Kevin Bronson on June 7th, 2024

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Don’t know if it’s the June gloom, but Greatest Hits … This Week (Vol. 294) leans a little bit toward the mellow on this Friday. Check out new tracks from Kan Wakan, Illuminati Hotties, LA LOM, Cameron Leahy, Communicant, Luna Shadows, Oddnesse, Maxim Ludwig, Late Slip, EELS, Big Search, Zealyn, KÁRYYN, Ian Sweet, Corey Leiter and more.

■ LA LOM, “Danza de LA LOM” — LA LOM (an acronym for the Los Angeles League of Musicians) are the genre-melding trio of guitarist Zac Sokolow and bassist Jake Faulkner (of The Americans) and percussionist Nicholas Baker. Finding their sweet spot in a blend of Latin music, country, folk and oldies, the trio released their first EP in 2022, with worldwide acclaim following. This week, they announced they’ve signed to Verve Records for the Aug. 9 release of their debut album, “The Los Angeles League of Musicians.” The footloose “Danza de LA LOM,” a nod to Cumbia and Chicha from Peru, is their new single. Live Sept. 28 at Pappy & Harriet’s and Sept. 29 on Day 3 of the Ohana Festival at Doheny State Beach.

■ Illuminati Hotties, “Didn’t” (feat. Cavetown) — Sarah Tudzin’s new Illuminati Hotties album, “Power,” is out Aug. 23 and the self-anointed “tenderpunk pioneer” and Grammy-winning producer engineer teams up with Cavetown on the second single, “Didn’t.” In early May, IH released “Can’t Be Still,” the album’s leadoff track. The Hotties’ massive North American tour starts and ends in Southern California: Sept. 25 at the Constellation Room and Nov. 1 at the Teragram Ballroom.

■ Kan Wakan, “IO” (feat. SAÍGO) — It’s been three years since Kan Wakan, purveyors of an ethereal blend of orchestral pop, trip-hop, classical minimalism and celestial R&B, released the second of their album trilogy, “Phantasmagoria Vol. 2.” SAÍGO (Tien Nguyen) was a featured vocalist on better than half of that album’s tracks, and he’s back with composer Gueorgui Linev on a heady new single, “IO.” 

■ Luna Shadows, “Bleach” — “Bleach” is the latest single from “Bathwater” (out June 21), Natalie Angiuli’s sophomore album as Luna Shadows. The record took shape over the pandemic and was co-produced with Bradley Hale (Now, Now). The lyrics here pack quite a punch as Luna Shadows documents two people moving in different directions.

■ Communicant, “Open Your Window” — The fifth and final single from “Harbor Song,” the debut album from songwriter Dylan Gardner’s project Communicant. The album is out July 5, pop sophisticates. (See also: “Controller,” “The Day,” “Dream State” and “Annabella.”)

■ The Chapin Sisters, “Wasting Your Time” — Folk royalty Abigail and Lily Chapin return with the third in a batch of new music they’ve released since last year. “Wasting Your Time” is a waltz recorded in the Hollywood Hills with Grammy-winning producer-engineer J.J. Blair and features, among others, Benmont Tench on piano and organ.

■ Cameron Leahy, “Heart at the Gate” — Folk singer Cameron Leahy’s dizzyingly good new album, “Dizzy Freedom,” is out today, and like tracks such as “Critic” and “Monterey,” “Heart at the Gate” is an acoustic guitar-driven ray of sunshine.

■ Angélica Garcia, “Mírame” — Friendly reminder that “Gemelo,” the new album from experimental pop siren Angelica Garcia, is out today. The L.A.-reared artist’s first album sung entirely in Spanish, it was produced by Chicano Batman’s Carlos Arévalo. We were immediately seduced by “Color De Dolor” a couple months ago, and there’s so much more on this record.

■ Maxim Ludwig, “Mercury Avenue” (feat. Angel Olsen) — Back in March, Angel Olsen and L.A. songwriter/rocker-aroundtown Maxim Ludwig teamed up to cover Lou Reed for thee album “The Power of the Heart: A Tribute to Lou Reed.” Now the duo have teamed up on an original penned by Ludwig and his Mystics bandmate Matt Bernstein. The slow-burning “Mercury Avenue” (the Olsen/Angela Ricciardi-directed video here) has a little bit of “Crimson and Clover” and a lot of Ludwig’s visceral intensity. Live: Maxim Ludwig & the Mystics play Sept. 11 at the Libbey Bowl in Ojai, supporting Angel Olsen.

