Kevin Bronson on February 20th, 2026

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Here’s a heaping helping of new music, courtesy of Greatest Hits … This Week (Vol. 375).

Buzz Bands LA’s new mix features music from Failure, MUNA, Babe Dylan, Clarion, Katie Alice Greer, Imaad Wasif, Morgan Nagler, Holy Wars, Death Lens, Cannons, Child Seat, Inner Magic, Freedom Fry, Uni Boys, Georgia Maq, Hrishikesh Hirway, Ally Evenson, Bedelia, Roe Kapara, Eliza Noxon, Royal & the Serpent and many more. (And we mean many.)

Previous Buzz Bands LA playlists, with liner notes, here.

Anita Mills contributed to this roundup.

■ Babe Dylan, “Prophetic Life” — L.A. duo Babe Dylan (Bella Marguerite and Esther McGrade) debuted last fall, and with today’s arrival of “Prophetic Life” they have issued four singles. Between today’s release, their January single “Ben & I” and their September debut “Vape Luv,” the duo’s synth-infused indie-rock (faintly recalling MGMT), knack for nailing the chorus and nonchalant bombast make them well worth watching.

■ The High Curbs & The Red Pears, “Promise” — Inland Empire natives rockers High Curbs (Ed Moreno, Kenny Huerta, Taylor Hecocks) and the Red Pears team up on the melancholy and melodic track “Promises,” out this week via Lauren Records. Moreno says: “It’s a song about remembering the roots that shaped you, even as everything around them changes.” Live at Happy Daps Fest 4 at the Observatory March 7 and March 8.

■ MUNA, “Dancing on the Wall” — MUNA’s fourth full-length, “Dancing on the Wall,” arrives May 8, and the title track is an undeniable disco-pop bop, right down to director Dante Capone’s slick video, in which Katie Gavin, Josette Maskin and Naomi McPherson engage in some seriously charismatic swanking. Live May 8 and May 9 at the Shrine Expo Hall.

■ Failure, “The Air’s on Fire” — Last summer brought the release of the documentary “Every Time You Lose Your Mind” (Hulu/Disney+), which chronicled the rise, fall and rebirth of space-rock band Failure. Now the trio — Ken Andrews, Greg Edwards, and Kelli Scott — have announced the April 24 arrival of their seventh album (and fourth since reuniting in 2014), “Location Lost.” The LP was made after the documentary (directed by Andrews) was released — and, notably, after he had surgery for a serious back injury. First single “The Air’s on Fire,” Andrews says, “is directly about my surgery and waking up. I basically coded. Everything was spinning. I kept saying, ‘Turn the air on. I’m fine — just take me home.’ I was definitely not fine.” Live April 21 at Zebulon.

■ Clarion, “Blue Fairy” — East L.A. noisemeisters Clarion are the work of singer-bassist Saya Oliva and guitarist Anthony Sanchez, joined by drummer Javier Flores. Clarion is also the answer to the question: What band had a DIY gig at Denny’s in 2024 and a single with 20 million Spotify streams the next year? (Behold “Hello Juliet,” and thank-you, TikTok.) The trio’s new scorcher, “Blue Fairy,” is the title track of their sophomore EP, releasing March 27. RIYL: Julie, Fennel, HUM, riffs that feel like chiropractic adjustments. Live May 6, May 7, May 13 and May 14 at the House of Blues Anaheim, opening for Panchiko. Headlining date June 5 at the Paramount.

■ Inner Magic, “Underground” (feat. Ruth Radelet) — Inner Magic combines the talents of Adam Miller (ex-Chromatics) and Jeff Schroeder (ex-Smashing Pumpkins), dipping their toes into dream-pop. On the new single “Underground,” which features guest vocals from ex-Chromatics siren Ruth Radelet, it’s hazy goodness with the warmth of a campfire song. Their homespun video only affirms the feel-good. “Underground” arrived this week with a B-side, a cover of Spaceman 3’s “Feelin’ Just Fine.”

