Kevin Bronson on July 3rd, 2025

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It’s a “getaway day,” as the holiday weekend kicks off Friday, so Greatest Hits … This Week (Vol. 345) arrives a day early. Press play to hear new songs from Ambar Lucid, Bardo, BEL, Hello Echo, Darling Tarling, NoMBe, Polyglam, Saint Kid, Shellshaker, AKA BK, Harvey Brittain, Pleasure Pill, Munnycat, Tin Angel, Virgo Verse and more.

Stay safe.

Note: Anita Mills contributed to this roundup.

■ BEL, “Party Tricks” — The seductive soft-rocker “Party Tricks” is the latest missive from singer-songwriter BEL (Isabel Whelan) — and the single that officially announces her debut album, “Holy Grail” (out Oct. 17 via Nettwerk). “‘Party Tricks’ is a manifestation song,” BEL says of the song, the follow-up to “Fresh Start” and “I Want.” “I’m visualizing what it’s going to be like when I eventually do meet the right person. I love leaning into the nerves, excitement and all the romantic things you do early on when you really like someone. I imagined that person getting along with my friends, hosting dinner parties together, being silly and completely obsessed with each other.”

■ Bardo, “Sad Boy” — Last September, beloved L.A. quartet Chicano Batman announced they would be going on indefinite hiatus. Singer-keyboardist Bardo Martinez has turned his focus to his solo project, Bardo. After releasing “Renacer” in March, the artist has unveiled the new single “Sad Boy” — along with the news that his solo album “Transformation Time” will be out out Aug. 22 via Stones Throw Records. Bardo says: “Sad Boy” is raw and purely emotional; and there is no other way I would want to present Transformation Time.” Bardo takes on the role of a Pierrot and vaquero (cowboy) in the music video here.

■ Ambar Lucid, “Moving Mountains” — Just a month or so after releasing her new EP, “El Jardín de Lágrimas,” Ambar Lucid returns with “Moving Mountains,” a song inspired by the fortitude displayed by her immigrant parents. Read what she has to say about it here. Live Aug. 2 at 2220 Arts + Archive.

■ NoMBe, “Ipanema (Cafuné)” — Noah McBeth’s third full-length as NoMBe, “Díaspora,” is a vibrant dip into Afro-Caribbean rhythms and Brazilian nostalgia melded with disco-pop. Of “Ipanema (Cafuné),” McBeth says: “There was a missing piece to tie together so many concepts and feelings. This song became that bridge.”

■ Polyglam, “Postcards” — Last week brought the release of “Spectrum, the debut EP from L.A. trio Polyglam (Allie Stamler, Rachel White and John Sinclair). Featuring singles “Blue Heights” and “You Might,” it’s an enchanting collection of bright, string-accented folk.

■ Zach Bailey, “Knock Knock” (feat. Rachel Baldwin) — “Knock Knock” is no joke; it’s an irrepressible power-pop jam from Zach Bailey and Rachel Baldwin.

■ AKA BK, “Mush” — The follow-up to “Hannah,” “Mush” is the latest adrenaline rush from AKA BK, the indie outfit fronted by Brooklynn Curtis-White.

■ Hello Echo, “Interwebs” — It’s been more than 11 years since indie-rockers Hello Echo released their sophomore album, “Echo,” but what’s a decade between friends? The band — Sean Aylward and three Mikes (Nussbaum, Sarno and Silva) — resurfaced with a trickle of singles the past couple of years. In advance of a new album, they stretch out on Interwebs,” with its bright guitars and intermittent glitches a soundtrack to our dystopian present.

■ Virgo Verse, “Lungs” — Virgo Verse, aka Mary Hamilton, narrates her introspection beautifully on her new single “Lungs,” a melancholy guitar-driven track that includes a touch of piano, and a bold outro.

■ Saint Kid, “Pollen” — Ithaca, N.Y., native Kii Kinsella, aka Saint Kid, released his sophomore EP of atmospheric pop, “Security,” in May. Now the 20-year-old is back with “Pollen,” and if you’re imagining that suggests a song that floats through air, you’re spot on.

