Kevin Bronson on January 19th, 2022

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Sample the latest from No Win, Lael Neale and Death Valley Girls in today’s singles roundup …

NO WIN, “New Year”

A little late for the new year but just in time for the resolutions you’ve already trashed, NO WIN returned today with the single “New Year,” a ’90s-styled guitar banger in which frontman Danny Nogueiras declares, “No resolutions / ’cause I don’t feel like proving / myself to myself again.” The follow-up to the quartet’s 2020 single “Same,” it’s the first taste of a three-song EP, “Enhanced CD,” that comes out March 31 via Dangerbird Records. “It’s an attempt to make something uplifting in a dark time and refuting the endless self-improvement narrative being pushed in those early quarantine days,” Nogueiras says the song. “Just trying to relax and ride it out, while also feeling insane and desperate to make music instead of binge-watching doomsday news coverage. Hopefully, some Everclear vibes came through because I was hoping they would.”

LAEL NEALE, “Hotline”

First, there is indeed a “Hotline,” of the good ol’ psychic variety. It’s (858) 224-3129, and if you get through to singer-songwriter Lael Neale, she will read your fortune for 2022 based on your “unique numerology.” The song “Hotline” is Neale’s first single since last year’s captivating album, “Acquainted With Night.” Produced (as the album was) by Guy Blakeslee, the song is a plea for connection. Neale explains: “I became interested in numerology through John Lennon and his belief in the significance of numbers, specifically the number nine. Because this song imagines a late night call of desperation into a psychic hotline, I thought it’d be fun to act as that ‘psychic’ and connect with people directly, giving them a personalized fortune for this year based on their unique numerology.” Watch the video here.

DEATH VALLEY GIRLS, “When I’m Free”

After casting yet another spell last fall with the digital single “It’s All Really Kind of Amazing,” Death Valley Girls are back with another spirit-lifter, “When I’m Free.” The song is the B-side to a split single, being released as a vinyl 7-inch, with Le Butcherettes’ version of DVG’s “The Universe” (from their 2020 album “Under the Spell of Joy”). Too much cosmic joy? We think not.