Kevin Bronson on September 5th, 2025

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We’ll start this week’s playlist with a song that is not on the playlist.

Since the Mynabirds last released an album in 2017, Laura Burhenn has been busy as a visual artist, music video producer/director, writer and activist. She returns this week, voice as radiant as ever, with “Ramona, Patron Saint of Silence,” an ode to a fictional figure “thanking her for keeping me and my voice alive,” the songwriter says. It’s the first single from the album “It’s Okay to Go Back If You Keep Moving Forward” (out Nov. 7), produced by Pierre De Reeder (of Rilo Kiley) and featuring three new originals and seven re-imagined versions of songs from the first four Mynabirds albums. “I felt like I went through a complete ego death with this record,” Burhenn says. “I returned to how I first learned to write songs — just me at the piano, late at night, using music as therapy. The record is imperfect, raw, and deeply human. In a fast-paced, hi-tech time, I joked about calling it ‘AI Could Never.’” Earlier this month, Burhenn posted “Labor Day Love Letter” and joined the artists who are pulling their music from Spotify.

Now for the rest of Greatest Hits … This Week (Vol. 354). Press play to hear singles from Gal Musette, Ballerina Black, So What! Who Cares?, Nightjacket, Massage, Modern Time Machines, Grandson, Ali Mills, Chatterton, VTB, Chrissy, NoSo, LANY, Black Adidas and more.

Thank you for listening. Find more of our annotated playlists here.

Note: Anita Mills contributed to this roundup.

■ Massage, “Daffy Duck” — Guitar-driven indie-pop outfit Massage will release a new album, “Coaster,” on Oct. 10. Fans of ’80s/’90s British indie and sundry bands from Flying Nun Records’ illustrative history will find a lot to like in the first two singles, “Daffy Duck” and “Fading Out.” It the first release from the quintet — Alex Naidus (ex-Pains of Being Pure at Heart), Andrew Romano, Gabi Ferrer, Natalie de Almeida and David Rager — in four years. 

■ Nightjacket, “Strangers” — Nightjacket’s second single of 2025 (following “My Only Heart”) buzzes with the languorous beauty of Mazzy Star. “This is a love gone wrong song about putting your hopes, dreams, and self-esteem into other people’s hands,” vocalist Andrea Wasse says. “Sometimes taking your broken heart and making it art results in something special.”

■ Gal Musette, “Broken Clock” — O.C. native Grace Freeman makes filigreed indie-pop under the name Gal Musette, having toured with the likes of Magnetic Fields and Gaby Moreno, Donavon Frankenreiter and collaborated with Rufus Wainwright. “Broken Clock” is her first solo original since the 2023 album “Pendulum.” 

■ Ballerina Black, “Rosegold” — Bobby Moynahan has been making dark synth-rock since the days local bands kicked off “audience engagement” by slapping stickers and posters all over Hollywood and neighborhoods east (Ballerina Black’s bold typography was more noticeable than most). He enlisted producer Dan Long to co-pilot Ballerina Black’s new two-song EP, “What Lungs of Insects,” and both “Rosegold” and “Billy” take Ballerina Black’s sound into new territory.

■ So What! Who Cares?, “Rosarito” — The hits keep right on coming for disco-pop fun bunch So What! Who Cares. There ain’t enough reasons to smile these days, but their catalogue (just a half-dozen songs so far) is good for at least a smirk or three. They even make us love this job.

■ Jar3d, “Ephemeral Love” — Jared Southard (Low Flying Owls) introduces his solo project Jar3d with “Ephemeral Love,” and song about which he says: “Love is an ephemeral flower in today’s modern dating scene. With so many options and apps, is anyone looking for a love that lasts?” LFO’s guitarist Andy Wagner guests on the track.

■ Modern Time Machines, “Ornamental” — The late Allee Willis, the Songwriters Hall of Famer and two-time Grammy winner, is the co-writer L.A. shoegazers Modern Time Machines’ new single “Ornamental.” Its big wall of sound is typical of MTM’s past work (including the 2022 album “Practical FX + Physical Media”). Willis, who died in late 2019, and MTM frontman Ben Golomb met during interviews for a documentary film on “Howard The Duck” (releasing this fall) — she wrote songs for the 1986 film, and Golomb scored the doc. (For more on Willis, watch “The World According to Allee Willis,” available now on many streaming services.)

■ Ali Mills, “Recognize Me” — The bluesy slow-burner from Ali Mills, “Recognize Me,” features contributions from her brother Blake, Lyle Riddle (ex-Terraplane Sun) and Frankie Pedano (Frankie & the Fixers). It’s Mills’ fourth solo single, following “Canyon,” “Mercury Rising” and “White Wing.”

■ Sunder, “Lillian” — L.A. quartet Sunder (Steven Esquibel, Joey Lopez, Lauren Taylor and Jameson Meays) will release their sophomore EP, “Love, Always,” on Oct. 24. Contrasting the shoegaze bliss of their August single “Wallflower,” “Lillian” is swathed in pretty ’80s nostalgia. Live Sept. 26 at the Echo as part of the Dum Dum Records 4-Year Anniversary Show, and Oct. 25 at the Fox Theater Rooftop.

■ Chrissy, “Look What It Made Me Do”— Friendly reminder that Chrissy’s debut EP, “Slight Turn” (see “Sore” and the title track) is out now.

