Stream: Greatest Hits … This Week (Vol. 307)
Kevin Bronson on
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Dropping this 33-track monster on your doorstep: Greatest Hits … This Week (Vol. 307) features new singles from Miya Folick, Mt. Joy, Ariella, Jordana, the Linda Lindas, Faux Prix, Cat Matthews and Kath Myers along with songs from more than a half-dozen albums that came out today. Included: Those released by Julie, Temme Scott, The Rare Occasions, Robert DeLong and Ginger Root. And there’s loads more to discover in Buzz Bands LA’s new mix.
Note: Anita Wills contributed to today’s roundup.
■ Miya Folick, “La Da Da” — Miya Folick’s new song is a show-stopper. “La Da Da,” the singer-songwriter-producer’s first single since her 2023 album “Roach,” boasts a big, circular melody and the ’70s-meets-’90s vibe found in the best songs from her two albums and three EPs. Co-written by Richard Orofino and Aidan Spiro, “La Da Da” originated “in a period when I was actively pulling away from a pace of life that didn’t suit me,” Folick says. “I was slowing down, saying no, responding when I actually had an answer, and asking for the things I specifically desired rather than the things I thought I was supposed to want. I was turning things in late and taking my time to get them right.” Live Oct. 10 at the Constellation Room and Oct. 11 at the Echo.
■ Fashion Club, “Confusion” — Pascal Stevenson has rolled out “Confusion,” another sampling from the sophomore Fashion Club album, “A Love You Cannot Shake” (out Oct. 25). “Confusion” is an outsized track about big issues. The song’s swarming synths speak to the songwriter’s “feelings of self-doubt and low self-worth that come from the crushing capitalism inherent in American society,” she says. “It’s about trying to make yourself feel useful and feel worth something in a society that says, ‘If you’re not functioning a certain way, you’re not worth anything.’” Live Sept. 15 at Gold-Diggers, along with Dustin Wong and Cupid & Psyche.
■ KÁRYYN, “Ground” — After released a new EP, “Calm Kaoss!,” in June, singer-songwriter-producer KÁRYYN returns with the new single, “Ground.”
■ Clipping, “Run It” — L.A. trio Clipping return with a reliably dark and markedly high-speed new track, “Run It.” It’s been four years since the group (Daveed Diggs, Jonathan Snipes, William Hutson) released the last installment of their horrorcore series; they have a new record in the works for Sub Pop, due next year.
■ Julie, “Feminine Adornments” — Friendly reminder that L.A. trio (and friends) Julie today released their debut album, “My Anti-Aircraft Friend,” complete with all its shoegaze and assorted ’90s-adjacent adornments. The band (Alexandria Elizabeth, Keyan Pourzand and Dillon Lee) launch a big tour in October, arriving back in their home for shows at the Fonda Theatre on Nov. 12 and Nov. 13.
■ The Rare Occasions, “Floating” (feat. BEL) — Ace power-pop outfit the Rare Occasions today released their new album, “Through Moonshot Eyes.” After teasing with four singles over the past year, the band put the icing on the cake by teaming with up BEL (author of our 2023 fave “Forget Everything”) on the buoyant release-week single, “Floating.” Live Oct. 21 at the Lodge Room.
■ The Linda Lindas, “No Obligation” — The follow-up to “Yo Me Estreso”, “No Obligation” is the title track of the Linda Linda’s second album, out Oct. 11 on Epitaph, “Eloise [Wong] wrote this ripper because we won’t adhere to what anyone else thinks we should sound like or who they think we are,” the band says. Live Sept. 14 at SoFi Stadium, supporting Green Day, Smashing Pumpkins and Rancid.
■ Faux Prix, “No Harm” — The third single from Bradley Hanan Carter (NO, 5 Billion in Diamonds, Steriogram) and crew, “No Harm” marches toward next year’s release of the album “From Metric to Imperial.”
■ Loyal Lobos, “Limón” — Colombia-reared, L.A.-based Andrea Silva, aka Loyal Lobos, continues her run of alluring 2024 singles (including this Meredith Brooks cover) with “Limón.”
■ Ariella, “Call Me Your Angel” — “Call Me Your Angel” is the latest single from Ariella’s debut album, “CryBaby,” out Oct. 11. Live tonight at Permanent Records Roadhouse.
■ Current Joys, “Lullaby for the Lost” — The follow-up to “California Rain” and “They Shoot Horses,” “Lullaby for the Lost” is the latest single from Current Joys’ album “East My Love,” out Oct. 11 via Secretly Canadian. Live Nov. 20 at the Bellwether.
■ Kath Myers, “Warm Body” — Kath Myers’ latest single “Warm Body” is a slow burner that builds to a conflagration of guitars at the finish. The follow-up to “Need You Around,” it’s the second single she’s released since last November’s album, “Bad TV.”
■ Finneas, “Cleats” — Come for the chorus, anticipate the full-length. “Cleats” is the second single (and the follow-up to the title track) from Finneas’ new album “For Cryin’ Out Loud,” out Oct. 4. Live Oct. 3 at the Ford.
■ Cat Matthews, “Greener Pastures” — San Fernando Valley-reared singer-songwriter Cat Matthews debuted with a fetching slice of folk-pop. “Greener Pastures.” Arriving with the B-side “Happiness Is Sad,” the song, finds Matthews (who was one-half of the pre-pandemic dream-pop duo Niña, working with producer Marshall Vore (Phoebe Bridgers).
