Kevin Bronson on June 26th, 2026

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Our supersized playlist this week kicks off with pyrotechnics from Phoebe Bridgers, Blondshell and Lawrence Rothman, each with new singles and album announcements. Then Greatest Hits … This Week (Vol. 393) goes long, with new music from Johanna Samuels, Girlfriend Wife, Pearl & the Oysters, Julia Holter, Petey USA, Almost Monday, Mac Luster, Dent May, Chris Pierce, Sophia James, Steve Lacy, The Paranoyds, Jr. Juggernaut, Harmony Tividad and a bunch more. And by a bunch, we mean 41 songs in all.

Dig in, stay cool …

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

Anita Mills contributed to this roundup.

■ Phoebe Bridgers, “Lost Boys” — Phoebe Bridgers is back. After a hiatus spanning more than two years, the singer-songwriter in early June announced a big tour (the three L.A. dates have now sold out) and followed this week by releasing “Lost Boys,” the first single from her third solo album and first in six years, “Lost Weekend” (out Aug. 14). There’s an unlikely knight in shining armor in the truly bizarre “Lost Boys” video directed by Lance Oppenheim and Pablo Rochat. All hail.

■ Blondshell, “Violins” — A little more than a year since the release of her sophomore album, “If You Asked for a Picture,” Sabrina Teitelbaum has announced the Sept. 25 of her third Blondshell LP, “Violins.” Yves Rothman again produces. “This record’s heavy in a way,” Teitelbaum says. “It’s gotten a little bit less literal. There’s more imagery. But my main goal with this record was to have songs that hit hard. I wanted big lead lines.” Out today, the title track (Sabra Binder’s video) follows Blondshell’s May single, “Heart Has to Work So Hard.” Live Oct. 16 the Wiltern, supported by Bully.

■ Lawrence Rothman, “The Meaning” — Lawrence Rothman has announced the Sept. 25 arrival of his fifth album, “Here Lies Love / Sawdust to Stardust” an LP that features collaborators such as Amanda Shires, Katie Pruitt, Jillian Jaqueline and, as co-writer on the new single “The Meaning,” Madi Diaz. Rothman says of the album title: “Sawdust is what’s left after the work. Stardust is what remains when survival becomes meaning. After twenty years as a singer, the voice itself becomes archaeological. This is the public reckoning between every version of myself that got buried along the way.” Watch Floria Sigismondi video for “The Meaning.”

■ Girlfriend, Wife, “Kinda Mean” — Friendly reminder that rock duo Girlfriend, Wife (Kacy Hill and Tessa DeNicola) today released their debut EP, “God Made Me a Star.” Singles such as “Focus,” “Straight Show,” “Send Me a Sign” and “Fly Away” waver between shoegaze, dream-pop and indie-rock, each variant with a bright melodic core.

■ Steve Lacy, “Is It Cool?” (feat. SZA) — Steve Lacy rolls toward the July 17 release of his new album “Oh Yeah?” with the SZA-featured single “Is It Cool?” This week he also revealed the tracklisting for the LP, which also features guests Erykah Badu and Cecile Believe.

■ Johanna Samuels, “Blue vs. Pinkerton” — Johanna Samuels honors Weezer with her new single “Blue vs. Pinkerton,” off her new album “Sorry, Kid” due Aug. 14 by way of Odd Man Out Recordings and Jealous Butcher. Samuels says of “Blue vs. Pinkerton,” the follow-up to “Circles”: “I thought about Weezer and how much I loved them. I found out about them when a boy I liked asked if I was a Pinkerton girl or a Blue Album girl and I pretended I knew what he was talking about. What he ended up turning me onto impacted me way more than the crush. I’ve oscillated between the two records during different periods of my life and have even dabbled in some Green Album which I don’t get to in the song. I felt the debate was a perfect metaphor for what that time was like so I wove the memories around that as a chorus. Those two records were somewhat of a soundtrack to those vignettes for me. Whether it’s Blue or Pinkerton is still a question I don’t have the answer to.” Live Aug. 15 at Zebulon.

