Kevin Bronson on April 10th, 2026

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Here’s Greatest Hits … This Week (Vol. 382), featuring music from Marika Che, Alejandro Aranda, Eleni Mandell, Brightmoon, Inner Magic, Rosa Pullman, Dogstar, Jack Grisham, Jensen McRae, Hrishikesh Hirway, Pluralone, Belle and Chain, The Two Lips, Talker, Harmony Tividad, Paycheque and more. And stay till the end, where our cover of the week is Silversun Pickups doing Fishbone.

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

Anita Mills contributed to this roundup.

■ Marika Che, “Please Can I Fail” — This week brought the release of “Bright Flame,” the solo debut album from Marika Che (who fronts the band Tangerine). Produced by Tobias Kuhn and featuring singles such as “Little Cures” and “Saint Charles Avenue,” it burns warmly from front to back, endearing, buoyant and informed by both Los Angeles, her home for the past seven years, and her Asian-American identity.

■ Eleni Mandell, “How Will I Know” — Eleni Mandell never answers the titular question of her new single, “How Will I Know” — indeed, she calls it a “wondering song.” She adds: “What I really like about this song is how singable it is and how it reminds me of folk songs from the 1950s and ’60s, like I should be wearing a fisherman’s sweater and my guitar up very high across my chest.” Assisting on this folkie-in-full-bloom is a cast of L.A. all-stars. That’s fellow Living Sister Alex Lilly on harmonies, with DJ Bonebrake (vibraphone), Jeremy Drake (guitar), Danny Frankel (drums), Ryan Feves (bass) and Steve Gregoropoulos (keys) rounding out the crew. The song follows “Music and Motion” as the second single from Mandell’s first album in seven years, “Tailspin,” out May 29. Live June 2 at 2220 Arts + Archives.

■ The High Curbs, “Crash Out Season” — The High Curbs slow it down (incrementally) on “Crash Out Season,” the follow-up “Racer #23” and “Promise,” and the latest single from their new album “High Speed,” out May 1. Live May 15 and May 16 at AboveTheBridge, and May 23 at Programme Skate & Sound in Fullerton.

■ Jensen McRae, “Your Friend” — It’s been a year since Jensen McRae released her sophomore album, “I Don’t Know How But They Found Me!” She returned this week with the spare ballad, “Your Friend.”

■ Alejandro Aranda, “Queen” — Pomona’s Alejandro Aranda (fka Scarypoolparty) is back with a lush number full of rolling piano and harmonies, “Queen.” He calls it “a classical song that is inspired by classical music.” Watch this. Pretty breathtaking. Live Aug. 6 at the Echo.

■ Harmony Tividad, “I’m Still Learning How To Leave You” — Solo artist Harmony Tividad (ex-Girlpool) announces her new album “Lifetime,” dropping June 26 by way of KRO Records. Harmony says of the track produced by Yves Rothman that follows “Apple Pie”: ““I’m Still Learning How To Leave You” is about the continued strength to surrender responsibility over a person you no longer have the strength to take care of. The pain of how strong the urge continues to be even when you are worlds apart.”

■ Hrishikesh Hirway, “Things Change, Even Now” — The new single from Hrishikesh Hirway was birthed after his father was hospitalized for a head injury and for a time was unable to speak. When he finally recovered, he said, “I can’t believe how quickly things can change.” Co-written by Laetitia Tamko (aka Vagabon), “Thongs Change Even Now” is the follow-up to Hirway’s singles “Rollercoaster” and “Stray Dogs.” His album, “In the Last Hour of Light,” is out April 24. His series “A Concert and Conversation With Hirishikesh Hirway and Guests” comes to the new DTLA venue Pacific Electric on May 14, with  Jason Mantzoukas.

■ Paycheque, “Generic Actress” — Paycheque is Alison Goldfarb and Jackson MacIntosh. The duo met at Zebulon right before March 2020, and formed the band in a garage during lock-down. Their self-titled full-length debut “Paycheque” drops June 12 via Mansions And Millions. The band says of “Generic Actresss,” a new wave synth track: “In L.A., when you go out, you end up spending a lot of time standing outside of whatever event or party you’ve decided to attend. You’re on the sidewalk, you’re in a strip mall parking lot, you’re on a patio. You smoke, you bump into friends, and you eventually realize you missed half the set you came to see, you never actually made it inside the gallery, the party is winding down. This song is an ode to never quite making it inside.” Watch the duo play vintage ball toos, adorned by neon arcade lights in the music video here.