■ Mt. Joy, “Highway Queen” (feat. Maren Morris) — Fresh off their turn at the Hollywood Bowl, Philadelphia/L.A. folk-pop band Mt. Joy team up with Maren Morris on the new single “Highway Queen.”
■ Temme Scott, “Evidence” — Friendly reminder that Temme Scott’s sophomore album, “A Long Year,” is out today, and you’re liable to hear “Evidence” and “Space” and more when she plays El Cid on Sept. 16.
■ Giant Killer Bats, “Phoebe” — McCoy Kirgo’s new Giant Killer Bats single “Phoebe” is a Britpop-sounding fuzz bomb with sweet harmonies and a wild video directed by Jordan Cramer and choreographed by Anna Argente.
■ Jordana, “Anything For You” — Wildly different from Jordana’s previous disco-meets-Joni Mitchell single “Like A Dog”, “Anything for You” is a pop break-up song. “It’s a song about attempting to find yourself again after someone has depleted the energy you had in your soul,” she says. “You are searching for a new self, or aiming to recover what once was there.” Jordana’s new album “Lively Premonition,” is out Oct. 18 via Grand Jury.
■ Ginger Root, “Giddy Up” — Friendly reminder that “Shinbangumi,” the new album from Ginger Root (Cameron Lew), is out today. Sept. 26 at the Observatory and Nov. 3 at the Palladium.
■ Robert DeLong, “Slowly” — Drummer-turned-electro-pop dynamo Robert DeLong today released his new full-length, “Playlist of Doom,” and “Slowly” is the opening track. (See also: “Deserve It All” and “Soft Boy.”) Live Oct. 19 at the Constellation Room and Oct. 21 at the Echoplex.
■ Sego, “Cowboys and Hindians” — L.A. quartet Sego are releasing their new album in countdown fashion, and “Cowboys and Hindians” is the next-to-last track to land. It’s …. well, different for them.
■ GEMZ, “Cycle Stops With Me” — Synth-pop duo GEMZ is back with their second single, “Cycle Stops With Me,” from their debut EP, “See the Future,” out Oct. 22.
■ Foreign Air, “Awkward Bones” — Jesse Clasen and Jacob Michael, dba Foreign Air, return with the breezy single “Awkward Bones,” their first release since the 2022 album “Hello Sunshine.” “With the song,” the duo says, “we wanted to capture the essence of being a wallflower — someone quietly observing life from the sidelines, yet yearning for deeper interaction.”
■ Anna McClellan, “Endlessly” — Growing up in Nebraska, singer and pianist Anna McClellan longed for sunshine and drama. She credits what she learned about relationships from the TV show “The O.C.” as the inspiration behind her new single “Endlessly” as well as inspiring the big move to L.A.. “‘Endlessly’ is definitely a mile-marker song for me,” she says. “I think it retains all of the common traits of my songwriting while reaching a new level of maturity.” Her new album, “Electric Bouquet”, is out Oct. 25 via Father/Daughter Records.
■ Small Shake, “Montana Dream Wife” — The follow-up to “Toxic,” “Montana Dream Wife” is the second single from Aarin Wright’s solo project Small Shake.
■ DWLLRS, “Perfume” — The south O.C.-bred duo of Bren Eisman and Joey Spurgeon return with their latest dose of saccharine, “Perfume.”
■ Dylan Marx, “Flood to Flood” — Dylan Marx is a solo artist from Glendale, and his latest single “Flood to Flood” is a refreshingly unique tune that will have you softly swaying in a New Age kind of way. Marx found inspiration in the abandoned street furniture of his suburban neighborhood for the new album “Furniture Land,” out today via Anxiety Blanket Records. Catch Dylan Marx at the Elysian Valley Lodge in Frogtown on Sept. 21.
■ Together Pangea, “Misery” — “Misery” is the title track from (chill dudes?) Together Pangea’s new EP, out today. They celebrate the 10-year anniversary of “Badillac” with a show at the Echoplex on Nov. 22.
■ The Roamers, “Playboy” — The Roamers is the roots-rock outfit that combines the talents of singer-bassist Matt Rice, guitarist Brian Whelan, drummer Luke Adams and lap/pedal steel player Matt Pynn. Their self-titled album is out next Friday.
■ Stoke Signals, Mummy —”Mummy” is an easy-to-love punk-rock song by the shiny and new band Stoke Signals. Their debut LP “Make Dying Fun” drops Sept. 20. The record-release show is set for Nov. 1 at The Cinema Bar in Culver City.
■ Los Saints, “Certified” — Alert for fans of the Aughts’ garage- and indie-rock: San Diego rockers Los Saints have unveiled the video for the title track of their new album, “Certified,” which came out in late July.
■ Wand, “Goldfish” — “Goldfish” is a downtempo and haunting stand-alone single left over from Wand’s recently successful “Vertigo” LP, which just came out in July. The collection, “In a Capsule Underground” containing demos and unreleased tracks, will be available Oct. 25. Catch Wand Dec. 19 at The Lodge Room.
■ Lily Kershaw, “Pain & More” — Here’s the title track to Lily Kershaw’s new album “Pain & More,” out today. Just breathe. Live Nov. 7 at the Troubadour, opening for Genevieve Stokes.
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