Stream: New releases from Allie Crow Buckley, Neil Frances, Mikey Ferrari and Drew Beck

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From left: Allie Crow Buckley (by Nastassia Brückin); Neil Frances; Mikey Ferrari (by Eliot Lee Hazel); Drew Beck (by Adri Beck)

In our release roundup, check out the debut album from Allie Crow Buckley, and EPs from Neil Frances, Mikey Ferrari and Drew Beck …

ALLIE CROW BUCKLEY, “Moonlit and Devious”

True to its title, the moonlit and the devious melt into one hazy daydream on Allie Crow Buckley’s debut long-player, which feels like a poetry reading on a red wine buzz with a movie score in the background. Led by the singles “Nothing Sacred” and the painterly title track, the album is built on a chassis of bristling guitars and funereal keyboards; behind the wheel, though, Buckley’s vocals are luxurious. She sings in the album’s rocking-est tune “Hanging Tough” that she’s “still betting on beginners luck.” While it ain’t luck to work with the likes of co-producers Jason Boesel and Mike Viola and (not to mention have Dylan Day and Lee Pardini contribute), “Moonlit and Devious” feels like she’s off to a sensational start.

NEIL FRANCES, “Stay Strong Play Long”

On their new EP, the duo of Jordan Feller and Marc Gilfry collaborates with L.A. daytime disco demigod Poolside and cover French Touch flashes Stardust, so you know what you’re getting: sunny, limber and warm dance music. Six songs and a twinkle. (Neil Frances are doing their Stay Strong Sunset Stream at 6 p.m. Friday, and their performance at the Natural History Museum’s First Fridays may be viewed here, starting 1:31 in.)

MIKEY FERRARI, “Spaceboy”

Songwriter-producer Mikey Ferrari is a ball of emotions on his debut EP, creating a titular character who wrestles with rejection, isolation, relationships and creative inspiration in fully realized and poignantly sung pop songs. Highlights include the soul-searcher “Lunar Light,” featuring Tony Davis of Younger Hunger on bass, and EP closer “Standoff,” an emotionally charged ballad triggered by the loss of one of his closest friends. (He recently did his Live on Earth livestream from a scenic spot in Malibu.)

DREW BECK, “Peace and Flowers”

Drew Beck, who’s been a sideman in Mondo Cozmo and the Moth & the Flame and back in the day was a member of Chasing Kings, set to work on recording his trove of solo material when the pandemic forced the cancellation of tours. The pretty mopery on his four-song “Peace & Flowers” (maybe best encapsulated by the lyric “I think it was best when we were only kids”) is a precursor to a full-length he has in the works.

||| Also: See Grouplove’s “This Is This”