■ Inner Magic, “Out in the Sun” (feat. Olive Kimoto) — Inner Magic, the duo of Adam Miller (ex-Chromatics) and Jeff Schroeder (ex-Smashing Pumpkins), have followed up their February release “Underground” with a pair of airy gems that recall the (mostly) British indie-pop movement of the ’80s and ’90s. “Out in the Sun” and “Annie” feature backing vocals from L.A. multimedia artist Olive Kimoto.

■ Brightmoon, “First Light” — Long Beach wife-husband duo Becca and Billy Mohler introduced their project Brightmoon in January with a choice Shudder to Think cover. Now they’re back with their debut original, “First Light,” a soaring slice of shoegaze and the title track to their forthcoming EP.

■ Dogstar, “Joy” — Guitars reaching for the stars, “Joy” is the second single from “All in Now” (out May 29), the fourth full-length from rock trio Dogstar (Bret Domrose, Robert Mailhouse and Keanu Reeves). (See the title track here.) Live May 28 at Yaamava’ Casino.

■ Tangients, Void” — The follow-up to “The Ether,” “Void” is the latest single from dream-pop duo Tangients (Be Hussey and Chelsea Ray).

■ Black Nile, “Exposure” — Friendly reminder that “Indigo Garden,” the new from Black Nile (brothers Aaron and Lawrence Shaw) is out today. Put your jazz cap on for this thoroughly immersive LP. Live April 25 at 2220 Arts + Archives.

■ Magulo, “Lujon” — Magulo combined the talents of guitarist Christian Wunderlich (Mayer Hawthorne, Mac Miller), trumpeter and keys player Gabe Steiner (The Marías), bassist JP Maramba (John Caroll Kirby), drummer Vince Fossett (Duane Bettes) and saxophonist and Aaron “Ronny Sax” Leibowitz (ZHU). Their genre-fluid full-length “Desert Drip” arrives this summer, and debut single “Lujon” hints at the sonic territory they explore. Live May 20-24 at Lightning in a Bottle at Buena vista Lake.

■ Dua Saleh, “Cállate” — Sudanese-American singer-songwriter Dua Saleh returns with the briskly rhythmic new single “Cállate,” the latest from their new album, “Of Earth & Wires,” out on May 15.

■ Pluralone, “Peer Into Your Dreams” — Singer-songwriter-guitarist Josh Klinghoffer has announced that “A Drop in the Ocean,” the fourth LP from his solo project Pluralone, will be out June 12. He unplugs electrically but not emotionally on this acoustic guitar-driven release (produced by Eric Palmquist), as the cozy introductory singles “Peer Into Your Dreams” and “I Hope You Knew” suggests.

■ Belle And Chain, “Don’t You Worry Babe” — “Don’t You Worry Babe” marks the debut of Belle and Chain, a goth-country rock duo founded by Spencer Grammar and later joined by Davis IL. Grammar says: “It’s similar to a breakup song, but it takes a more gentle approach to letting someone go and letting them know that they’ll be alright on their own.”

■ Staircase Wit, “Milk and Cookies” — Rebooting after a two-year silence, Staircase Wit (the solo project of ex-Criminal Hygiene frontman Michael Fiore) has unveiled “Milk and Cookies,” the first of a planned three singles from the project’s debut LP, coming later this year.

■ Rosa Pullman, “Elysium” — Rising like heat waves on the Mojave Desert horizon, “Elysium” is a mesmerizing supplication for peace on earth and the first single from Rosa Pullman’s forthcoming album “Oro,” produced in Nashville by Matty Alger and arriving later this year.

