BUZZ BANDS

Tapping the angst

L.A.’s glitz and decadence often masks a grimy, disenfranchised reality, and nobody knows that better than the struggling rockers who try to make it here, such as the members of The Nervous Return. The quartet has found a way to puree its jaded angst into pulverizing, ironically giddy post-punk.

Survivors of the late-’90s Hollywood glam-rock scene, singer Jason Muller and bassist Anthony Crouse changed direction after both started immersing themselves in the music of Fugazi and Sonic Youth.

“Those bands made us want to abandon any image-oriented style,” says Muller. “We started focusing on making weird, noisy, but still melodic music.” They accomplished just that when they joined drummer Greg Gordon and released 2000’s controversial “Head Shots.”

Their latest, “Wake Up Dead,” fleshes out quirky hooks with help from new guitarist Shane Gallagher.

Although the group continues to explore the dark side of the media machine, Muller’s not averse to liberating his theatrical demons on occasion.

“I have a wild streak,” says the singer, who has taken the stage in nothing but white body paint and Christmas lights. “And much to the dismay of my band, I still let it out when it strikes my fancy.”

The Nervous Return plays the Viper Room on Monday.

Lina Lecaro

*

Cold comfort

A name that sounds both comforting and ominous, Summer at Shatter Creek, the musical identity of local singer-songwriter Craig Gurwich, conjures a vision of uneasy calm that meshes nicely with the dense, melancholy pop of his new album, “All the Answers.”

Instead of sailboats and sunscreen, however, the name was drawn from Gurwich’s experience at a snowboarding camp in Oregon ferrying injured campers down from the mountain.

“I drove this one kid who it turns out had a ruptured spleen, so they just prepped him for surgery right in front of me,” says Gurwich, 27. “This 10-year-old looks at me and says ‘Am I going to die?’ I told him he’d be fine and ended up spending the night at the hospital until his parents flew in....

“It was a dark job, but it was one of the best experiences of my life.”

Gurwich plays Tangier on Sunday.

-- Chris Barton