Kevin Bronson on August 2nd, 2024

0

Well. OK, then. Friday. Go.

Welcome to Greatest Hits … This Week (Vol. 301), featuring new music from X, Father John Misty, Mediocre, Roe Kapara, Small Shake, Darling Tarling, Kyle Krone, Claude Fontaine, Kate Bollinger, Illuminati Hotties, Lael Neale, Wax Owls, Brother Swan, Modern Time Machines and more.

Just happy to be here. And here.

■ Small Shake, “Toxic” — Small Shake is the solo project of L.A.-via-Portland-via-Seattle creative Aarin Wright, who worked on the edges of the music industry (promotion, radio, blogging) until dipping her toes in the songwriting waters last year. Definitely not a Britney cover, Small Shake’s twinkling new single “Toxic” features guitar from Sapphire Jewell (Illuminati Hotties, Cuffed Up).

■ Brother Swan, “Horses” — After dropping some jaws with their single “Swimmer,” L.A. trio Brother Swan (Chris Matthews, Ian Stahl and Chris Weisson) return with the folk-rock-leaning “Horses.” Free show Aug. 24 at Boomtown Brewery, with the Color Up, the Bad Hombres, Raised on TV and the Blind Trees.

■ Illuminati Hotties, “The L” — “The L” is the latest single from Illuminati Hotties’ album “Power,” out Aug. 23. Live : Sept. 25 at the Constellation Room and Nov. 1 at the Teragram Ballroom.

■ X, “Sweet Til the Bitter End” — Friendly reminder that legendary L.A. rockers X today released “Smoke & Fiction,” billed as their final chapter.

■ Maddy Davis, “Goodbye for Now” — Featuring “Stop to Watch the Painting Dry,” Maddy Davis’ new EP “Rage” arrived this week. Live, supporting Foxtide, on Aug. 8 at Permanent Records Roadhouse.

■ Mediocre, “Fun Time Fix (We Go Go)” — Mediocre, the indie-rock duo of Piper Torrison and Keely Martin, have announced their debut album, “Growth Eater,” will arrive Sept. 27. “Fun Time Fix (We Go Go)” is the first single. See them at 4 p.m. Aug. 17 at the Echo as part of Echo Park Rising.

■ Father John Misty, “I Guess Time Makes Fools of Us All” — Father John Misty’s best-of collection arrives Aug. 23 with the tongue-twisterly title “Greatish Hits: I Followed My Dreams and My Dreams Said to Crawl.” Two things about the volume’s previously unreleased track “I Guess Time Makes Fools of Us All”: It’s 8 1/2 minutes long, and he’s f*cking right. Live Oct. 3 and Oct. 4 at the Forum, supporting Kacey Musgraves.

■ Modern Time Machines, “Ghost Signs (Sleight of Hand)” — Long-running L.A. outfit Modern Time Machines return with another formidable slab of shoegaze, but the calling card here is the 7 minutes you spend with frontman Ben Golomb’s video. It’s got a time-travel theme sure to mete out a nostalgia attack for locals familiar with certain Silver Lake, Echo Park and Hollywood neighborhoods. Historian Charles Phoenix, Happy Hollows frontwoman Sarah Negahdari and a DeLorean make cameos. Live show and screening event Aug. 5 at Zebulon, along with Happy Hollows and Giant Waste of Man (free).

■ Roe Kapara, “Dumb” — “Big Cigars and Satin Shorts” is the title of the new EP from St. Louis native Roe Kapara, and it’s out Aug. 23. Live Aug. 16 at the El Rey Theatre.

■ Desert Mambas, “Hot George Costanza” — Desert Mambas is country-fied solo project of Bailey Moses (of Foxx Bodies), and their new EP “Pastel Southwestern” will put a spring in your step and a smile on your face. Take a moment and enjoy the video for “Hot George Costanza.” Live tonight at Permanent Records Roadhouse.

■ Kyle Krone & MishCatt, “High Hope” — South O.C. native Kyle Krone (The Shys, Casual Vice) has decamped to Costa Rica, where he’s built a recording studio, and there he has teamed up with a singer-songwriter from that country, MishCatt. And here’s to “High Hope,” recorded in Costa Rica with the finishing touches applied by Long Beach indie vet Matt Wignall.

■ Sloan Golden, “Corner of My Eye” — The follow-up to “Parking Lot” and “Dandelion,” “Corner of My Eye” (video) is the latest single from L.A.-based New Jersey native Sloan Golden’s debut EP, “Long Conversations” (out Sept. 25).

■ Something Corporate & Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness, “Happy” — The second collaborative single (see also: “Death Grip”) of double-barreled Andrew McMahon. Something Corporate’s reunion tour date Oct. 11 at the Palladium is sold out.