■ Petey USA, “Like a Mantra” — “I am king of the weeds / I will become an invasive species,” Petey USA sings on his new single, ‘Like a Mantra,” a playfully mopey bedroom pop song. Live Aug. 11 at Zebulon.

■ Eva Rose, “Next Girl” — L.A. native Eva Rose has announced that her debut album, “The Last Laugh,” will be out Sept. 25 via Nettwerk. “Next Girl” introduces the pop artist’s debut LP, made with songwriter-producer Ben Zelico and co-writer JT Foley.

■ Dent May, “I Remember …” — “I Remember” (video) is the latest single from Dent May’s new album, “The Big One,” releasing Aug. 14 Carpark Records. He introduced the LP last month with the title track, and, says May, “This song was inspired by Fellini’s ‘Amarcord’ and Joe Brainard’s ‘I Remember.’ I was thinking about nostalgia, not in the saccharine way that people usually mean, but in its original sense as a type of pain or sickness. The song is a stream-of-consciousness recollection of all the bittersweet moments from a relationship that didn’t work out, the good and the bad. I wrote it with my friend Samuel Joseph, who I met at a local bar.” Live Sept. 11 at Sid the Cat Auditorium.

■ Harmony Tividad, “Lifetime” — Friendly reminder that Harmony Tividad new album “Lifetime” has dropped via KRO Records. The soft and delicate title track follows “Best Dressed.” Tividad says: “‘Lifetime’ is my yellow brick road. It’s me trying to negotiate with ‘living in truth’ and to accept life’s many complexities and nuances. This life is messy and it contains so much mystery that we simply have to surrender to. That is the beauty and the pain of it.” Watch the music video here, directed by Amalia Irons and Max Harper featuring Harmony’s mother Wendy Lebel-Tividad.

■ Sari Lightman, “The Prize” — L.A.-based Canadian artist Sari Lightman one-half of the Lightman Sisters) today released her solo album, “The Way I Saw You,” a collection of transportive character sketches produced by Meg Duffy (Hand Habits).

■ Almost Monday, “Delicate” — Tune merchants Almost Monday have announced their sophomore album, “Thank God It’s Almost Monday,” will be out Sept. 9. With that news, the band unveiled a new single, “Delicate,” and tour plans that include an Oct. 20 date at the Belasco. Of “Delicate,” the band says: “In a lot of ways, the song is an elevator pitch for a short story. We’ve always been so inspired by filmmakers and world builders. So ‘delicate’ is a tongue-in-cheek, wink-at-the-camera-esque journey of a guy who wakes up feeling overly confident, only to discover just how fragile his ego truly is.”

■ The Paranoyds, “Tracy Don’t” — Garage-rock outfit the Paranoyds (Lexi Funston, Laila Hashemi, Staz Lindes and David Ruiz) are back with their first release since 2023. The four-song EP “Late Nighter” serves up three fuzzy rockers and an off-killer synth-punk tune (“paint Thinner”) to whet your appetite for their summer tour. Live July 23 at Oblivion.

■ Mac Luster, “Staring at Nothing” — O.C. songwriter Jake Mazon’s resuscitated rock project Mac Luster continues to bear fruit — “Staring at Nothing,” follow-up to February’s single “The Lovers,” is a slice of ’90s college/radio rock (think Soul Asylum). The song will appear on Mac Luster’s debut EP, “Ritual,” out Aug. 7.

■ Ill Peach, “Rodeo” — Ill Peach’s sophomore album “Eavesdropping” is now available via Handwritten Records. The band says of the focus track “Rodeo” that follows “Crash Course Dummy”: “Rodeo felt like the song that wrapped up the whole album in a big red bow. Weaved together from so many conversations about the ups and downs of life, it became this symbol that life is like riding a bull. Uncontrollable. You fall, get back up, face plant in the mud and the muck, and maybe finally hold on for eight seconds.”

