, but I expect it to top a lot of ’10 lists now that it is finally getting a stateside release via French Kiss records. Even though they are from LA, they got distribution in Europe first and they are currently touring there right now.
RR