Local Natives originated in Orange County, California…but don’t let that fool you. Their sound is distinctly Silver Lake, where they moved shortly after forming. Give a listen to their debut album, Gorilla Manor, and you will hear driving, rough-around-the-edges grit and complex melodies and harmonies reminiscent of other Silver Lake indie bands (such as Silversun Pickups), rather than the clean, poppy Orange County sound of, say, Something Corporate. The band, consisting of members: Taylor Rice, Kelcey Ayer, Ryan Hahn, Andy Hamm, and Matt Frazier, collaborates together on every aspect of their album, down to the artwork…and the results show it.

It’s difficult to put a label on Local Natives. At times their sound is mellow, almost ambient, the kind of music you have on but don’t actively listen to. At other times, their music pours out of the speakers and demands your attention with energetic percussion and wild melodies.

Drummer Matt Frazier’s work is especially impressive, from the intense syncopation of “Wide Eyes” to the complete cacophony of “Shape Shifter”, in which seemly random snares, crashes, and the jingle of tambourines somehow mesh together into a unified structure. The band also does a lot with their vocals, using unconventional harmonies that sometimes break into three or more parts. Local Natives has been compared to Vampire Weekend, Fleet Foxes, and Grizzly Bear (and a bit of Dr. Dog too), but make no mistake: this sound is distinctly theirs.

If you choose to download a digital copy of Gorilla Manor directly from their website, you will also get videos of live performances and other extras. If you want to see them live yourself, you’ll have to do a bit of traveling (or craigslist searching)…Local Natives will be in Los Angeles at the Henry Ford Theater on September 17th and 18th (with The Love Language and The Union Line), but both shows are sold out. You can still get tickets for their shows in Solana Beach and Santa Barbara. But, by the looks of things, you’d better hurry. You can also follow them on Twitter @localnatives.