Kevin Bronson on January 24th, 2025

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Keep your hearts, arms and (if possible) pocketbooks open for those impacted by the wildfires.

Here’s Greatest Hits … This Week (Vol. 322), featuring new music from Lord Huron, Butch Bastard, Tropa Magica, Eric Cannata, Cheekface, Cash & Skye, Manley, Kelcey Ayer, Cloe Wilder, Less of This, Magana, MOTO SOLO, Osnova, Split Moon and more.

Enjoy, and maybe make plans to see a benefit show or two.

■ Lord Huron, “Who Laughs Last?” (feat. Kristen Stewart) — As Lord Huron plots their “Strange Trails” 10th-anniversary tour (see below), the band has released a trippy and road-trippy new song, “Who Laughs Last?,” featuring a spoken-word narrative by acc tress Kristen Stewart. You’ll want to watch the video, directed by Tony Wilson and starring Stewart. Live at the Kia Forum on Nov. 2, joined by Feist.

■ Butch Bastard, “Death Valley” — Here’s the title track of Ian Murray’s third album as Butch Bastard, “Death Valley,” out in April. It’s the follow-up to “If It Wasn’t for the UFOs …,” and, well, short-and-tidy summaries won’t do here, so I will just share Murray’s statement here:

“In the three weeks since ‘If It Wasn’t For The UFOs …’ was released, huge swaths of the city we live in were reduced to ash by raging wildfires. A demented carnival barker motivated solely by insecurity and treacherous self-interest was sworn in to the most consequential office in the world for the SECOND TIME with the majority of the popular vote. He was inaugurated to an audience of wealth-hoarding billionaire egomaniacs who have glazed their way into his favor so that they can continue to dine on humanity in service to their own insatiable greed. One of them gave a Nazi salute twice as he spoke to the adoring, brainwashed masses who have since decided they didn’t see what they saw.

In the direct wake of this I will be putting out music and promoting it on platforms owned by the very people I just maligned. Despite having an independently pressed vinyl that will be available for pre-order soon (cha-ching!), I don’t feel that I have any other choice if I want to be heard or make any kind of a living as an artist. That’s how deep into this hell we are.

Of course, none of this is new. A majority of the songs on this upcoming album are about this very mania. Which is why two years ago, on my daughter’s third birthday, I violated my own code, and wrote the song ‘Death Valley’ for her. This isn’t necessarily the most radio-friendly single on the record, but I do believe it is the one that has the most apparent value right now.

I often lead with cynicism, and much of what I put out through art or conversation is mired in skepticism for the world that I live in and the people who inhabit it. But at my core, I am an optimist. I always think that ‘it’s going to be OK.’ The fire will soon go out, the bad men don’t really mean it, the sickness will subside, the wound will heal, love is the answer. I feel this way despite continually seeing evidence to the contrary. But I feel this way, and I expect that I always will.

The song isn’t meant to be cute or precious. It’s a warning to my child. The pain I feel, I know she will also feel. But I know she will thrive. If there is anything I hope she inherits from me, it’s a sense of optimism, an idealism that somehow sees the future as filled with rewards, the delusion that the pain is the victory.”

■ Kelcey Ayer, “Don’t Look Down” — Kelcey Ayer announced his departure from Local Natives last spring and wrapped 2024 by playing with the band on their double-album mega-tour that ended in November. The singer-songwriter had released a couple solo albums under the name Jaws of Love, but now he’s just going by his given name. Bandcamp proceeds from the beautifully aerial “Don’t Look Down” will go this relief fund for wildfire victims.

■ Manley, “Bad Memory” —Friendly reminder that melancholy rocker Manley (the moniker of Nat Lee) released their first EP after a four-year break, “Sleeping On A Certain Side of Someone Else’s Bed,” last week. “Bad Memory,” produced by Caelen Perkins, is an intimate indie-rock song where Lee proves to be a true poet, “Look at death right in her eyes / And tell her she’s worth marrying.”

■ Cash & Skye, “Stranger” — Cash & Skye are the songwriting partnership of Henri Cash and Sophia Skye, who’ve been a couple for several years and over that period have amassed a batch of songs (including “No More Candy,” which was released as a 7-inch on Third Man Records in 2021). Their debut LP, “Just a Stranger,” will be out on Feb. 21. Cash is the guitarist in Starcrawler; Skye is the daughter of Pierre de Reeder of Rilo Kiley. Of the country-tinted “Stranger,” Cash says the song is “about how you never know when you’re leaving or where you’ve left because there’s a fish on every side of you and you’re dead center of your school. Knowing you’re dodging nets every day, all the while remembering that one day you’ll get caught. A side of you wants to feel the splintered wood of that ship’s deck just for a sense of change. You’re smelly and you have itchy scales you can’t scratch, because you’ve got fins instead of arms.”

■ Deloyd Elze, “God’s Cruel Joke” — Georgia native Deloyd Elze pulls from disparate influences to achieve the “digital twang” (his description) on his debut EP, “A Horse Named Proletariat,” released in November. Is it country? Is it freak-folk? Is it glitch? All those things, yes, as well as beguiling. Catch him live at Makeout Music on Jan. 25.

■ Cloe Wilder, “Cigarettes” — Cloe Wilder is a 19-year-old Americana-pop rock artist originally from Florida. Her new single “Cigarettes,” co-written with Spencer Sutherland and Sam Nicolosi, is a guitar-driven pop tune showcasing her soft but extensive vocal range. You can watch Cloe go on a cute pool hall date with a River Phoenix lookalike in the music video here.  Wilder opens for Sutherland Apr. 4 at The Belasco.

