Kevin Bronson on May 21st, 2021

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Pop these: Our super-sized singles roundup boasts new releases from Zella Day, Wax Owls, Adam Melchor, MILCK and Brandyn Burnette …

ZELLA DAY, “Dance for Love”

The follow-up to “Holocene,” her collaboration with Weyes Blood, Zella Day’s “Dance for Love” nods to the disco era without being stuck in it. She says it’s a tribute to Roy Orbison: “I wrote him a love song. It’s a fan girl tribute to a man way up there up in heaven, which is exactly where I am when I sing ‘Dance for Love.’” Produced by Jay Joyce, the song was co-written by Local Natives’ Ryan Hahn and Day’s longtime collaborator, John Velasquez. Autolux’s Carla Azar drums and Cage The Elephant’s Daniel Tichenor plays bass on the tune.

WAX OWLS, “Sacrifice”

Speaking of Local Natives, you might be reminded of them as you immerse yourself in Wax Owls’ new single “Sacrifice.” After debuting with three singles in 2020 (including “Set It Free”), the L.A. trio of Gerry Hirschfeld, Chris Tsaganeas and Bobby Kay have sprinted into the new year with three more. This one, its release tied to Mental Health Awareness Month, speaks to one’s pandemic-fueled neuroses. “I already struggle with social anxiety under normal circumstances,” Hirschfield says. “With the added stress of the pandemic, the song discusses how even the most trivial activities like going to the grocery store can trigger anxiety. The harmonies build through the song to give the effect of people coming together and yearning for meaningful connections.”

ADAM MELCHOR, “Light Year” (feat. Lennon Stella)

The follow-up to “Melchor Lullaby Hotline, Vol. 1,” “Light Year” finds popsmith Adam Melchor teaming up with Lennon Stella for an astral pop-folk song. “Sometimes we put on a face when people ask how we are and we don’t tell them how we really feel because we’re afraid of the true feelings we would say out loud,” Melchor says. “‘Light Year’ is a song about feeling far from the things you love, the people you love, the place you want to be or even the emotions you strive to feel.”

MILCK, “I Belong”

Now working independently after breaking up with Atlantic Records, singer-songwriter and activist Connie Lim, aka MILCK, is back with a song in recognition of AAPI Heritage Month. “‘I Belong’ declares that each of us not only inherently belongs here, but also to each other,” she says. “My hope is for everyone to feel a sense of belonging, no matter what their heritage, because the more enoughness we each believe we have, the kinder and more welcoming we can be to everybody else.” The follow-up to “Somebody’s Beloved,” the song will launch as part of the “See Us Unite for Change” special, airing on MTV and across Viacom channels today. The campaign brings together business leaders and activists, students, entertainers and nonprofit executives to drive awareness of diverse Asian-American cultures.

BRANDYN BURNETTE, “Punching Bag”

After releasing music under the pseudonym EMAN8 and as part of the duo Cosmos & Creature, Brandyn Burnette has returned to releasing music under his own name for the first time in five-plus years. He’s releasing an EP titled “F.A.T.E.” on June 25, and after teasing it with “Addicted” in April, he dives into his old relationship for the second single. “‘Punching Bag’ was written about the end of a five-year relationship that got toxic,” he says. “I wrote it on acoustic guitar in the house I was living in with my ex. We had decided to take a break but still tried living together. The night I wrote this song was the day I actually moved out. My ex was grieving the loss of a loved one two years prior to our breakup and she ended up taking a lot of the emotions out on me. … ‘Punching Bag’ was created out of desperation to understand what was happening to the relationship as well as find some peace in understanding that it wasn’t her fault, because I was all she had.”