■ Darling Tarling, “The Sun” — Stephanie Tarling debuted her solo project Darling Tarling last year with the alluring single “Sunset California.” She’s back with a musical ray of sunshine, her third single “The Sun,” co-written with Morgan Nagler and Brian Klugman. Live at the Hotel Café, supporting Joshua Radin and Maria Taylor, on Nov. 14 and Nov. 15.

■ Cayden Wemple, “It’s Always Sunny” — A different kind of sunshine, “It’s Always Sunny” is the latest single from San Luis Obispo-based singer-songwriter Caden Wemple, who worked with producer/co-writer Charlie Hickey on the tune.

■ Tin Angel, “Couch Song” — Folk trio Tin Angel (Daisy Abrams, Grace Freeman and Taylor Sackson) find a comfy spot on the Jon O’Brien-produced “Couch Song,” their first single since last year’s debut EP. Live July 19 at the Lodge Room, opening for About You.

■ Shellshaker, “Major Drugs” — Riff-spiked and full of swagger, “Major Drugs” is the debut single from Shellshaker, the band fronted by Keiven Anderson.

■ Pleasure Pill, “Favorite Color Gold” — Friendly reminder that San Diego quartet Pleasure Pill have released their debut album, “Hang a Star.” For fans of seminal British bands of the ’90s, and Britpop in general. Live Aug. 9 at Non Plus Ultra.

■ Harvey Brittain, “Tangerine” — Harvey Brittain is a 23-year-old Englishman now stationed in L.A. and signed to Jake Ottman’s label Slumbo Labs. Brittain recently released his debut album, “My Heart Keeps Score,” which boasts a host of catchy things such as the lead track “Tangerine.” “These eight tracks tell my story from growing up in Preston, a small town in the north of the U.K. where not much really goes on in the world, to uprooting everything and chasing my music career halfway across the world in the chaos of L.A.,” Brittain says.

■ Molly Horses, “Babba” — Molly Horses (Harry James, Cormac Shirer Brown, Tim Wright and Malcolm Watts) are bringing their pugilistic hybrid of post-punk and noise-rock to L.A.’s Solid Brass Records, which will release their debut EP, “Clang Clang,” later this month. The deliriously angular “Babba” is the opening track. Live July 25 at Gold-Diggers.

■ Firebug, “Time Marches On” — Firebug, the long-running project helmed by Juliette Tworsey and Jules Shapiro and now based in Joshua Tree, worked with Jordan Lawlor (Beck, M83) on the new single “Time Marshes On.” Joe Rubinstein directed the video. Live July 17 at Pappy & Harriet’s.

■ Seely-Jurgens Band, “Came Out Good in the End” — Kyle Seely (lead guitarist of Sheer Mag) and Justin Jurgens (vocalist/bassist of Ingrates) team up in the Seely-Jurgens Band, and fans of rapacious riffs can get to ripping along to their new single “Came Out Good in the End.”

■ AZRA, “Don’t Kill My Vibe” — “Don’t Kill My Vibe” is a high-energy pop-punk anthem with explosive vocals from Arza (Clara Arza Hyunju-Lee Cai), a South Korea-born solo artist. Watch Arza get in an impressive squirt gun fight in the music video here.

■ Munnycat, “Ditto” — “Ditto,” a dark hyper-pop track with alluring vocals, is the lead single from “Till Death We Do Art” (out Aug. 8), the debut album from indie-pop duo Munnycat (Katianne Timko and Khaled Tabbara). Watch Munnycat escape prison, get kidnapped, and run away from monsters in the high quality music video here.

■ Indiana Bradley, “The Pirate Round” — Timothy Bradley, dba Indiana Bradley, puts his theatrical baritone to good use on his new single “The Pirate Round,” made with producer Keith Cooper (Dear Boy) and Bradley’s first single of the year. It’s a sequel, of sorts: Bradley’s “This Is Where the Pirates Are” appeared on his 2023 EP, “Canticles of Los Angeles.”

■ Gina Zo, “Only Bad Men Make Me Feel This Way” — Solo artist Gina Zo continues to release brazen country-pop music with her unapologetic single “Only Bad Men Make Me Feel This Way.” Live July 11 at The Mint.

■ Queen Eleanor, “Sex Robot” — Eleanor Severance debuted her solo project Queen Eleanor in 2022, and her new single “Sex Robot” dissects some relationship dynamics. It’s the first single from Queen Eleanor’s debut album, arriving in 2026.