Kevin Bronson on May 24th, 2021

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How we spent our weekend: Our release roundup catches up with the latest from Storefront Church, Livingmore, Lord Huron, Starlight Cleaning Co., Olivia Rodrigo, Claire George, Yard of Blondes and Nightjacket.

STOREFRONT CHURCH, “As We Pass”

The heavy beauty of singles “The Gift,” “Total Stranger” and “After the Alphabets” only hints a the complexity of “As We Pass.” It’s been 3 1/2 years since mastermind Lukas Frank released his “Storefront Church” EP; this full-length sat on the back burner for a couple of years before L.A. label Sargent House played hero. And kudos. Balladry, sweeping soundscapes and even the odd noisy incursion (“Faction From Under the Grove”) commingle to paint alternately discomfiting and hopeful vignettes of a frayed world. Guitarist Waylon Rector and DIIV’s Cole Smith were among Frank’s 20 or so collaborators, eventually yielding a record that feels sculpted.

LIVINGMORE, “Take Me”

The sophomore album from the quartet of Alex Moore, Spencer Livingston, Mike Schadel and Rodrigo Moreno, “Take Me,” sounds like the moment the neon ’80s and the gritty ’90s collided — guitar-driven nuggets shaped by Moore’s vocal joie de everything. Lead single “Sharp” offered a disco-flavored intro to the Schadel-produced album, and the slightly psychedelic “Got Me Feelin’ Like” tell a story — in the distant pasts of Moore and Livingston, it might have been a folk song. Folkies no more, Livingmore now sound bigger, bolder … and “Closer” to the edge.

LORD HURON, “Long Lost”

Songwriter Ben Schneider and gang imbue Lord Huron’s fourth album with even more mysticism than its predecessors. “Long Lost’s” moving, cinematic folk music sounds as if it could come from another time, and Lord Huron builds a whole mythology around that idea. It’s like something out of the film “Frequency” (it helps to have partaken of their “Alive at Whispering Pines” video series), and beyond the appeal of singles “Mine Forever,” “Not Dead Yet” and the Allison Ponthier feature “I Lied,” it’s a long-player for popcorn nights on the couch. (Lord Huron’s Sept. 29 date at Hollywood Forever Cemetery is sold out.)

STARLIGHT CLEANING CO., “Starlight Cleaning Co.”

Starlight Cleaning Co.’s debut long-player of cosmic Americana is the work of the Mojave Desert-based duo of Tim Paul Gray, Rachel Dean and friends (among them the late, lamented guitarist Neal Casal). Like the lead single “Don’t Take It Away,” the album is one for open roads and wide-open spaces — feel “Free to Roam.”

OLIVIA RODRIGO, “Sour”

The debut album from singer-songwriter-actor Olivia Rodrigo, this year’s teenage It Girl, cuts across genres and, like any pop record, aims straight for the heart. Unlike many pop records, “Sour,” made with producer Dan Nigro, transcends one-dimensionality, thanks to smart lyrics and sophisticated vocal stylings. Go beyond the singles “Driver’s License” and “Deja Vu” — it’s thoroughly likeable, whether you’re 18 or 68.

CLAIRE GEORGE, “The Land Beyond the Light”

The emotional darkness in “The Land Beyond the Light” was inspired by twin heartbreaks — a breakup followed by the death of the ex-boyfriend. Delicate-voiced Claire George articulates her healing in airy dance-pop such as “Pink Elephants” and synth ballads. If only we could be the kind of friend she is on “I Promise,” or to have a happier ending than “Northern Lights,” where being young, dumb and in love seemed a moment destined to last forever.

YARD OF BLONDES, “Feed the Moon”

“Feed the Moon” is the result of almost a decade’s worth of work (we were jamming “Murderology” in 2013) by the duo of Vincent Jacob and Fanny Hill, now joined by Burak Yerebakan and Forrest Mitchell. It’s a 1990s time capsule (there’s even a song titled “1994”) of angst-ridden combustibles, probably limited in appeal to those who desperately long for the days heavy alternative rock ruled the earth. See “Do You Need More?”

NIGHTJACKET, “Following the Curves”

Arriving two years after their debut album “Beauty in the Dark,” Nightjacket’s new EP introduces their new lead singer, Canadian-born Andrea Wasse. On this four-song outing, highlighted by “Lonely Archer” and “Just a Little,” their painterly dream-pop (think Mazzy Star, Cocteau Twins, the Sundays) remains gorgeous as ever.