Touchcandy Parties On in Smalls Space

An art-skewed indie glam band from Silver Lake, Touchcandy plays odes to staying out all night, fun, sex and, well, fun sex. On Thursday night at an uncomfortably packed Smalls K.O. in Hollywood, the outfit’s themes provided a stark contrast to the revenge fantasies and song-confessionals that dominate popular radio waves. The only half-guilty admission made by Touchcandy’s stick-thin singer, David Willis, was this mock-confession to a fictional lover: “You’re so darn cute, I wanna strangle you.”

It was a much-needed diversion in Smalls’ claustrophobic setting. Willis didn’t seem to mind that the club, which recently opened its doors to local bands and charges no cover, was packed far beyond comfort level. He even seemed to smirk at the myriad possibilities in the words of “Yellow Pages”: “I let my fingers do the talking / I let my fingers do the walking,” from the band’s new release, “The Nights of Touchcandy,” on Septic Tank, a tiny indie label.

Sadly, the band’s bassist, Eric Barbella, died in a car accident in November, so it was no surprise that Willis’ devil’s advocate performance wasn’t the typical bawdy extravaganza. But the singer was still mesmerizing to watch: A loose, snakelike Iggy Pop with a British accent, he wrapped his body around the stage railing, danced on a cocktail table and doused the audience with glitter.

With its bawdy funk raunch coupled with wacky synthesizer boogie (an intoxicating mix of the taut and the slack), this show underscored why Touchcandy remains one of Los Angeles’ most popular unsigned local acts.