Kevin Bronson on May 1st, 2026

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Maybe it’s May flowers, maybe it’s the fact that this week’s playlist has a healthy dose of socially relevant songs, but Greatest Hits … This Week (Vol. 385) feels good.

Press play to hear new music from Tomorrow Tomorrow, Girlfriend Wife, The High Curbs, Josh Conway, Annabelle Freedman, Jessie Mazin, Young the Giant, Cosmo Gold, Lucy Clearwater, Cheekface, Baldy Crawlers, Dominique and the Diamonds, Stella Lefty, Atta Boy, Chatrooms, Violet Grohl, Pearl & the Oysters and more.

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

Anita Mills contributed to this roundup.

■ The High Curbs, “Til the End” — Inland Empire garage-rock luminaries the High Curbs (Ed Moreno, Kenny Huerta and Taylor Hecocks) today released their fifth LP, “High Speed.” With 10 riffy, smart tracks clocking in at under 23 minutes, it’s a double espresso in a world of double cinnamon lattes. Check out, especially, the collaboration with the Red Pears, “Promise,” and “Racer#23.” The trio have four SoCal release shows coming up this month; all are sold out.

■ Tomorrow Tomorrow, “Wreck Less, Venture Some” — Over her first two singles as Tomorrow Tomorrow, songwriter/multi-instrumentalist/producer Nico L-S has forged a sound that ranges from celestial to gritty, touching on (but not fully embracing) grunge, shoegaze and dreamy indie-rock. The cleverly titled “Wreck Less, Venture Some,” the opener on Tomorrow Tomorrow’s debut album “Dwelling” (out May 29), adds swoon-worthy harmonies to the mix to craft an anthem for risk-takers. “Every sanction / Is meant to be tested,” she repeats, and one can only hope the rest of “Dwelling” pushes and pulls like this single and “Indelible” (released in April) do.

■ Cosmo Gold, “Lemondrop” — It’s been more than 3 1/2 years since Cosmo Gold’s ambitious concept album, “Krong,” with only one single during that span, but now the duo of Emily Gold and Mike DeLuccia are back with the new single “Lemondrop.” It’s a sensual fever dream, and the first citrusy taste of the duo’s forthcoming album, “Love on Earth.” Director Kate Emerick’s adds some visual flavor.

■ Josh Conway, “Forget Him” — “Forget Him” marks the solo debut of Josh Conway, who with frontwoman Mariá Zardoya is the principal songwriter in the Marías. It’s a pop bop about a lousy date (video), co-written with Lewis Delhomme and Alessandro Buccellati.

■ Girlfriend, Wife, “Straight Shot” — The duo of Kacy Hill and Tessa DeNicola (dba Girlfriend, Wife) return with their third single, “Straight Show,” a sighing windstorm of spacey shoegaze, that follows “Send Me a Sign” and “Fly Away” in their celestial catalog. Live May 8 at the Fonda, opening for Fcukers.

■ Young the Giant, “Evergreen” — Friendly reminder that “Victory Garden,” the new album from Young the Giant, is out today, featuring singles such as “Different Kind of Love” and “Already There.” Live July 17 at the Kia Forum, along with Cold War Kids and KennyHoopla.

■ Jessie Mazin, “The Man With Money in His Hands” — This week brought the release of Jessie Mazin’s debut EP, “untitled.jpg,” a formidable collection of a half-dozen songs as bold in their intent as they are in their execution. The EP kicks off with “The Man With Money in His Hands,” a clear-eyed takedown of those who put profit over people. Live May 14 at the Bellwether, supporting Indigo Girls.

■ Alec McGarry, “Dozers” — Alex McGarry, the L.A.-based Englishman who fronted the London band New Rules, launches his solo project with a slice of widescreen pop, “Dozers,” co-produced with Joey Liechty.

■ Annabelle Freedman, “Change” — Singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Annabelle Freedman (fka Maginnis) has long been a force for change around L.A., whether it be her activism, boundary-pushing experimental pop or the creative energy she brings to collaborations. The uplifting single “Change,” co-produced with Zhao, is typically free-spirited and sonically adventurous. It introduces Freedman’s new album, “Brimming” (release date TBA), which, to nick Walt Whitman, figures to contain multitudes. Live tonight at De La Playa and June 6 at 2220 Arts + Archives.

