BUZZ BANDS

Keeping it fun

Singer-guitarist Adrian Barrera says that when he and drummer Todd Galpin decided to start the Hiss, the idea was simple: assemble a band they would want to be in and play music they would want to hear. Judging by the group’s U.S. debut, “Panic Movement,” and the bracing single “Clever Kicks,” that would be a lot of loud, sweaty, Stooges-meets-Zeppelin, post-’90s garage rock. The Hiss played to form Tuesday night, opening for the Raveonettes at the El Rey Theatre, delivering a convincing set.

Barrera and Galpin had been friends in Gainesville, Fla., and mates in a previous band. “The key thing there was we found out what was fun about music and what wasn’t,” Barrera said. “With this group, it’s very free-flow.” But soon enough the Hiss, which includes guitarist Ian Franco and bassist Johnny Kral, also had to deal with record companies. “You’re reluctantly dragged into this weird arena,” said Barrera. That inspired such angry anthems as “Not for Hire” and the truly scathing “Lord’s Prayer” (a selection you won’t find on “The Passion of the Christ” soundtrack).

And that was before they even thought about a video. “You get all these treatments from all these weird people ... every kind of cheesy thing you could imagine,” Barrera said. They opted for a black-and-white video, which gives the fiery “Clever Kicks” a restrained tension.

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A warm welcome

Jem (whose full name is Jem Griffiths) is thrilled to be a new Angeleno. For the Welsh singer-songwriter, who’s earning rave reviews for her enticing debut album, “Finally Woken,” the recent move to L.A. has been a long time coming. “I was going to move over here pretty much just before 9/11. I came over and all my meetings were that week. In fact, my manager was on a plane that day,” she says.

The city has already adopted Jem as if she were one of its own, thanks to strong support from KCRW-FM (89.9) and its music director, Nic Harcourt. Since Jem left a demo at the station last year, she’s been in heavy rotation on “Morning Becomes Eclectic.” The full album, a blend of hip-hop, pop and dance beats, is just out on Dave Matthews’ ATO label. She’s assembling a band for a tour she hopes to start in June.

“Before I signed I couldn’t afford a band, so I was having to do acoustic gigs, but that’s not my music,” she says. “I pushed ATO for an extra guitarist, because there’s acoustic guitar and rock guitars. We’ll probably have one folk acoustic and one electric. I don’t really want it to be me and this band standing behind me. I want the band to be hyper.”

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Fast forward

L.A. indie favorite Rilo Kiley has left Omaha, Neb.-based Saddle Creek Records. A spokeswoman for the band said the group’s new album, “More Adventurous,” which was recorded last autumn and finished early this year, will be released in July on the group’s own imprint.... Bay Area-by-way-of-Seattle rockers the Peels have signed with Capitol.