Kevin Bronson on November 15th, 2024

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Greatest Hits … This Week (Vol. 316) is a case of (to steal a phrase from an annoying ad campaign) too much good stuff.

Buzz Bands LA’s new mix packs new singles from the likes of Kills Birds, Poppy Jean Crawford, Lindsey Rose Black, Jesika Von Rabbit, Cat Matthews, Annahstasia, Welsh Wolf, Liv Slingerland and Viola Odette Harlow into a big stew with songs from freshly released albums by Jagged Baptist Club, Gold Star, Sego, Wallice, The Spyrals, Jon Patrick Titterington and Human Potential. New songs from artists such as Eddie Chacon, SASAMI, Izzy Outerspace, The Vickies, R E L and Sunder are just icing on a great big cake.

Catch up with past playlists here.

Note: Anita Wills contributed to today’s roundup.

■ Kills Birds, “Behind” — On their first two albums, Kills Birds showed themselves to be singularly explosive … and we mean “Volcano”-type explosive. Still not sure, however, we were prepared to be strafed by “Behind,” their first new music since 2021 and the first single from an Aron Kobayashi Ritch-produced EP, arriving in the spring. Here’s the video for “Behind” — batten down your sonic hatches.

■ Jagged Baptist Club, “Hot Brains” — “Physical Surveillance,” the new, Alex Newport-produced album from L.A. rabblerousers Jagged Baptist Club, arrived today, moving across listening devices like a major weather event. The forecast calls for high winds, lightning-strike guitars, synth squalls, stormy vocals, biting humor and big, beautiful gusts of give-no-f*cks. It’s fun, it’s righteous, and after hearing singles such as “You Are a Dog,” “Bull on a Chain” and “Blow Dry Nation,” we figure the album opener “Hot Brains” is a good place to start. These guys should be opening for huge punk bands, but for now you can see them Saturday night at the Slipper Clutch in DTLA.

■ Poppy Jean Crawford, “Glamorous” — The shreddy new single from Polly Jean Crawford actually dates to when she was a teenager and got to work with producer Ross Robinson, who brought in a backing band (these guys) to record her songs. The music sat on the shelf until Crawford, now 25, signed to Angel Olsen’s Somethingcomsmic imprint. “Glamorous” will appear on the label’s “Cosmic Waves Volume 1” compilation, and it was released with a B-side: Olsen herself cover Crawford’s song “The Takeover.”

■ Sego, “Mom” — Over the past year and a half, releasing one single at a time, Sego has challenged the boundaries of our catholic tastes. With the release of “Mom,” the L.A. quartet’s new album “Tandang” (title track, from March 2023) has arrived in all its sonic derring-do and ADHD glory. Sometimes it’s as if they’re standing in the middle of an arena and shouting: Are you not entertained? Well, yes. Yes we are.

■ Wallice, “Flash in the Pan” — After three consecutive years releasing EPs of tuneful, often-fuzzy indie-pop, Wallice Watanabe spreads her wings on her sonically broader debut full-length, “The Jester,” out today via Dirty Hit. After winning singles such as “Heaven Has to Happen,” “Gut Punch Love,” “Deadbeat” and “I Want You Yesterday,” Wallice cues the horns for “Flash in the Pan.” Live Feb. 21 at the Teragram Ballroom.

■ Jesika Von Rabbit, “Hooray for Hollywood” — Here’s one for the next time you’re hallucinating that you are riding a rainbow-colored horse through the staredown scene of “The Good, the Bad and the Ugly.” What, you’ve never had that vision? Well, welcome to Jesika Von Rabbit’s world. Whistling while she works, the desert-based singer-songwriter twangs spaghetti Western-style on the second single from her as-yet-untitled third solo album, due next year.

