Kevin Bronson on January 9th, 2026

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Here’s our first playlist of 2026 — Greatest Hits … This Week (Vol. 369).

We kick off the year with lots of new music (and some tracks we didn’t get to in ’25), so check out tunes from Tyler Ballgame, Joyce Major, Kristiane, Sego, Maya J’an, Lucy Clearwater, Father John Misty, The Blank Tapes, Uni Boys, The Tulips, Desert Sparrow, Jay Buchanan, Emmalee Rainbow, Deloyd Elze, Tender Misfit, Coma Girls and more.

Past playlists, with liner notes, here..

Anita Mills contributed to this roundup.

■ Kristiane, “The Next One” — After a run of sweet singles in 2025 — to itemize: “Smoke & Mirrors,” “Idaho,” “Beacon” and “Good & Ready,” — Kristiane will release her new album, “Not Anything, Just Everything,” on Feb. 4. “The Next One” is the final taste of the fuzzy/dreamy indie-rock on the LP, and yet another sign her star is one the rise. Feb. 21 at the Echo.

■ GUV, “Chasin’ Luv” — “Chasin’ Luv” is the latest single from GUV (fka Young Guv and Young Governor), the solo project of Ben Cook, whose new full-length “Warmer Than Gold” is out Jan. 30. See also the title track, and file under Echoes of Britpop Heroes. Live Jan. 29 at Three Clubs and Feb. 13 at the Constellation Room.

■ Maya J’an, “Cul-de-sac” — On her extraordinary new single “Cul-de-sac,” Maya J’an (fka Maya B, the artist born Maya Brown in Pasadena) pays tribute to her hometown as the one-year anniversary of the devastating wildfires passes. “Cul-de-sac” is the first release under her new artist name. “‘cul-de-sac’ is my love letter to where I’m from — Pasadena, California — and to the places of my childhood that disappeared after the fires of January 2025,” Maya says. “After driving through what was damaged, I was overwhelmed by longing, nostalgia and loss. ‘Cul-de-sac’ is an ode, and sometimes a portal, to the places I can no longer visit.”

■ Coma Girls, “Midnight Needles” — Chris Spino released the third album (“Crystal Pistol”) from his solo project Coma Girls in 2023. “Midnight Needles” is just the second single since.

■ Lucy Clearwater, “I Wanna Fight You” — Solo artist Lucy Clearwater drops “I Wanna Fight You,” a feisty grunge track featuring a catchy guitar hook. It’s the follow-up to her single “Almost.” Her album, “People ≠ Possessions,” is out May 14.

■ Tyler Ballgame, “Matter of Taste” — Tyler Ballgame, the L.A.-based Rhode Island native whose bright classic rock seems a tonic for these times, will release his debut album, “For the First Time, Again,” on Jan. 30. It was made with producers/multi-instrumentalist Jonathan Rado and Ryan Pollie (drummer Amy Aileen Wood and bassist Wayne Whitaker also play on the record), and “Matter of Taste” is the third single, following up “I Believe in Love.” Live April 3 at the Belasco, opening for St. Paul & the Broken Bones.

■ Emmalee Rainbow, “I’ve Had Some Wine” — In addition to her talents as a musician, Emmalee Rainbow (Abrams) is an actress and a chef (see Lifetime’s Man Vs. Child: Chef Showdown”). Her new widescreen single “I’ve Had Some Wine” is a pairing, if you will — existential malaise and song. She plans to release a new EP later this spring. Live tonight at Molly Malone’s.

■ Joyce Manor, “I Know Where Mark Chen Lives” — “I Know Where Mark Chen Lives” is the short and spunky third single from South Bay trio Joyce Manor’s seventh album “I Used To Go To This Bar,” out Jan. 30 via Epitaph Records. The track follows “Well, Whatever It Was.” Band leader Barry Johnson says: “Mark Chen was a singer and songwriter for the bands Summer Vacation and Winter Break, which didn’t get quite as popular as they deserved to. I just love Mark’s songwriting and voice.” Watch the black-and-white music video here.

■ Sego, “Buy It Break It” — “Buy It Break It” is the second song to make it into the digital landscape from Sego’s album “Direct to DVD,” an odds-and-sods collection that was released, true to its title, on CD only.

■ Blondfire, “Get You High” — Erica Driscoll, dba Blondfire, returns with a new pop confection, “Get You High,” which appears in the trailer for “Emily in Paris” Season 5.

■ Octavio F.G., “You Could Love Me Better” — Octavio Genera, onetime the main crooner in the Soft White Sixties, returns with a new funky new single from his solo project Octavio F.G.

■ Tender Misfit, “I Touch Myself” — Ostensibly no relation to Divinyls’ 25-year-old (!) song of the same title — the chorus is a preposition away from being word-for-word — the pulse-quickening “I Touch Myself” finds songwriter Ariel Beesley, aka Tender Misfit, working with songwriter-producer Dave Katz.

■ The Blank Tapes, “California” — Matt Adams, pilot of the long-running psych/surf/folk-rock project the Blank Tapes, always seems to deliver good things in big packages. (2022’s “Pop Rocks” was a long smoke spanning 62 songs.) For the new year, he sprang a new Blank Tapes album on eager listeners. On “Lost Weekend,” he’s backed by a cast of L.A. all-stars as he commits to tape 18 tracks, some of the tunes dating back a decade.

■ Desperate Hauswives, “The Ballad of Edie Britt” — Fiona Grey and Celeste Tauchar (aka Talker) named their project after the TV series “Desperate Housewives,” so why not make a rockin’ ode to one of its memorable characters?

■ Father John Misty, “The Old Law” — “The Old Law” is the new title of one of Father John Misty’s older (but never released) songs, “God’s Trash.” Live May 17 at the Fox Theater Pomona.