■ Beck, “Ride Lonesome” (feat. Sierra Ferrell) — In April, Beck release “Ride Lonesome,” v1.0. Now he’s back with a new tke on the song featuring roots music siren Sierra Ferrell. Live Sept. 23 at the Greek Theatre.

■ Chris Pierce, “Madonna of the San Joaquin” — “We should celebrate the diversity of our country; not instill fear in the people whose labor helps sustain our communities while they seek a better future for their families,” L.A. troubadour Chris Pierce says of the second single from his new album “Songs for the Heavy Hearted” (out Aug. 21). “‘Madonna of the San Joaquin’ is a direct challenge to the hypocrisy of those who invoke scripture and morality while turning their backs on the vulnerable, and even participating in their mistreatment.” Live Aug. 22 at Levitt Pavilion Pasadena.

■ Sophie Truax, “Sink” — Singer-songwriter Sophie Truax will release her sophomore EP, “Can’t Split a Worm,” on July 23.

■ Forest, “Anchor” — The blistering rocker “Anchor” is the official introduction to Forest’s new album, “Swan Dive,” out Sept. 25. The solo project of Siena Forest, the band has cut a swathe through heavy music this year with singles such as “Lay With Me” and “Whore & Savior.” Live July 23 at the Echo, opening for Fake Dad. Also: Oct. 5 at the Constellation Room and Oct. 6 at the Echoplex, both opening for Ivri.

■ Chalk Teeth, “Casket Casino” — Today brought the release of of the self-titled debut album from brooding dark-wavers Chalk Teeth (Karolina Wallace, Adam Wallace and Jason Miller). See also: “Struck” and “Floor It.”

■ Storefront Church, “Tendency for Violence” — Lukas Frank will release his third album as Storefront Church, “Blue Movie,” on Sept. 18. His penchant for crafting arresting soundscapes shines on the singles released so far, including “Tendency for Violence.”

■ Julia Holter, “Fantasy” — Songwriter-composer Julia Holter’s new album “Materia” (out Aug. 21) is a companion LP to 2024’s “Something in the Room She Moves.” Watch the video for “Fantasy” by Dicky Bahto.

■ Young Lovers, “Silver Lining Lost” — Friendly reminder that Young Lover’s sophomore LP “The Circle’s End” has dropped via Anxiety Blanket Records. The band says: “Young Lovers as a project exists as our collective outlet for thoughts and feelings we couldn’t process alone or through any other method, and so this album is us coming together to deal with our own struggles with these very issues.” Following “Mourning Routine,” the focus track “Silver Lining Lost” is a moody, full of texture with a visceral ending.

■ Pearl & the Oysters, “Lights Out” — Friendly reminder that “Monkey Mind,” the new album from Pearl & the Oysters, is out today via Stones Throw. Bring your smiles for the band’s sun-baked lounge-pop, including the singles “Mandarin Moon,” “Doom Mood” and “Wide Awake.” Live Aug. 20 at the Lodge Room.

■ Alan Vuong, “Resurrection” — Today brought the release of Alan Vuong’s nine-song (!) EP, “Heaven Sent Me,” a heady ride of dreamy, often experimental, pop/R&B.

■ The Strike, “Knock Me Out” — The Strike drops the empowering anthem “Knock Me Out,” following “Edge Of The World.” The band says: “Knock Me Out is a song about resilience. It’s about carrying the weight of expectations, self-doubt, and pressure, yet continuing to push forward.” Live Aug. 8 at Pacific Electric.

■ Girlish Figure, “Little Pretender” — Girlish Figure is the solo project of Ellis Nelson (ex-Anabot), a nonbinary artist teaming up songwriting partner Skyler Coco to making ’80s synth-pop with an admittedly “gender-bendy vibe.” “Little Pretender” is the project’s third single of 2026.

■ Jack Larkin, “Colorburst” — Jack Larkin makes engaging, off-kilter psych-folk with a literary bent. He’s released three full-lengths, with a fourth, “Purkinje Shift,” arriving Aug. 21. “Colorburst” is the second single from the album, whose title references 18th century Czech physiologist Jan Evangelista Purkyně (look him up). “As I was writing the album,” Larkin says, “there was a lot of change happening in my life. The album is about someone who’s unable to see things clearly, experiencing the cycles of clarity and confusion that we go through in life.”