■ Chatterton, “Blouse” — Brock Pierce and Logan Scrivner are Chatterton, an alt duo from Oxnard. “Blouse” is the lead single from their second EP, “Tiny Empire,” out Sept. 19 via 7th Heaven Records. The track gives bossa nova vibes mixed with experimental rock. Live Sept. 6 at the Moroccan Lounge. Watch Chatterton mess about L.A. in the music video here.

■ Suzie True, “Get Prettier Overnight!!!” — “Get Prettier Overnight!!!” throws back to ’90s pop-punk, and it’s the work of the trio Suzie True (Lexi McCoy, G Leonardo and Sarah Pineapple) and produced by Chris Farren. The band’s sophomore album “How I Learned To Love What’s Gone,” drops Oct. 17 via Get Better Records. Watch Suzie True run from a group of clones in the bizarre music video here.

■ VTB, “Help” — VTB is the Ventura-bred heavy-rock trio of Austin Stewart, Brennan Stewart and Michael Mendez, whose debut album, “91016,” came out in early 2024. The roaring single “Help” opens the trio’s new EP, “People Died & Things Exploded,” out Oct. 17.

■ Grandson, “Autonomous Delivery Robot” — Friendly reminder that Grandson (Jordan Benjamin) today released his third full-length, “Inertia.” It’s full of rippers — not just in the vicious guitar riffs but thematically in the angsty, angry volleys Benjamin launches. Live Nov. 19 at the Bellwether.  

■ Tamar Berk, “OCD” — Friendly reminder that Tamar Berk’s new album, “OCD,” arrived this week. It’s Berk’s fifth full-length in five years. Check out director Brandon Mosquera’s video for the title track.

■ Black Adidas, “Little Flower” — The gritty rocker “Little Flower” is the first new music in more than a year from the Courtney Ranshaw-led Black Adidas. It’s a muscular mix of punk, post-punk and New Wave.

■ NoSo, “Nara” — Singer-songwriter Noso (Baek Hwong) shares, “Nara,” a moody New Wave track from his sophomore album, “When Are You Leaving?,” dropping Oct. 10 via Partisan Records. Hwong says: “‘Nara’ was inspired by the movie ‘Past Lives,’ which deeply resonated with me.” Live Nov. 12 at the Masonic Lodge at Hollywood Forever.

■ Hether, “Stupid Love” — Following “Falling For The Feeling,” “Stupid Love” is a soothing guitar-driven song with a tropical twist by Hether, aka Paul Castelluzzo, co-written with Remi Wolf. Castelluzzo says: “I wanted to make a song that feels like the way the sunset looks in California right before a green flash. The sky exploding with all these colors and then right before your eyes it’s gone and darkness creeps in.” Hether’s self-produced debut album “Holy Water” drops on Oct. 24 via R&R Records.

■ Charlie Vettuno, “Iconic Pt. 2” — L.A. duo Charlie Vettuno blend R&B, dance and rap with intoxicating effects on their new EP, “Lush,” just out via Innovative Leisure.

■ Mykel, “Brace For Impact” — Mykel (Britney Mykel Pay) is an indie-pop solo artist who recently had a near-death experience. Turning her trauma into art, her debut single “Brace For Impact” is an emotional piano ballad produced by Gehring Miller from her upcoming debut EP “Hometown Runaway,” due Nov. 7. Mykel says: “It was born out of pure necessity — and because of the safe space Gehring created for me to face myself, my fears, and ultimately that unlock trickled into the entire six-song EP within a matter of three months.”

■ Paer, “Red And Green” — Paer is a new indie-pop duo created by Alex Stills and Anina Denove. “Red And Green” is a warm and inviting guitar-driven song, out via Anxiety Blanket Records. The track is inspired by the emotions that follow the loss of a loved one, bringing people together.

■ LANY, “Lost Froever” — The follow-up to “Know You Naked,” “Last Forever” is the latest slice of melodic yearning from pop duo LANY, who will release their new album, “Soft,” on Oct. 10.

■ Avery Lynch, “The Boys Who Don’t Know What They Want” — Delicate-voiced Pennsylvania native Avery Lynch today released an album-length (nine tracks) new EP, “Glad We Met.” Live Nov. 19 at the Echo, with Tristan.

■ Aminé, “LA” — There’s a lot of L.A. in “LA,” the new single from Aminé and the follow-up to his album “13 Months of Sunshine,” which came out in May. Live Sept. 23 at the House of Blues Anaheim.

■ Roses and Roses, “Touching the Sun” — “Touching the Sun” is the title track of the EP released this past spring by Roses and Roses, the indie-folk-pop group led by Crystal Rose Spero and including including drummer/producer Guy Paz and multi-instrumentalist/producer Andrew Forman. Ryan Garrett Conner directs the new video for the track.

■ Holly Palmer, “Metamorphosis (Capes Up!)” — Experimental art-pop artist Holly Palmer has announced that her new LP “Metamorphosis” drops Sept. 12 via Colorfield Records, produced by Pete Min. Recorded at Lucy’s Meat Market, the track showcases her voice used as instrumentation, instead of vocalizing lyrics.

■ Young the Giant, “Apartment (In the Open)” — You remember “Apartment,” right? It was one of the singles from Young the Giant’s debut album 15 (seemingly long) years ago. This dialed-back version appears on Young the Giant’s new EP, “In the Open Volume One,” featuring similarly acoustic versions of six of the band’s songs.