■ Junior Museum, “Here” — Junior Museum, the project of singer-songwriter Jacob Farmer, crafts thoughtful, raconteur-ish tunes that could be Americana or could be punk. “Here” is the follow-up to the 2022 EP “Palm Springs Occasionally.”

■ Claude Fontaine, “Love the Way You Love” — Its release twinned with the single “Lover’s Vow,” “Love the Way You Love” is the latest from Claude Fontaine’s sophomore album, “La Mer,” out Sept. 6 via Stones Throw.

■ Def Sound, “Ameen” (feat. Lauren Jauregui) — Poet/musician/educator Def Sound (Emmanuel Ricketts) teams up with Lauren Jauregui on the standalone single, “Ameen” (a prayer as much as it is a song). That is but the tip of the iceberg in Def Sound’s world. This week also brought the release of the album “SHEESH!,” and later this month there’s another project on the way, “From South Central 2 the World.”

■ Kate Bollinger, “What’s This About (La La La La)” — L.A.-based Virginian Kate Bollinger will release her debut album, “Songs From a Thousand Frames of Mind,” on Sept. 27. She says the new single, “What’s This About (La La La La),” is “sort of an ode to Of Montreal’s ‘Cherry Peel’ and Apples in Stereo’s ‘Tone Soul Evolution.’” Go ahead, triangulate. Live Nov. 22 at the Teragram Ballroom.

■ Wax Owls, “The Waiting Room” — With Wax Owls’ new EP, “Cowboy Cologne” coming Sept. 6, songwriter Gerry Hirschfield says this of his poignant new single: “‘The Waiting Room’ is about the journey through emotional turbulence, accepting change and the slow and sometimes painful process of moving on … ‘There’s so many ways to fall / does it even matter’ underscores the setbacks we all face while questioning their importance in the grand scheme of things.” Live Sept. 6 at the Hotel Café.

■ Magdalena Bay, “Tunnel Vision” — Following up “Death & Romance” and “Image,” L.A. duo Magdalena Bay has released “Tunnel Vision,” the latest single from their new album “Imaginal Disk” (out Aug. 23). Live Oct. 2 and Oct. 3 at the Fonda Theatre.

■ Datamaps, “Trade Off” — Second single from the indie quartet of sure-handed veterans Paul Larson (Strictly Ballroom), Steve Krowlikowski (Repeater), Brent Stranathan (Near Beer) and Ben Eisen (The Minor Canon).

■ Starry Eyes, “Aloha” — Fronted by Kyle Tekiela, Starry Eyes are an L.A. outfit making visceral rock that throws back to late-’90s/early-’00s emo and the poppier side of grunge. They released their first EP, “Ciao Bella,” last year, and in October they will return with “Ciao Bella II.” “Aloha” is the latest single.

■ Pearl & the Oysters, “Big Time” — L.A.-via-Paris electro-pop explorers Pearl & the Oysters will release their sophomore album for Stones Throw Records, “Planet Pearl,” on Sept. 20. “Big Time,” anyone? Oui. Live Nov. 3 at the Echoplex.

■ Nick Flessa, “Escape From Seven Hills” — Nick Flessa’s first single in four years arrives in advance of a new album, “The Politics of Personal Destruction,” which, if it’s anything like 2018’s “Flyover States,” will get our vote. Flessa is doing a residency at Healing Force in Pasadena on Aug. 29, Sept. 28 and Oct. 5.

■ Darling Tarling, “Sunset California” — Singer-songwriter-actor Stephanie Tarling is working on an EP, and the made-for-Golden-State-vistas “Sunset California,” co-written with Morgan Nagler (Whispertown), is the first single.

■ Moondaddy, “Water Bearer” — Moondaddy is the nom de tune of San Diego dream-pop artist Cara Potiker. “Lightwave Lightwave” is the title of the four-track EP arriving Sept. 13, and “Water Bearer” is an example of its unhurried beauty.

■ Famina, “Green With Envy” — The new L.A. quartet of Justin Russell, Lynn Sher, Jackie Frank and Delano Duran — going by the name Famina — plumb the early days of alternative rock on their second-ever single, “Green With Envy.”

■ Lael Neale, “Electricity” — Written during a power outage while the songwriter was staying on her family’s farm a couple of winters ago, the Guy Blakeslee-produced “Electricity” arrives as Lael Neale embarks on some dates opening for Ben Howard. Live Saturday at the Genuine Souvenirs Festival in San Pedro and on Aug. 10, opening for Ben Howard, at the United Theater on Broadway.