Kevin Bronson on March 21st, 2025

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Spring has sprung, so today Buzz Bands LA springs on you Greatest Hits … This Week (Vol. 330), featuring new music from Greer, Dream Ivory, Jensen McRae, Annahstasia, Gelli Haha, Sea Pipes, Bitter:Sweet, Kilo Kish, Exploding Flowers, Mt. Joy, Andy Frasco, Dutch Interior, Mamalarky, Windser, Madame Gandhi, Luke Spiller and more.

Note: Anita Wills contributed to today’s roundup.

■ Gelli Haha, “Bounce House” — Gelli Haha is the nom de tune of Angel Abaya, who’s teamed up with producer Sean Guerin (De Lux) to create a 10-song bundle of joy titled “Switcheroo.” The smart/sassy/kaleidoscopic album will be out June 27 via Innovative Leisure, and we strongly suggest immersing yourself in the video for introductory single, “Bounce House.” Live Saturday at Permanent Records Roadhouse, opening for Primer.

■ Dream, Ivory, “At Zero” — The follow-up to “Lost Angeles,” “At Zero” is the latest alt-rock flex from brothers Brothers Christian and Louie Baello (dba Dream, Ivory).

■ Annahstasia, “Villain” — Annahstasia, who in November released her first EP, “Surface Tension,” has introduced her debut full-length with the single “Villain.” Made with producers Jason Lader, Andrew Lappin and Aaron Liao at L.A.’s Valentine Studios, the album, “Tether,” is out June 13. The “Villain” video spotlights the Black rodeo community in Oklahoma.

■ Luke Spiller, “She’s Just Like California” — L.A.-based Englishman Luke Spiller (The Struts) is back with the acoustic guitar-driven “She’s Just Like California,” the latest single from his solo album, “Love Will Probably Kill Me Before Cigarettes and Wine,” releasing April 25.

■ Jensen McRae, “Savannah” — Jensen McRae pursues a version of herself in a wedding gown in the video for her new single, “Savannah,” a tune she says is “about leaving a bad relationship, falling into one that seems good, and running away, only to be confronted by your past on every street corner.” The single is the latest from McRae’s album “I Don’t Know How But They Found Me!,” out April 25. Live May 28 and May 29 at the El Rey Theatre.

■ Sea Pipes, “Boots” — “Boots” is the first single from indie-rock trio Sea Pipes since last September’s debut EP, “The Right Through.”

■ Bitter:Sweet, “Rise” — In January, Shana Halligan announced the return of Bitter:Sweet after 15 years with the release of the single “Baby Is Back” — the title track of the album she’ll release April 25. In extraordinarily cinematic fashion, she narrates a “rise from ashes” on “Rise,” the album’s second single. String arrangements for the new song come courtesy of Serj Tankian of System of a Down. Live April 25 at the Peppermint Club.

■ Madame Gandhi, “Rise!” — Last month, Madame Gandhi landed a solid punch with the single “Pisces Knockout.” Now she’s back with “Rise!,” an empowerment anthem with a global underpinning. Her new album “Let Me Be Water” will be out in May.

■ Greer, “One in the Same” — Friendly reminder that “Big Smile,” the debut album from O.C. rockers Greer, is out today. Live June 28 (sold out) and June 29 at the Teragram Ballroom, and June 30 at the Observatory.

■ Exploding Flowers, “All in Stride” — L.A. quartet Exploding Flowers (Sharif Dumani, Josh Mancell, Happy Tsugawa-Banta and Mark Sogomian) today released their third album, “Watermelon/Peacock,” manna from heaven for fans of jangling guitar-drenched psych-pop.

■ Spill Tab, “Assis” — “The production for ‘Assis’ feels like the stitching between a ’50s Italian film soundtrack and psychedelic rock,” Claire Chicha says of her new Spill Tab single. “The song is about watching someone you love pull away from you in slow motion. You try to reconcile the beautiful, tender moments with the bitter ones, because ultimately you want no one else.” “Assis” is from the debut Spill Tab album, “Angie,” out May 16. Live June 17 at El Cid.

■ Dutch Interior, “Wood Knot” — “Moneyball, the debut album from L.A. quartet Dutch Interior, is out today, full of easy-schmeezy, ’70s-styled rock for those alone moments on breezy summer afternoons. See also: “Fourth Street” and “Beekeeping.” Live Saturday at the Echo (sold out), supporting Frog, and May 29 at the Constellation Room.

■ Kilo Kish, “Digital Emotional” — Besides curating the Womxn in Windows residency at MOCA, Kilo Kish will release a new EP, “Negotiations,” on May 16. “Digital Emotional” (video) follows “Reprogram” (video) as another compelling offering from the EP.

■ Your Grandparents, “All Dem Times” — L.A. trio Your Grandparents (Cole Thompson, DaCosta and Jean Carter) go extra-smooth on “All Dem Times,” the latest from their album “The Dial,” out May 16.