■ Bedelia, “Valley Sadness” — Balancing light and heavy, “Valley Sadness” and “Tightrope” offer a beguiling introduction to Bedelia, the new trio featuring Marisa Shirar (Fleshwater), Miles Morris (Bad Suns) and Dakota Floeter (Ethel Cain). Their melodic, hazy dream-pop arrives soaked in nostalgia, especially in the case of “Valley Sadness.” “This song is about growing up in the San Fernando Valley where we experienced many of our pivotal moments. (First loves, heartbreak, death, etc …) Things that you carry with you no matter where you go,” says Morris. “You can feel stuck in your hometown and decide to leave just to find out you miss it. The emotion and feeling of the song is perfectly laid out in the chorus lyrics; they sound like ‘goodbye,’ but truly mean, ‘I’ll be around.’”

■ Imaad Wasif, “Echoing” — Dedicated to the late artist and UCLA professor Silke Otto-Knapp, “Echoing” is the second single from Imaad Wasif’s sixth full-length, “Superconsciousness,” out March 18. The follow-up to “Believe,” “Echoing” wavers on twinkling piano and the songwriter’s delicate vocals (Nick Zinner added a dusting of synth after the original, one-take recording).

■ Katie Alice Greer, “Expo ’70” — Ex-Priests frontperson and maker of heady dream-pop Katie Alice Greer asks a lot of question in her positively mesmerizing new single “Expo ’70.” One is, “Should I be living with my eyes closed?” That, and the song, are worth lengthy consideration.

■ Hrishikesh Hirway, “Stray Dogs” (feat. Iron & Wine) — Songwriter, composer, podcaster and TV host (Did we miss anything? Probably) Hrishikesh Hirway will release the new album “In the Last Hour of Light” on April 24. It’s his first full-length under his own name (for earlier work, see the One AM Radio), and the album’s first single “Stray Dogs” features Sam Beam of Iron & Wine, once a guest on Hirway’s podcast Song Exploder. A year later, in advance of a writing retreat, he asked Beam for a writing prompt, and Beam told him: “Describe a street you grew up on from the point of view of a stray dog.” And here the song is. His upcoming tour will be a combination of concerts/conversations with. Live April 23 at Skylight Books (with Rachel Khong) and May 14 at Pacific Electric.

■ Cannons, “These Nights” — One can only conjure up images of neon lights reflecting off rain-slicked streets during “These Nights,” the latest single from Cannons’ fifth album, “Everything Glows” (out March 27). Live July 19, co-headlining with Bob Moses, at the Hollywood Bowl.

■ Georgia Maq, “Tropical Lush Ice” — “Can you ever really be alive in California?” Georgia Maq wonders on her new single, “Tropical Lush Ice” (it’s a vape flavor, we looked it up). It’s one of two singles released last week by the newly L.A.-based Australian singer-songwriter who fronted the band Camp Cope. She released her latest EP, “God’s Favourite,” in September. Live April 3 at Zebulon, opening for Fust and Merc Lemon.

■ Rusty Santos, “Psycho Horses” — “Psycho Horses” (video) is the title track of the new album (out this week) from psych-pop explorer Rusty Santos.

■ Child Seat, “My Broken Heart” — “Hyperphantasia,” the third full-length from new wave revivalists Child Seat, arrives on March 13. And the kaleidoscopic duo of Madeleine Mathews and Josiah Mazzaschi have been rolling out footloose, hyper-romantic jams (highlighted by “Love Drug,” “Heart to Heart” and the title track) since early last year. “My Broken Heart” is the LP’s sixth single, a teary echo of ’80s pop and a song that, the band says, captures “the kind of heartbreak that doesn’t explode, it just lingers.” Live March 14 at Gold-Diggers, with Kit Major opening.