■ Baldy Crawlers, “On Those Who Starve Children” — Baldy Crawlers is the vehicle for Wrightwood-based songwriter-producer (and luthier) Martin Maudal, who teams up with friends to make trad folk with a strong conscience. “On Those Who Starve Children,” written in the shadow of the conflict in Gaza, “about what should happen to all those who have chosen to use children in war,” he says.

■ Lucy Clearwater, “One of Those Things” — “One of Those Things” is the latest single from Lucy Clearwater’s new album “People ≠ Possessions,” which is out May 15 (but is available on vinyl to Bandcamp Friday shoppers today). Live May 15 at Sid the Cat Auditorium.

■ Valley Boy, “James, Age Twelve” — Friendly reminder that “Children Of Divorce,” Valley Boy’s new concept album, has dropped. James Alan Ghaleb Amaradio pays homage to the children of divorced parents, “I seem to have been a lodestone for other children of divorce romantically for most of my life.” Amaradio says of the last single “James, Age Twelve,” a melancholy guitar track with profoundly poetic lyrics: “It’s sung by that shocked 12-year-old, numb before emotion has time to set in, with an intentionally rudimentary melody and sparse acoustic instrumentation to further embody the fragility of that tender age.” James sings: “I guess that 12 is old enough / Enough to leave like that / Enough to feel this goddamn mad / Enough to break my hand / Yes I’m OK / Why’d you ask?” Watch James and a fish sing in the music video here. Live June 3 for this official record release show at Moroccan Lounge.

■ Anna Margo, “Brainrot” — Singer-songwriter Anna Margo drops “Brainrot,” following “Selfish,” from her upcoming EP “Swings,” available June 5. Margo says of the track: “I wanted to keep this one intentionally minimal and let the emotion carry. The cello plucks and string swells drive the song from beginning to end, with the beat slowly developing as each section unfolds. The live strings were performed by SUUVI (Sophia Bacelar), a world-renowned cellist and long-time collaborator of mine, which brought a level of depth and texture I couldn’t replicate digitally.” Watch the music video featuring twin Annas here.

■ Cheekface, “MFT” — L.A., trio Cheekface gives AI therapy a whack upside the head on “MFT,” the latest single from their sixth album, “Podium,” out July 28. Live Oct. 24 at the Teragram Ballroom.

■ Violet Grohl, “Cool Buzz” — The follow-up to “595” and “Thum,” “Cool Buzz” is the latest single from Violet Grohl’s debut album, “Be Sweet to Me,” out May 29.

■ Chatrooms, “Daydream” — Chatrooms are back, with a roar. “Daydream” is their first single in a year and the first taste of recordings that Chatrooms made with Alan Day (of Four Year Strong). Let this rip. Live May 15 at Shadow Grove Brewing in San Fernando.

■ Sophia James, “Little Bit Better” — Today brought the release of “The Wrong Shoe Theory,” the new EP from Sydney-born, Long Beach-reared rocker Sophia James. The EP is a preview of her debut full-length, due later this year and being made with Grammy-nominated producer Alex Bilowitz. Live June 26 at the Echo.

■ Almost Monday, “No More Regrets” — As they prep for a big tour supporting Young the Giant and Cold War Kids, San Diego’s Almost Monday are back with some ear candy. “No More Regrets” (video) is all ready for summertime. Are you?

■ Stella Lefty, “I Know I Know” — Stella Lefty (Stella Lefkofsky) has quickly put herself on the map with pop-country nuggets such as “Boston” and “Thinking ‘Bout You.” Now, fresh off a couple of cameos at Stagecoach, she’s back with the toe-tapping, banjo-driven “I Know I Know.” Her May 13 show at the Moroccan Lounge is sold out.

■ Possible Oceans, “Lights Out” — Here’s a groove for you: “Lights Out,” the follow-up to “Morning in America,” s the new single from Possible Oceans. Like previous releases from Trevor O’Neill’s project, it was co-produced with Jules de Gasperis. Live tonight at the Forge.