■ The Spyrals, “Dream Believin’” — The Spyrals remind you of Black Rebel Motorcycle Club — it’s not just their dark, moody psych-rock but also the fact they are a trio (Jeff Lewis, currently backed by Georgia Feroce and Dash Borinstein) who originated in the Bay Area. Their fifth album, “Retrograde” (out today), ups their bluesy game. It was made with Mark Rains at Station House Studios and captures the threesome’s foreboding bite. Here’s the video for “Dream Believin’,” and also check out the lead track “New War.”

■ Lindsey Rose Black, “Whisk Miss” — Texas native Lindsey Rose Black’s sound traffics at intersection of country, pop and indie-rock, and what a stimulating drive. “Whisk Miss,” produced with John Velasquez and featuring Matt Frazier of Local Natives on drums, is the latest single from Black’s debut album, “The Myth of the American Cowboy,” arriving in the new year.

■ Gold Star, “Fade Away” — Another gold star for Gold Star, the nom de tune of Marlon Rabenreither. “Fade Away” follows “Fentanyl” as the latest single from the fifth Gold Star full-length, “How to Shoot the Moon,” out today. Live Nov. 20 at El Cid.

■ Annahstasia, “Saturday” — Annahstasia Enuke (just Annahstasia when she’s mesmerizing you with her voice) this week released her sophomore EP, “Surface Tension.” The Jason Lader-produced trio of songs abide the folk troubadour tradition, and both lyrically and in the emotion of her sandy vocals, she wields the power to seemingly stop time, or at least still the world’s outside noise. Influences such as Joni Mitchell, Tracy Chapman and Nina Simone are plain; “Saturday” and the EP’s other two tracks show there’s good reason to anticipate Annahstasia’s debut full-length, coming next year.

■ Eddie Chacon, “End of the World” — “End of the World” is the latest mile marker in the career renaissance of soul singer Eddie Chacon, who, more than two decades after the notoriety of the duo Charles & Eddie, released his first solo album, “Pleasure, Joy and Happiness,” via Stones Throw Records. “Sundown” followed last year, and now a “Lay Low,” is due Jan. 31. This one’s produced by Nick Hakim, and “End of the World” makes the heartbreak sound silky-sad. Live Feb. 1 at the Lodge Room

■ Cat Matthews, “Kaleidoscope Eyes” — Cat Matthews continues to have a remarkable debut year. “Kaleidoscope Eyes” is her fourth single, a breakup song that came out of an extremely sad moment: “One night as I was grappling with my feelings, crying in my car, the street lights looked glimmery and fuzzy and beautiful through my tears,” she explains. Like her previous singles, including “Greener Pastures,” the song was co-produced with Marshall Vore (Phoebe Bridgers, Maya Hawke, Christian Lee Hutson).

■ Specific Coast, “Eastside” — For fans who know L.A.’s (perceived) cultural geography, here’s the new single from folk artist Matt Dunne’s solo project Specific Coast. The singer-songwriter earned attention a few years back for the single “Home” (featured in the Netflix series “Ginny and Georgia”), and a bunch of singles later he released the EP “Trying My Best” this past spring. “Eastside” finds Dunne working with frequent collaborator Gehring Miller.

■ Izzy Outerspace, “Beautiful Blur” — Following up her spring EP, “Lip Service,” Izzy Outerspace returns with a languorous slice of shoegaze, “Beautiful Blur,” made with collaborator Jeff Schroeder (ex-Smashing Pumpkins).

■ Welsh Wolf, “When You Cry” — L.A.-based Paul Freeman, who’s played guitar for the likes of The Who, James Blunt, Chris Isaac and Brandi Carlisle, among others, now debuts as under a new moniker Welsh Wolf. “When You Cry,” the second single from his untitled debut EP out next year, is a rockin’ tune that would be right at home on an ’80s movie soundtrack.