■ Jack Grisham and the Life Undone, “Pieces of the Sun” — “I went to sleep as a kid and woke up as a 64-year-old, wondering ‘what the fuck,’” says Jack Grisham, longtime frontman of T.S.O.L., introducing his new project with Berlin-based Lars Triesch, Jack Grisham and the Life Undone. Their self-titled album will be out July 10, and the pulsing “Pieces of the Sun” is the first single. It’s rooted in a conversation Grisham had with veteran punk rocker and producer Paul Roessler. “We were talking about getting older and he asked if aging ever influenced my writing,” Grisham says. “Before I wrote this song, it hadn’t. I write song lyrics like a kid going through his first break-up. I didn’t think I was gonna live this long! I’m years past my expiration date!”

■ The Aquadolls, “First Kiss” — The Aquadolls, now in their second decade of making the punk-edged retro-pop they call “mermaid rock,” have released their first new music since their third album, 2023’s “Charmed.” The slow dance-worthy “First Kiss” finds bandleader Melissa Brooks backed by Jackie Proctor, Julie Manoukian and Taylor Henry on a song that originated as a demo in 2013.

■ Social Distortion, “Partners In Crime” — Social Distortion follows the “Born To Kill” with “Partners In Crime.” OC rock legend Mike Ness says: “Partners In Crime” is about finding your voice, especially if you weren’t allowed or if it didn’t matter.” “Born To Kill,” the bands eighth studio album, drops May 8 via Epitaph. Live Oct. 1 and Oct. 2 at the Palladium.

■ Talker, “Happy Birthday” — Belated salutations to Celeste Tauchar, who released her new single “Happy Birthday” on Wednesday, her birthday. “This is about waiting for your ex to text you on your birthday. It’s truly a play-by-play of the first birthday I spent after leaving a five-year relationship, in exact detail,” Tauchar says of the song, the follow-up to “Gold Rush” and the latest from her album “Runaway Jane,” due this summer.

■ XCOMM, “Borrowed Happiness” — XCOMM, the Venice-based hardcore outfit of Michael Gatto, Jay Vargas, Adan Escoto and Revel Ian, will release their debut album, “Time to Burn,” on May 22. They’re typically combustible on the new single “Borrowed Happiness.” Live Saturday at Pacific Electric as part of the California Chaos Festival, with Militarie Gun, Stateside, Grave Secrets and more.

■ Zoe Ko, “Party Girls Don’t Cry” — Zoe Ko is back following the release of her EP “Not Your Girlfriend.” “Party Girls Don’t Cry” is a bass heavy dance track co-written by Brandon Shoop. Zoe says: “For me at least, partying is more potent than any kind of medicine.” Watch the fun music video here.

■ Divider, “Behold” — SoCal duo Divider (Bryon Wilson and Peter Beal) today released their new LP, “Zero,” a collection of gritty EBM/industrial music.

■ Lecx Stacey, “Hurry, Grin” — Lecx Stacy is a San Diego-reared solo electronic artist. “Hurry, Grin” is a dark single inspired by personal experience: “At the time, I was working in a psych home and witnessing firsthand how memory can take hold of someone, how a single traumatic moment can echo for decades and quietly shape behavior. It made me reflect on the patterns I carry myself or what’s been formed through experience, and what might’ve been inherited without me even realizing it.”

■ The Two Lips, “Kiss Goodbye” — Dream-pop duo The Two Lips follow last year’s debut EP “Girl, C’mon!,” with the stand-alone single “Kiss Goodbye.” The band says: “The song expresses the wondering of what it would be like if we had never met and if one last kiss is closure or just another reason to stay.” Live April 10 at Coachella and April 15 at The Roxy.

■ Sasha Allen, “Just Like You” — Sasha Allen (Season 21, “The Voice”) has announced the summer arrival of his debut album, “The Gallery.” “Just Like You” is second single this year, following “What It Feels Like.”

■ Silversun Pickups, “In the Air” — We’ll wrap this playlist as we frequently do, with a cover song: Fishbone today released a 40th-anniversary edition of their debut album, “In Your Face” — a double CD/vinyl package that includes the original album and a second disc titled “Cover Your Face.” That features 11 Fishbone classics covered by a host of artists, including Twin Shadow, Patrick Stump, Wheatus, Open Mike Eagle, Kimya Dawson and more … like Silversun Pickups, taking on “In the Air.” Fishbone’s “In Your Face” 40th Anniversary Tour visits the Teragram Ballroom on May 8.