BUZZ BANDS

There’s a fine line between magic and mush when it comes to the brooding strain of dream pop that L.A. quartet the Black Kites (pictured) makes. And the X factor is often chemistry. “This is not a sound we were necessarily going for,” singer-guitarist Alan Petherick says of the project he started with bassist Nicki Nevlin. “It ended up being a natural evolution -- when Evelyn [Reyes] came in, her voice changed a lot of things.” Reyes’ willowy vocals, paired at times with Petherick’s and layered onto rhythms laid down by Nevlin and drummer Marcel Feldmar, gives the foursome’s “Paper Heart” EP a cinematic sheen, and it’s meditative without being mopey. “It’s meant to be uplifting,” Petherick says. “We went for a feeling that’s anthemic and spiritual but not in a cheesy way.” The EP, along with 2006’s “All Wrong,” was released in England on indie label Filthy Little Angels, and the Black Kites are looking to digitally release their music in the U.S. “In this day and age, it’s all Internet and all do-it-yourself,” Petherick says. Live: The Black Kites play Monday at the Viper Room on a strong bill that includes Eskimohunter and Riverside’s Silver Cities. ALSO CHECK: L.A. quintet Radars to the Sky celebrates the release of its new EP “Big Bang” on Friday at Spaceland, with the Henry Clay People supporting. . . . The Thermals are back in town for a show Friday at the Echo. . . . Hollywood hard rockers Kill the Complex open for Puddle of Mudd tonight at the Roxy. . . . On Monday, good options abound: the Movies, the Western States Motel and others do a benefit show at Safari Sam’s; Valley Arena, Mezzanine Owls and others play an LA Weekly show at the El Rey; Deerhoof rocks the Avalon; and Miniature Tigers and Chris Garneau perform at the Echo. More on the blog: www.latimes.com/buzzbands

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Kevin.Bronson@latimes.com