■ Holy Wars, “Ceremony” — After unleashing the powerhouse single “Metamorphosis” last fall, L.A. duo Holy Wars (Kat Leon and Nick Perez) have returned with the pummeling “Ceremony” (video here). It serves as an exclamation point on the announcement that Holy Wars’ new album, “Shadow Work / Light Work” will be out April 24.

■ Charm School, “Schadenfreude Ploy” — “Schadenfreude Ploy” is the title track of the new EP from Louisville-bred Charm School (Andrew Sellers, Matt Filip, Drew English and Brian Vega). It’s yet another blast of the quartet’s no-holds-barred post-punk/no-wave. Live Feb. 22 at the Offbeat, with the Hazards and Noir Dalis, and Feb. 287 at the Monty Bar, with Duderella and Spoky Marvin.

■ Gottlieb, “Pipe Bomb” — O.C. quartet Gottlieb (Andrew Pescara, Dylan Marquez, Mike Carnarius and Dave Chessey) make steadfastly political and gloriously pugilistic punk rock — the kind of screeds you’d think there’d be more of, considering the state of things. “Pipe Bomb” introduces the foursome’s debut album, “The Far Fallen Fruit” (out May 1). The song, says Pescara, “was written at a time when I was experiencing the contraction of the TV industry. I was alongside my peers on strike, watching our dreams die in a business suffocated by billion-dollar deals. It’s a commentary on the commodification of workers across industries, where our lifelong well-being amounts to an accounting error. That kind of disenfranchisement is treated as normal — like white supremacy or a homemade bomb. It’s a cheap investment made from standard household ingredients.” Live Sunday at the Echo.

■ Ally Evenson, “Blame It On You” — Friendly reminder that Ally Evenson’s new album “Speed Kills” has dropped via Assemble Sound/Atlantic. “Blame It On You” is an alt-pop anthem, following “Lucky Day.”

■ Death Lens, “Drown” — The follow-up to singles such as “Power” and “Monolith,” “Drown” is the latest blast from Death Lens’ forthcoming album “What’s Left Now?” (out April 24). Live March 28 at the Fonda Theatre.

■ Morgan Nagler, “Heartbreak City” — “Heartbreak City” is the fourth single from (and the closing track on) “I’ve Got Nothing to Lose, and I’m Losing It,” the Morgan Nagler album co-produced with King Tuffy and dropping March 13. It follows singles “Cradle the Pain,” “Orange Wine” and “Grassoline.” Live tonight at Sid the Cat Auditorium, opening for Mount Eerie.

■ Roe Kapara, “My Love” — Solo artist Roe Kapara drops “My Love,” his first track of 2026 following “Feel Sexy.” Kapara says: “When I was making the new song with producer Ryan Spraker, we wanted it to feel like Van Morrison had a baby with 2010’s indie pop synth music.” Watch the retro low-fi music video directed by Jaxon Whittington here.

■ Moonchild, “Up From Here” (feat. Robert Glasper & D Smoke) — Today brought the release of “Waves,” the sixth album from L.A. trio Moonchild (Amber Navran, Andris Mattson and Max Bryk). It’s a fairly glowing collection of alt-R&B, jazz and hip-hop dotted with guest appearances from luminaries such as Jill Scott, Robert Glasper, PJ Morton, Lalah Hathaway, Rae Khalil, D Smoke and Rapsody, among others.

■ Anna Margo, “Aligned” — Left-field soul artist Anna Margo, who vaulted to prominence with her 2023 Timbaland collaboration “My Way” and released the EP “If You’re Still There” the following year, returns with the intoxicating single “Aligned.”

■ ALEXSUCKS, “Flinch” — Friendly reminder that “Autopilot,” the new album from post-punk outfit ALEXSUCKS, is out today. Live March 25 at the El Rey.

■ Katie Ferrara, “10 Years” — Singer-songwriter (and indefatigable busker) Katie Ferrara continues to be a font of affecting folk-pop. Just short of the 10-year anniversary of one of her finest EPs, “Dream Catcher,” Ferrara has released “10 Years,” a reflection on her artistic journey.