■ SASAMI, “Just Be Friends” — The hits keep right on coming from SASAMI’S third album, “Blood on the Silver Screen” (out March 7). The follow-up to “Sugarcrash” and “Slugger,” “Just Be Friends,” the songwriter says, “feels like a really grown-up continuation of themes/moods from my first two albums. I returned to some of the stream-of-consciousness, emotional lyrical writing style of my first album and kept riding the country wave that was in the fabric of [2019’s] ‘Squeeze’ but with a bit more modern country influence.”

■ Matt Champion, “Ash” (feat. Deb Never) — Ahead of his appearance at Camp Flog Gnaw this weekend, Matt Champion has released his new EP, “Slint’s Favorite” (the follow-up to this spring’s “Mika’s Laundry”), which winds up with the Deb Never-featured song, “Ash.”

■ Liv Slingerland, “Crazy for Ur Touch” — Guitar hero Liv Slingerland (who’s played alongside Post Malone, Olivia Rodrigo, Portugal. The Man, Halsey, Gracie Abrams, Donna Missal and a bunch more) returns with her first single since … (checks notes) 2022, when she released her debut album, “Hey You.”

■ The Vickies, “Shapeshifter” — Just here to put L.A. quartet the Vickies (Mike Henry, Wendy Irish, Andrew Goldstein and Dave Irish) on your radar. They’ve released a half-dozen gritty rockers since Labor Day; “Shapeshifter” is the only single to have made it to Spotify, but you are hereby summoned to check out all six tracks on Bandcamp.

■ Viola Odette Harlow, “Scorsese” — Previously known as Glüme, alternative artist Viola Odette Harlow unveils a new single “Scorsese,” a playful rock song boasting a crunchy guitar riff and delicate vocals. You can watch Harlow throw punches during a slug fest with herself in the music video here.

■ Zzzahara, “If I Had to Go I Would Leave the Door Closed Half Way” — “Spiral Your Way Out,” the new album from Zzzahara (aka Zahara Jaime), is out Jan. 10, and their new single “If I Had to Go I Would Leave the Door Closed Half Way” is a charmer, in a West Coast pop meets dream pop way. Zzzahara introduced the LP last month by releasing “Ghosts.”

■ Noelle Sucks, “Life Is Sw33t” — Noelle Sucks’ previous singles “Nonchalant” and “Copy Ur Keys” are now bundled into a four track EP called “Life Is Sw33t,” out via Graveboy Records. The closing track on the EP by the same name, “Life Is Sw33t,” is a break-up song with a repetitive and catchy guitar hook, paired with pop-punk vocals. If you ever wondered what Blink 182 would sound like with a talented female vocalist, this track is for you. Catch Noelle Sucks at The Palladium on Dec. 8.

■ R E L, “Medicine” — Since debuting her solo project R E L in 2015, Chicago-bred Arielle Sitrick has built a following for polished pop-soul songs that find currency in immediacy and relatability. “Medicine” is the title track of her new, Jon Joseph-produced EP, out today.  

■ Daryl Johns, “Barbecue in the Sun” — Released this week with the companion single “Whoops,” “Barbecue in the Sun” is the latest single from Daryl Johns’ self-titled solo album. (See also: “Happy.”) Johns, bass player to many an artist (including Mac DeMarco), will release the album Nov. 22 via Mac’;s Record Label. Live Nov. 24 at Gold-Diggers.

■ Tawny Ellis, “Elephant” — As a follow-up to “Sweet Georgia,” “Elephant” is the second single from Tawny Ellis’s new album “Edge of the World,” set to release next year. The instrumentals softly sway with Ellis’s soothing vocal melody, yet despite the song’s calming tone, Ellis reveals its true intention is the powerful message behind the lyrics: “Eventually, the walls we’ve built to avoid the truth will come crashing down. In the end, the path to truth will reveal itself, whether we’re ready for it or not.”

■ Jon Patrick Titterington, “I Want to End the World” — Jon Titterington has been a session player, collaborator, composer for TV and touring musician (he currently plays keys for Father John Misty). His first solo album, “See You at the Finish Line,” came out last week, and it’s a roller-coaster of satire, sad-guy musings and skittish brain-ticklers, mostly done in the manner of classic ’70s songwriters. Pure fun.