■ Eric Cannata, “Fruit” — Friendly reminder that Eric Cannata (Young the Giant) this week released his solo album, “Holding Onto the Holy.” Says Cannata: “This record is about holding close the people and parts of life that mean the most, while the world around us is seemingly falling apart,” always a good thing to keep in mind and certainly at this moment in time.” Here’s the video for “Fruit.” Live Jan. 31 at the Moroccan Lounge.

■ Split Moon, “More Clouds” — Split Moon is the project of singer-guitarist Mark Starr (neé Olson), backed now by bassist Ryan Orvis, guitarist Nick Thomas and drummer Tiffany Sotomayor. On “More Clouds,” the first single from their album “More Clouds More Stars,” they craft a woozy wall of sound exemplary of the spacier side of shoegaze; Spiritualized, Spacemen 3 and Dead Meadow are good reference points.

■ Bad Light, “Little Misery” — File under things we missed in 2024: Bad Light (Ryan Barnes, Julian Fernandez Vina, Nick Bottomley and Trent Tanzi) make what they call “loud music for quiet people.” We made a little noise for their debut EP, “Takes a Lifetime,” (released in March), and here’s some more for and latest single, “Little Misery.” Earplugs in for the latter, a bolt of muscular, high-velocity shoegaze. Live Jan. 31 at Galaxy Peak in Van Nuys.

■ Osnova, “Climbing Dues” — Shoegazing trio Osnova (Caroline McLaughlin, Jean-Claude Vorgeack and Sam Ribeyro) return with a another slab of atmospheric bliss, “Climbing Dues,” their first single since late last summer. Live Feb. 23 at Gold-Diggers.

■ MOTO SOLO, “There’s Another Way” — MOTO SOLO is the new project from Bobby Tamkin (Xu Xu Fang, The Warlocks), who plumbs noirish electro-rock on the debut single “There’s Another Way.” He found a collaborator in Michael Shuman (Queens of the Stone Age, Mini Mansions) and recorded the material with Grammy-winning engineer Michael Harris.

■ Less of This, “How It Feels” — Less of This are an indie-rock quartet (Aiden Grillo, Marley Bryden, Jasper Trumfio and Odin Stephens) whose debut EP, “Cover Up,” came out this week. Let this one roar.

■ Tropa Magica, “Xochi” — Almost three years since the release of their third Tropa Magica album, brothers David and Rene Pacheco return with the laid-back cumbia tune “Xochi,” the first single from a new album they have in the works.

■ Magana, “I’m Not Doing Anything” — Magana, aka multi-instrumentalist Jeni Magaña (Mitski, Lady Lamb), this week released a four-track EP of “winter pop,” titled “Bad News” drops today. “I’m Not Doing Anything” opens with beautiful arpeggiated chords that evokes an image of snow twinkling in the first morning light. The bass keeps the song grounded, while the horn-like synth gives feelings of nostalgia. Magaña’s vocals are full of woe, “Some people complain about their dreams / But I am counting breaths just to get some sleep / Oh and I’m not doing, not doing anything.”

■ Your Grandparents, “The Dial” — Cole Thompson, vocalist DaCosta and Jean Carter comprise the highly unique R&B/rap trio known as Your Grandparents. Co-produced by Josh Conway (The Marías) for Drink Sum Wtr records, “The Dial,” is a funky and uplifting standalone single whose lyrics carry a positive message, “I matter / You matter / Don’t minimize your space.”

■ Desperate Hauswives, “Boy Joy” — Desperate Hauswives is the partnership of Fiona Grey and Celeste Tauchar (aka Talker), whose musical romps could be described as riotous-fun grrrl. The duo last year released their debut EP, “Welcome to the Lane,” and kicked off 2025 with the shout-along “Boy Joy.” Live Jan. 28 at the Moroccan Lounge.

■ Cheekface, “Growth Sux” — A year ago this week, silver-tongued trio Cheekface surprise-released their fourth album, “It’s Sorted.” Irrepressible hitmakers they’ve become, the band hasn’t slowed down, issuing a B-sides EP and three singles since — “Growth Sux” arriving this week as the follow-up to “Flies” and “Hard Mode.” Tour plans? They got ’em, including May 29 at the Regent Theater.

■ CULTBABY, “Ireland” Richard Benjamin Greer, aka CULTBABY, is an angular indie-rock artist whose moniker reflects his uncommon upbringing. As a follow-up to “Mr. Pouch,” “Ireland” is a crunchy, somewhat shoegaze song with impressive vocal harmonies that was written in Ireland and recorded in Santa Ana for his upcoming album, “Cut the Arm, Preserve the Body: Songs from 2019-2023,” out next month.

■ Avery Lynch, “The Boys Who Don’t Know What They Want” — “The Boys Who Don’t Know What They Want”  is a soft piano ballad from Pennsylvania native Avery Lynch. The single continues the narrative from the track, “You’re Just A Guy,” off her 2024 album “As Written, Vol. 2,” “I made this song as a sister-song to “You’re Just a Guy,” and, just like that song, this doesn’t feel specifically sad to me, it feels more matter-of-fact. It’s just something I’ve observed that we’ve all experienced and don’t want to experience anymore.”

■ DWLLRS, “Cameraman” — “Cameraman” is the title track of the just-released album from O.C.-bred duo Bren Eisman and Joey Spurgeon, aka DWLLRS. Live March 21 at the Echo.

■ Dear Boy, “Combat Baby” — Toasting the 20-year anniversary of Last Gang Records, Dear Boy (whose debut album “Forever Sometimes” came out on the label in 2022) checks in with a cover of Metric’s “Combat Baby.”