■ Dominique and the Diamonds, “I Don’t Mind” — Latina country-rocker Dominique Gomez, dba Dominique and the Diamonds, is set to drop her debut LP “Honky Tonk Queen” on June 26 via her self-created record label Desert Rose Music. Gomez says of her latest single “I Don’t Mind,” a twangy guitar ballad featuring her powerhouse vocals about surviving domestic mayhem: “This incredible, dream-like life that I live now because of this project would have never existed. So in the end, I don’t mind that my ex took that old dream away from me. This is exactly where I’ve always wanted to be all along.”

■ David Serby, “Don’t Stay Fixed” — Americana stalwart David Serby flexes his estimable lyrical charms on the new single “Don’t Stay Fixed,” the latest from his forthcoming album, “Broken Heart in a Honky Tonk” (out May 29).

■ Pearl & The Oysters, “Doom Mood” — French-American duo Pearl & The Oysters drop “Doom Mood,” a unique take on Bossa Nova featuring dark lyrics about spiraling anxiety paired with whimsical percussion, following “Wide Awake.” Their new album, “Monkey Mind” drops June 26 via Stones Throw, produced by Jonathon Rado. Watch the music video featuring a pair of twin mimes here.

■ Atta Boy, “Oh Mama” — Indie Pop-Americana band Atta Boy returns after a four-year hiatus with the news of a new album “Silt,” dropping June 26. Vocalist Eden Brolin says of “Oh Mama,” the new atmospheric ballad featuring a dreamy electric piano sound: “I think it’s a testament to how meaningful and necessary human connection is.” Live July 10 at The Troubadour. Watch the music video, reminiscent of a Terrence Malick film, here.

■ Scott Fisher, “A Billion Suns” — Scott Fisher drops “A Billion Suns,” the title-track of his forthcoming new album out May 22. Fisher says of the track that follows “Dangerous Game”: “Lyrically, the theme explores losing someone slowly. Without being too specific, it’s about coming to grips with watching one of the most influential people in your life fade away, both physically and cognitively.”

■ Arc Iris, “Jenny” (feat. WILLOW) — Art-pop trio Arc Iris (Jocie Adams, Zach Tenorio and Ray Belli) are joined by WILLOW and a string quartet on the new single “Jenny,” the latest single from their sci-fi concept album, “iTMRW,” out May 22. Live July 16 at Sid the Cat Auditorium, opening for White Denim.

■ Makwaia, “Knife Play” — Mariana Makwaia is a East Coast-reared singer-songwriter making dark pop. “Knife Play” is a dance track produced by Will Campbell.

■ Malcolm Todd, “I Saw Your Face” — L.A. native Malcolm Todd emerged from from the TikTok pop tsunami in 2023-24, fueled by the songs on his “Sweet Boy” mixtape, and released his self-titled debut LP for Columbia Records in April of last year. He’s dialed into the zeitgeist with his aw-shucks demeanor (and songs), and this week, the singer-songwriter-producer, he announced the June 5 arrival of the follow-up LP, “Do That Again.” “I Saw Your Face” is the first single, and Todd teams up with Aidan Cullen to direct the video.

■ Bondo, “Strummer” — Muscular and methodical, “Strummer” introduces the third album from post-rock quartet Bondo (Nikolas Escudero, Brian Bartus, Cook Lee-Chobanian and Andrew “Gerry” Dykes). The self-titled LP will be out on July 24. “In Los Angeles, the freeway opens up to the coast,” the band says of the new single. “Cars going highway speed next to the water, the road meets the ocean on the horizon. Bondo plays that to a tune in ‘Strummer.’ The guitar leads like a siren through the feedback and heavy rhythm section, making a dissonant earworm.”

■ Satya, “Fruits of My Labor” — This week’s playlist-ending cover song comes via Oakland native Satya Hawley (just Satya when she releases music), whose heart-stopping cover of Lucinda Williams’ “Fruits of My Labor” will appear on her album “Yellow House,” out June 5.

Not on Spotify but you oughta hear it anyway:

■ Aaron MF Olson, “Nobody Can Tell” — Aaron Olson (of L.A. Takedown) introduces his solo LP, “Songs Album II” (out June 26), with the single “Nobody Can Tell You.” Watch Matt Hewitt’s video, if you dare.
https://aaronmolson.bandcamp.com/album/songs-album-ii