■ Magic Wands & John Ashton, “Sacred Mirrors” — Psychedelic Furs guitarist John Ashton joins L.A. duo Magic Wands on the new single “Sacred Mirrors,” slated to appear on the deluxe version of Magic Wands’ album “Cascades,” released in October.

■ Jay Buchanan, “True Black” — The follow-up to “Caroline,” “True Black” is the second single from “Weapons of Beauty” (out Feb. 6), the solo album from Jay Buchanan (of Rival Sons).

■ One Outta Ten, “Distant Stars (Withstand)” — Glendale-based One Outta Ten combines the talents of brothers Joshua and David de Leon, along with JT Hamel, Mark Marquez and Tyler Lofftus. The quintet has released two albums, and on their new single “Distant Stars (Withstand),” they check in with a heavier, ’90s-styled sound. Live Jan. 23 at the Echo, supporting Ammerican Woman.

■ Mia Loren, “Tell Me” — A formidable force in the music scene, newcomer Mia Loren continues to master the art of vibe creation. Her latest original track “‘Tell Me” is a chill and groovy tribute to her hometown of Atwater Village. Watch Mia reminisce in the music video here.

■ Feng, “Cali Crazy” — Everybody’s moving out of California, right? Not Feng. The 19-year-old from South London just got here and he’s “Cali Crazy.” As his video suggests.

■ The Citie, “Regrets” — File under: Things we missed in 2025. The Citie are the Valley-bred group of brothers Jona and Adrian Cohen, along with Francisco “Paquito” Aranda, who trade in ethereal and often Latinx-infused indie-pop and rock. Last fall brought the release of their new album, “Bipolar.” Live tonight at AboveTheBridge. (h/t, Jessica).

■ Uni Boys, “I Don’t Wanna Dream Anymore” — L.A. power-pop outfit Uni Boys introduce their fifth album, “Uni Boys,” with “I Don’t Want to Dream Anymore.” The album is out March 27 and features the D’Addario brothers of the Lemon Twigs on six tracks. 

■ Monster Rally, “Own It” (feat. Jordana) — Jordana is the collaborator du jour on Monster Rally’s latest single, “Own It.” Monster Rally’s new album, “Echoes of Emerald Sands,” is out March 27.

■ Deloyd Elze, “Parrothead 2.0” — The hits keep coming from country-folk troubadour Deloyd Elze (born Jacob Henry Allen, his great-grandpa was named Deloyd), who released his EP “A House Named Proletariat” in November and followed it in December with more of what he calls “digital twang,” the single “Parrothead 2.0.”

■ Desert Sparrow, “White Noise” — The follow-up “My Mind,” “White Noise” is a bright new guitar track from indie outfit Desert Sparrow.

■ Clayton Chaney, “When thr Light Comes In” — Clayton Chaney (ex-The Show Ponies) will release his debut full-length, “Too Far,” on Feb. 27 via Rock Ridge Music.

■ Julian Never, “Say Something” — Julian Never, aka Julian Elorduy, is a solo artist from Sonoma whose previous projects include the groups Mayyors and Fine Steps. Having gone rogue, Julian drops “Say Something,” a folk-pop track following “Push,” off his new album “Everyday Is Purgation” dropping Feb 6 via Mt.St.Mtn. Watch the video directed, shot and edited by Julian here.

■ The Tulips, “Enough About Me” — Today brought the release of “Halcyon Beach,” the new album from the Tulips (Jared Petrich, Dana Rogge and friends). Come for “Stars Dream of You” and “Lisa on a Sunday Afternoon,” stay for the lovely title track, an instrumental that finishes the record.

■ Robot Dinosaur Museum, “Only Getting Later” — File under: Things we missed in 2025 until we went to a local art crawl. Robot Dinosaur Museum are a young alternative rock outfit from South Orange county that released their debut album, “Things That Go,” last summer. The recording doesn’t really do justice to the band’s dynamics, energy or complexities, but if you see these guys playing an all-ages space or a warehouse up in L.A., they are well worth your time.

■ Los Frankies, “Dog City” — Rockers Los Frankies drop “Dog City,” following “I’m On Drugs” from their debut album “D.E.D. City” dropping March 6. Watch the music video for the hard rock single here directed and edited by Kalie Pontes here.

■ Common People, “Rain” — Common People (Nicky Winegardner, Sam Belzer, Asher Thomsen, Konrad Ulich and Cormac Cadden) hit the ground running in 2025 with singles such as “Thank You” and “Ready or Not.” they’re back with “Rain,” produced by Cage the Elephant’s Brad Shultz. Live Feb. 19 at Venice West.

■ Interesting Hobbies Club, “I Tried” — Released in mid-December, “I Tried” teases a forthcoming full-length (details TBA) from Pasadena’s Interesting Hobbies Club. Live Jan. 31 at Permanent Records Roadhouse, opening for Bandie.

■ CARR, “Mud” — CARR (Carly McClellan) drops her fist stand-alone single of the year, “Mud,” an alt-rock banger that follows “Hardcore!” Carly says of the track co-written and produced by Christian Medice: “I wrote ‘Mud’ about someone I was seeing briefly. We got caught in the rain at a haunted house and ended up covered in mud. Even after the relationship ended, I kept romanticizing that moment—and turned that feeling into a song.”

■ Where’s West?, “Light On” — The follow-up to “Cast a Line,” the slightly funky “Light On” the latest single from L.A. quartet Where’s West?

■ Able Machines & Bowling for Soup, “Connection” — We’ll wind up this week’s playlist with a cover, as Able Machines (Tay Côlieé and Linus of Hollywood) have teamed up with Bowling for Soup for a cover of Elastica’s “Connection,” a year past the original’s 30th anniversary. The campy video is worth a chuckle.