Hiking, a new LA band featuring Bipolar Bear and Silver Daggers personnel, out-No Ages No Age on “Trenches”. This song seriously sounds plucked direct from the first half of Everything In Between, what with its chiming guitars, big booming drums and indie-yet-inclusive vibe, complete with a Dean Spunt vocal impersonator. This might annoy some people, but it’s a seriously good tune, one that I’ve replayed fondly over the past couple weeks. I guess the kids in LA need a band to enjoy while No Age are endlessly on tour, so why not Hiking? “Bikini Atol” goes a little bigger, maybe a little Battles (and a slight touch of Hum?) added to their Now That’s What I Call Indie sound, working just as favorably as the a-side. I don’t know, some people think any band that seems to be heavily indebted to some other more-popular band is automatically bad, but I don’t mind an obvious modern homage if you can do it as well as Hiking do.