Kevin Bronson on April 19th, 2024

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OK, deep breath.

Greatest Hits … This Week (Vol. 287), Buzz Bands LA’s latest compendium of things we feel compelled to share, starts off with a bang — the new single from garage-rock prodigies Nitefire. Then we settle in for new songs from the likes of Jelani Aryeh, Hana Vu, Iress, Local Natives, Brainstory, Isaac Watters, The Black Watch, Rett Madison, Giant Killer Bats, Cameron Leahy, Winter, Cold Cave, Monica Aben and a bunch of others we can’t fit into one paragraph. The playlist is 30-some track deep and, seemingly, 30-some genres wide. Have at it.

Past playlists here.

■ Nitefire, “LA’s Got Gorgeous” — Every time we hear something new from Nitefire, we are reminded of the heady days of the Aughts when Next Big Thing garage-rockers from the U.K. (the Vaccines come to mind) would blow into L.A. and play a show at Spaceland and work everybody into a lather. (I mean, look at them. No, really.) We miss those days.

■ Hana Vu, “22” — May 3 will bring the release of Hana Vu’s sophomore album, “Romanticism,” and on the album’s third (and final) single, “22,” she’s waving goodbye to adolescence — although, owing to her sturdy vocals, not in a whiny or wistful way. It’s strong, like previous singles “Care” and “Hammer” were. “‘22’ is about how I was paralyzed by grief and memories and by being 22; all at once a baby and the oldest I’ve ever been,” Vu says. “But now I’m 23 and I’ll probably be 24 by the time I’ll get to perform this song for people.” Live Aug. 9 at the Lodge Room.

■ Jelani Aryeh, “Shudder” — Twenty-three-year-old San Diego native Jelani Aryeh fairly soars on the third single from his sophomore album, “The Sweater Club,” out June 14. See also the title track,

■ Ciao Howdy, “The Thing You Do” — Just the third single from the L.A./Chicago duo of Tiffany Preston (Rainbow Arabia) and Dylan Ryan (Cursive, Fatal Jamz, Man Man, Marjorie Fair), Ciao Howdy’s “The Thing You Do” possesses an inviting mix of melody, propulsive rhythm, fetching vocals.

■ Iress, “Falling” — Stay dreamy and doomy, friends. “Falling” is the new single from Iress (Michelle Malley, Michael Maldonado, Glenn Chu and Graham Walker) and the quartet’s first since last year’s “Solace” EP. It’s a majestic introduction to the band’s new album, “Sleep Now, In Reverse,” out July 26. Live June 22 at the Lodge Room, opening for Blackwater Holylight.

■ Cold Cave, “Shadow Dance” — The follow-up to “She Reigns Down,” “Shadow Dance” is “a synth-punk chant for apocalyptic lovers,” .”

■ Isaac Watters, “Thirsty” — Last year brought double-barreled releases from avant-folk artist Isaac Watters (fka John Isaac Watters), “Extended Play 001” and “Extended Play 002.” “Thirsty” is the first song from Watters’ forthcoming full-length, “New Space and Time,” and his widescreen woundedness remains immersive.

■ Monica Aben, “Force of Nature” — “‘Force of Nature’ is a song that I hope everyone sings barefoot in the dirt with people they love,” Monica Aben says of her warm new tune “Force of Nature.” It’s the third song she’s released this year, leading up to the release of a new EP, “Everything I’ve Ever Known,” out July 26.

■ Eyedress, “Sinning in Heaven” (feat. Jesse Jo Stark) — At 32 wildly diverse tracks, Eyedress’ new mixtape “Vampire in Beverly Hills” is an earful. It finds songwriter Idris Vicuña sinking his teeth into collaborations with Cuco (two), Dent May/Pearl & the Oysters, Rico Nasty, Dam-Funk, N8NOFACE, John Maus, Vex Ruffin and, here, Jesso Jo Stark. What a ride.

■ Brainstory, “XFaded” — After teasing with such singles as “Peach Optimo,” “Listen” and “Hanging On,” SoCal trio Brainstory — brothers Kevin Martin and Tony Martin, along with musical sibling Eric Hagstrom — today released their sophomore album, “Sounds Good.” If you need to find your groove, or discover one you didn’t know you had, this one comes highly recommended.

■ Local Natives, “Neon Memory” — Friendly reminder that Local Natives’ new album, “But I’ll Wait for You” — the sentence-ender to last year’s “Time Will Wait for No One” — is out today. Have a blast if you’re seeing them Saturday, May 4, at the BeachLife Festival.

■ The Black Watch, “There and Here” — Friendly reminder that the Black Watch’s 22nd album, “The Morning Papers Have Given Us the Vapours,” is out today. Speaking of keeping on keeping on, and not disappointing.

■ Cameron Leahy, “From the Infinite” — “Dizzy Freedom,” the debut album from folk-rocker Cameron Leahy (ex-Downtown Fiction), will be out June 7. and “From the Infinite,” the follow-up to “Critic,” is a formidable slice of classic songwriting.

■ Rett Madison, “Apocalyptic Folk Song” — Singer-songwriter Rett Madison proved a dynamic force on last fall’s album, “One for Jackie” (especially the de facto title track). Now she’s back with a single whose title says it all.