■ Nymphlord, “Please” — “I hope listening to this song feels like holding a bag of soft hope,” singer-songwriter-producer Tia Rabinovitz says of her new single, “Please,” out this week on Lauren Records.

■ Aaron Frazer, “Dime” (feat. Cancamusa) — Aaron Frazer and his falsetto are back for some more blue-eyed soul from his sophomore album, “Into the Blue” (out June 28). The follow-up to “Time Will Tell,” “Dime” featured Chilean singer Cancamusa, who, like Frazer, worked as a drummer (he for Durand Jones & the Indications, she for Mon Laferte).  Live June 28 at the Wiltern.

■ Oddnesse, “Be Still” — Rebeca Arango, aka Oddnesse, has two albums in the works, Patreon kindly informs us. One is titled “Glass House Mountain,” and the delectably dreamy “Be Still” is from it. Stay tuned for more.

■ Edgar Everyone, “U Push Me” — Jules de Gasperis, the Frenchman who’s been all over the L.A. scene as a drummer, producer and songwriter for several years, returns with “U Push Me,” the first of two singles that his solo project Edgar Everyone plans to release this month.

■ Benjamin Carter, “Daydreaming” (stripped & reimagined) — A year after the initial release of “Daydreaming,” Benjamin Carter checks in with an alternative version of the song. This is how you “reimagine.”

■ Late Slip, “I Love You” — “I Love You” is the title track of the new full-length from the Chelsea Nenni-led retro-pop outfit Late Slip. Produced by Lewis Pesacov, the album is out today

■ Ian Sweet & Porridge Radio, “Everyone’s a Superstar” — Recorded as part of Abbey Road Studios’ annual Amplify x Pitchfork London series, “Everyone’s a Superstar” finds Jillian Medford (Ian Sweet) and Brighton indie-rockers Porridge Radio teaming up on a rocker with an undeniable chorus: “I’ve been trying to forget / What I’m missing / Once I forget / I’ll get back to living.”

■ Big Search, “Hope It Makes You Happy” (feat. Taken by Trees) — Matt Popieluch’s new Big Search single, “Hope It Makes You Happy,” seems lifted from a sepia-toned page in the ’60s. Taken by Trees (Victoria Bergsman, former lead singer for the Concretes) assists on the latest song from Big Search’s forthcoming fourth album, “Animal Cheer,” out June 28. Live June 28 at Gold-Diggers.

■ Zealyn, “Christmas Eve” — More than a decade has passed since Angie Miller was a contender on “American Idol,” and her releases as Zealyn have made for consistently engaging pop. “Christmas Eve” is the lead the track on the new Zealyn EP, “Keep Your Chin Up, Kid,” released today.

■ EELS, “I Can’t Believe It’s True” — Because it’s never not EELS time, the new album “EELS TIME!” is out today, the 15th full-length from Mark Oliver Everett and gang.

■ OSEES, “Cassius, Brutus & Judas” — Speaking of prolific artists, OSEES have introduced a new album, “SORCS 80” (out Aug. 9), with the synth-punk blast “Cassius, Brutus & Judas.” Live Aug. 30 at the Bellwether.

■ Corey Leiter, “White Heat” — “White Heat,” the title track of Corey Leiter’s new EP (out July 12 via Anxiety Blanket Records), channels the grief, rage and confusion of one of the songwriter’s friends who lost her husband. Immersive and subtly powerful.

■ KÁRYYN, “Calm KAOSS!” — Even on merely a three-track (plus two remixes) EP, experimental pop artist Kárin Tatoyan packs substantial depth into her compositions.  “Calm KAOSS!” is the title track. (See also: “The REAL.”)

■ Deron Johnson, “Call Me Back” — We bring this week’s playlist in for a soft landing with the latest single from jazz keyboardist Deron Johnson, who has played with the likes of Paula Abdul, Alanis Morissette, David Sanborn, Damien Rice and even Miles Davis (on his final album in 1992). Johnson’s album “Free to Dance” will be out June 28 via Colorfield Records, the new label based at producer Pete Min’s Lucy Meat Market studio.