■ Linying, “Swim, Swim” — L.A.-based Singaporean songwriter Linying will release her new album, “Swim, Swim,” on April 4. As the title track suggests, Linying’s dream-pop offers repast for the melody-starved.

■ Mt. Joy, “Coyote” — Mt. Joy’s new single “was originally inspired by the sounds of coyotes around Mt. Washington in Los Angeles,” frontman Matt Quinn says. “I wanted to make a tune that captured their vibe, creating a fun rock song that honored the coyote’s spirit. The full meaning of the track came together when, in the end, we realized a group of coyotes is called a band.” “Coyote” is the latest single from Mt. Joy’s fourth album, “Hope We Have Fun,” out May 30.

■ Witch Post, “The Wolf” — Indie duo Witch Post (Dylan Fraser and Alaska Reid) are back with “The Wolf,” the follow-up to “Dreaming,” in advance of the May release of their debut EP, “Beast.”

■ Windser, “Shut Up and Kiss Me” — Songwriter Jordan Topf’s latest Windser single is a good ol’ classic ballad that tugs all the right heartstrings. The follow-up to “Abandon,” “Shut Up and Kiss Me” is the closing track on Windser’s self-titled debut album, out May 16.

■ Cloe Wilder, “Heavyweight Champion” — “Life’s a Bitch” is the title of Cloe Wilder’s third EP, out today. She’s sounds she’s aching for a fight in “Heavyweight Champion.” Live April 4 at the Belasco and April 8 at the Constellation Room., supporting Spencer Sutherland.

■ Jawdropped, “Fantasy”— As a follow-up to “Skully,” “Fantasy” is a bass-driven rock song with a catchy vocal melody from Jawdropped’s debut EP, “Just Fantasy,” out April 25 via Firetalk Records/Angel Tapes. Watch the music video that satirizes Hollywood’s casting sessions here.

■ Cola Boyy, “Babylon” — “Babylon” introduces “Quit to Play Chess,” the posthumous album from Matthew Urango’s solo project Cola Boyy, which will be released May 23. It’s been a year since Urango died, and he was working on the album right up until his death. Director Joey Frank’s video was filmed in the songwriter’s hometown of Oxnard on Valentine’s Day, which would have been Urango’s 35th birthday.

■ Mamalarky, “Anhedonia” —Mamalarky follows up “#1 Best of All Time” with the groovy and emotional “Anhedonia,” off their new album “Hex Key,” dropping April 11 via Epitaph Records. Vocalist Livvy Bennet says:  “The most defining times come after being at the bottom of the pit, every day passing the same. At some point you look up and anhedonia has gone and you’re more hopeful than before.”

■ Brandon, “September “— Songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Brandon follows up “Right Back” with “September,” a haunting love song off his debut album, “Before You Go,” out May 9 via on Secret Canadian. Watch Brandon sing his heart out in the gorgeously lit music video here.

■ Kacy Hill, “When In Rome” — Kacy Hill is a singer-songwriter originally from Phoenix. Her delicate vocals shine in the new Americana single “When In Rome,” released via Nettwerk and co-written with John Vincent III, and co-produced by Tommy King (HAIM, RAYE, The 1975).

■ Good Bison, “I Can’t Seem to Find My Place” — Good Bison, the solo vehicle of Pablo Alvarez, has released his first single since 2023’s EP, “Ghost on Mulholland.”

■ DE’WAYNE, “Biological” — Houston-born De’Wayne Jackson makes soulful/funky classic rock writ large, befitting his all-caps moniker DE’WAYNE. He’s released two singles thus far from his album “June” (out July 23 via Fearless Records), “Highway Robbery” (get a load of this) and, this week, “Biological.”

■ Andy Frasco & the U.N., “Swinging for the Fences” — Arriving just short of baseball’s official Opening Day, “Swinging for the Fences” is the latest single from Andy Frasco’s new album, “Growing Pains,” out May 23. Frasco’s in a league of his own when it comes to embracing classic rock, and this new, Motown-inspired romp, which features G. Love and Eric Krasno, is yet another example.

■ The Toxhards, “Get Creative! Or Get Radicalized!” — As a follow-up to “Beatrice,” “Get Creative! Or Get Radicalized!” is a tongue-in-cheek dance song from raucous alt-rockers the Toxhards, who will release their debut LP “Your Neighborhood,” dropping April 25 via Hopeless Records. Watch the bizarre and hilarious music video here.

■ DE JESUS, “Direction” — “Direction” is the third single from the solo project of Felipe De Jesus Contreras — aka DE JESUS — who is the bass player for the East Lake garage-rock quartet the Tracks. Live March 29 at the Escondite.

■ Bad Town, “Sign Me Up” — Bad Town is the jazz- and indie-rock project of the Valley-based quartet of David Melgoza, Andrew Pacheco, Daniel Franklin and Tyler Bogna. They’re releasing a six-song EP, “This Time Last Year,” on April 1.

■ Zoe Ko, “Not Ur Girlfriend” — Heavy on attitude and light on everything else, “Not Ur Girlfriend” is the title track of Zoe Ko’s new EP, out today.