■ Sonja Midtune, “Changing Me” — Minnesota native Sonja Midtune has been churning out postcard-pretty dream-pop tunes all year; “Changing Me” is her fifth single since late July alone, as she continues to find a sweet spot working with producer-writer Sean Oakley. A full-length is one the way.

■ Human Potential, “Ruts” — Human Potential is the solo project of Andrew Becker, a filmmaker and former drummer in the indie bands Medications and Screens. “I Write Wedding Songs,” out today, is Human Potential’s sixth full-length over the project’s 11-year lifespan. Wildly conceptual and even wilder sonically, Human Potential seems geared to the most adventurous (and quite possibly chemically enhanced) tastes. As for the single “Ruts,” Becker says: “Intended to be added to playlists for apocalypse parties. Enjoy!”

■ Sunder, “I Guess I’ll See You in the Movies” (feat. Paradise Blossom) — Indie-pop outfit Sunder continue their song-a-month releases with “I Guess I’ll See You in the Movies,” on which they’re joined by Fresno dream-pop/shoegaze duo Paradise Blossom.

■ DE JESUS, “Why Is It So?” — Felipe De Jesus Contreras, bass player for East L.A. rockers the Tracks, today launches his solo project DE JESUS. Debut single “Why Is It So?” is an unvarnished mid-tempo garage-rocker that embraces the whole solo project thing: “Alone go alone you can make it on your own / Alone just go along,” he sings on the chorus.

■ Royal She, “Karma” — The new one from Royal She (vocalist Alison Freed and multi-instrumentalist Alexandria Reyes) speaks for itself, in the duo’s own caffeinated rap-pop way. Their debut album “Befores and Afters” will come out next year.

■ Eyedress, “Occasional Stoner” — For fans of the Dandy Warhols, “Occasional Stoner” is the title track from diverse solo artist Eyedress (Idris Vicuña), ahead of his upcoming album, releasing Feb. 14, 2025. The upbeat, danceable song was inspired by a poignant lesson learned about family. “I wrote the song around the time our son was diagnosed with autism,” Vicuña says. “Initially, it was challenging for us, and we felt uncertain, but eventually, we came to terms with it. Nowadays, we’re proud advocates for everyone on the spectrum.”

■ Rah Rah Rabbit, “What It Means” — Folk/country outfit Rah Rah Rabbit released the EP “Ghosts” early this year, and “What It Means” is the second single the band has released since. The title of their forthcoming LP is “Chasin’ Rabbits, Catchin’ Squirrels,” and “What It Means,” along with their September single “This Winter,” makes it sound like a release you’d want to chase down. Catch them at Club Tee Gee on Dec. 1.

■ MA Jolie Fleur, “Let’s Get Out of Here” — For fans of the Dears, “Let’s Get Out Of Here” is a unique and solemn love song by eclectic singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist MA Jolie Fleur (Myke Adams), featuring vocalist Alexandria Leigh. The upcoming EP, “Detachments,” drops next month. You can watch the introspective music video directed by Adams and shot on film here.

■ Kate Bollinger, “What Can I Give You” — Wrapping this week up with a cool cover: In September, Kate Bollinger released her album “Songs From a Thousand Frames of Mind.” Now she (along with the likes of Margo Price, TOPS, Clairo, Rahill, June McDoom, MUNYA & Kainalu, Frankie Cosmos & Good Morning, Kate Bollinger, Pearl & The Oysters and Bedouine) appears on “Like Someone I Know: A Celebration of Margo Guryan,” a tribute to the songwriter and her 1968 album, “Take a Picture.” “Like Someone I Know” was released Nov. 8, the third anniversary of Guryan’s passing. Bollinger performs tonight at the Teragram Ballroom.