■ Freedom Fry, “Dopamine” — Freedom Fry, the husband-wife duo of Bruce Driscoll and Marie Seyrat, return with “Dopamine,” a song they describe as “for when you’re staring out the car window like it’s 1997.”

■ Eliza Noxon, “One More Round” — Eliza Noxon drops “One More Round,” the follow-up to “What Else,” from her debut album “Good Monsters With Bad Habits,”  arriving Feb. 27.

■ Uni Boys, “Abra” — “Uni Boys,” the self-titled album arrives March 27, and the band’s third full-length finds Reza Matin, Noah Nash, Arthur Fitch and Michael Cipolletti mining (again) for power-pop gold. They make it sound easy. Live Feb. 27 at Gold-Diggers, along with Shadow Show and Sunday Mourners.

■ Royal & the Serpent, “Favorite Person” — Royal & the Serpent (Ryan Santiago) will release their debut album “Emptiness is Godly” on May 8 via Atlantic Records. “Favorite Person” is a sentimental acoustic guitar-driven track. Santiago says: “‘Favorite Person’ is a big reveal as we enter into the world of ‘Emptiness is Godly.’ This song is the underlying theme to our story. Main character ‘R’ finds herself entangled between two romances.” Watch the interpretative dance stylings of Santiago in the music video here. Live May 6 at the Roxy.

■ Karli Lar Durden, “It’s Funny How Things Always Change” — Karli Lar Durden is a model, musician and painter whose debut album, “Thankfully, Everything Goes Right,” came out today. “It’s Funny How Things Always Change” reveals Durden’s deft feel for country ballads. Live tonight at Gold-Diggers, supported by the Cormorants (Clay Finch and Dan Horne).

■ Scott Fisher, “The Great Unknown” — Singer-songwriter and composer Scott Fisher returns with “The Great Unknown,” his first single since 2023’s album “Kingdom of Ego.”

■ Kat Wolff, “I Know” — Kat Wolff, an alt-folk artist, teams up with her sister Rachael Wolff to create “I Know,” a haunting piano-driven track produced by Scott Gilman.

■ Vibrafonics, “Doing the Best We Can” — Vibrafonics are a West L.A. retro-soul ensemble led by singer-songwriter Craig Lund. The feel-good “Doing the Best That We Can” introduces the band’s forthcoming LP, “California Hi-Life.”

■ Moondough, “Intrusive Thoughts” — Ken Raymundo, aka Moondough, is a funky soul solo artist from Orange County. His new stand-alone single “Intrusive ThoughtS” is a slow-groovin’ funk track with a sultry vocal melody via Kill Iconic Records. Moondough throws a pizza party in the music video here. Live March 14 at Harvard & Stone.

■ Disco Shrine, “Heart Eyez” — Disco Shrine, the musical project of Jessica Delijani, drops the disco-pop stand-alone single “Heart Eyez.” 

■ Jerry Paper, “Souvenir” — Jerry Paper introduces the new EP, “BOiNK!” (out March 20), with “Souvenir,” a playful re-imagination of the 1981 Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark song.

■ Alex Maes, “Corner Store” — The venerable Lauren Canyon Country Store is the setting for the music video for Alex Maes’ new single, “Country Store.” The song is the first solo release from the soul-jazz-pop singer since 2020, following several years of releases as Alex Maes & the Connection.

■ Nick Flessa, “The Terror, the Traitor and the Tastemaker” — After introducing his new album “A Different Kind of Energy” last month with the song “Medicine Hat City Slogan,” Nick Flessa is back with a widescreen new instrumental, “The Terror, the Traitor and the Tastemaker.” The album is out April 17.

■ Trousdale, “Old Man” — And now for our playlist-ending cover: L.A. trio Trousdale will release “Growing Pains Deluxe” on May 15. The value-added edition of their sophomore album “Growing Pains” (which was released last April) includes new material, reworked versions of other songs and this, a harmony-rich cover of Neil Young’s “Old Man.”