■ Color Green, “Four Leaf Clover” — L.A. retro-psych outfit Color Green (Corey Madden, Noah Kohll, Kyla Perlmutter and Corey Rose) have signed to New West Records for the July 12 release of their sophomore album, “Fool’s Parade.” You’re in luck with “Four Leaf Clover” if ’60s jams being jammed are your thing.

■ Kid Congo & the Pink Monkey Birds, “Wicked World” — The irrepressible Alice Bag duets with Kid Congo on “Wicked World,” from KC&TPMB’s fifth album, “That Delicious Vice” (out this week). Live Oct. 24 at the Lodge Room.

■ Boy Deluxe, “Hopes Up” — Hope S and True Murra (Hope Simpson and Drew Murray) return with characteristically glitchy and undeniably catchy industrial-pop banger. Live May 25 at Permanent Records Roadhouse.

■ Giant Killer Bats, “Criminal Record” — Giant Killer Bats’ second EP, “Bats 2,” will arrive later this year, and McCoy Kirgo’s guitars continue to sparkle on the fizzy new single “Criminal Record.” For fans of Big Star, Teenage Fanclub, Velvet Crush.

■ Hooveriii, “John’s Room” — “Quest for Blood” was Bert Hoover/Hooveriii’s first, cassette-only release, 10 years ago. It was just Hoover, playing and recording everything in his garage. A remix and re-master later, the album is coming on on vinyl on Record Store Day (April 20). Get fuzzy with it. Live May 3 at Gold-Diggers.

■ Your Favorite Color, “Stained” — Fresh off their first trip to SWSW, O.C. rockers Your Favorite Color (Matt Warren, Nicky Neighbors, Cameron Pearson, Matthew Fosmire and David Silveria) have released the first single from their debut album, “For You,” arriving later this year. The band got its start way back in 2017 and released their first EP in 2018, and “Stained,” produced by Stefan Mac, tills the soil of commercial alt-rock. For fans of: Wallows, Bad Suns, Beach Weather.

■ Wax Owls, “Overpriced Buffets” — The new single from the band founded by Gerry Hirschfeld and Chris Tsaganeas sounds like it comes from the soundtrack of a 1990s road-trip film. Golden Corral, here we come.

■ Evangeline, “I Wanna Be There” — Evangeline’s new EP “When Demigods Go …” is out May 3. 

■ Orion Shoals, “You Don’t Know Pain” — Produced by Ben Cassorla, “You Don’t Know Pain” is the latest single from the duo of Joe Olney and Floyd Kellogg, aka Orion Shoals, and like its predecessor, “Keep on Running,” it’s a road-worthy classic rocker.

■ Winter, “Sallow” — You don’t listen to Samira Winter’s new song as much as simply allow it to whisper in your ear. The glacial, hazy “Sallow” introduces Winter’s new EP, “… And She’s Still Listening,” out May 24. This new single follows the release of “The Lonely Girl,” which was Winter’s first release since the 2022 album “What Kind of Blue Are You?” Live at the Belasco on April 25, opening for Drop Nineteens.

■ Dan Rincon, “Cessna” — Instrumental adventures in modular synth for those who want to know what it feels like to 1) slowly float untethered through space, or 2) slowly float untethered through what you just exhaled. Rincon, drummer for Thee Oh Sees/Oh Sees/OSEES, will release his solo debut album, “Spotlight City,” on May 3.

■ Alice Glass, “Drown” — Alice Glass reshapes the Smashing Pumpkins’ early-’90s hit.

■ Waverly Drive, “Push My Luck” — The follow-up to “After the Show,” Push My Luck” is the title track to the third EP (out May 10) from Votic Sound head honcho Phil Galloni, dba Waverly Drive. Live May 9 at Genghis Cohen.

■ David Serby, “Low Hanging Stars” — Local country legend David Serby returns June 14 with “Low Hanging Stars,” his sixth album and first in over a decade. As the title track suggests, for Serby crafting infectious Americana is low-hanging fruit.

■ Angel Olsen & Maxim Ludwig, “I Can’t Stand It” — Angel Olsen and Maxim Ludwig team up to cover Lou Reed as Olsen preps for a fall tour (with Ludwig as the opening act). Live Sept. 11 at the Libbey Bowl in Ojai. (Maxim Ludwig & the Mystics open for Grace Cummings at Gold-Diggers on May 1.)

■ Dolly Dagger, “Tower” — L.A.-based Australian siren Dolly Dagger references the tarot card on her latest heavy-hitter. “We all have those moments in our lives where we make it out the other side of something impactful or that changes us and making it out is one thing, letting it go and reclaiming your power or confidence is a whole other challenge,” she says. “This song presented as real opportunity to vent, but I didn’t want to give any more power to the past so instead of repeating it negatively, it was important to me that the lyrics depicted what I did about it and how I recovered from it or how I felt pulling myself out of it not as a victim but as a victor of my own self and identity.”

■ Paradise Vultures, “Catacombs” — Singer-bassist Tommy Senter and drummer Matty Barreca aim their latest volley of gritty classic rock at grifters who promise all the answers and the penchant for seeking a messiah in all the wrong places. Their album, “Born to Lose,” is out later this year.