■ Julez and the Rollerz, “Always Hard 4 U” — Friendly reminder that “Dirty Little Rock ‘N’ Roller,” the new album from Julez and the Rollerz, is out this week. Produced by Alex Newport, the LP offers bold, old-school rock, from Jules Batterman’s wailing vocals to a slew of tight, riffy guitar work. See also: “Phaser,” “I Need Love” and “I Don’t Know You.” Live June 28 at Zebulon and July 19 at the Fable.

■ Tankerlow, “Yes I Am An Animal” — Moorpark musicians Guy Azulay, Connor Scheff and Kyle Norvel are Tankerlow, an eclectic alt-rock band. Their sophomore album “Slagroom” marks their debut with Danger Collective Records on Sept. 25. The band says of the lead single “Yes, I Am An Animal”: “The song touches on the seductive nature of escape, and the inability to outrun our primal nature.” Music video director P.J. Charles says: “I am in a state of constant mental anguish, so this piece is what it’s like when the void stares back.”

■ Jr. Juggernaut, “Firecracker (4th of July) — Just in time for holiday pyrotechnics, veteran rockers Jr. Juggernaut are back with a new single, “Firecracker (4th of July).”

■ Sophia James, “Ryan” — Singer-songwriter Sophia James drops “Ryan,” the first single since her EP “The Wrong Shoe Theory,” released in May. James says: “While writing ‘Ryan’ I tried to capture that apocalyptic feeling of romantic confession. Putting your pride aside to admit your true feelings for someone can be terrifying, but at the end of the day I think what’s more terrifying is life ending without them ever knowing how you really felt.”

■ Wolves of Glendale, “Reptile Guy” — Comedic music trio Wolves of Glendale (Ethan Edenburg, Eric Jackowitz and Tom McGovern) weigh in on pets, a few other things, on their latest single, “Reptile Guy.” Smile awhile and watch the video. Their new album, “Go to the Woods,” is out Aug. 28.

■ Frankie and the Studs, “Get It Right” — Punk-rockers Frankie and the Studs (Frankie Clarke, Frank Salazar, Lizi Gionangeli, and Nick Rossi) drop the energetic and glitzy stand-alone single “Get It Right,” following their debut LP “Life’s A Glitch.” Vocalist Clarke is blessed by a magic wand in the music video here.

■ Blair Gun, “Sounds of Liberation” — A lot of adrenaline packed into less that two minutes, “Sounds of Liberation” is the latest single from San Diego’s Blair Gun, who have a new album titled “Riot Dogs” on the way.

■ Nala, “Contact High” — Songwriter-producer-DJ Nala (Stefania Aronin) today adds something to your dancefloor mixes in the way of a new EP, “Find Your Paradise.” She’s one of the artists holding forth at the Ocean Way Festival, Sept. 26-27, on the beach in Santa Monica.

■ Second Paloma, “Camera” — Second Paloma is a new sextet featuring Alex Yeomanson, Mia Licon, Howie Fitzgerald, Arifa Khursheed, Aabid Fitzgerald and Asher Bodhi and making funky ’70s-styled pop-rock. The shape-shifting “Camera” is their debut single. Live July 11 at Molly Malone’s.

■ CA in LA, “Clarity” — CA in LA is the musical vehicle for multidisciplinary duo of Courtney Birk and Ashleigh Coffelt, whose exploits span filmmaking, ceramics, painting and digital art. They’ve released four LPs, and “Clarity” is their latest single.

■ Dennis Linggar, “Siren Song” — Indonesia-born neo-soul artist Denis Linggar has released the single “Siren Song,” a velvety song that frames loss through the prism of his faith.

■ Casandra, “Hourglass” — Casandra (the solo project of Miami native Cassie Marin) released the EP “Isla Tranquilita” in May. That’s being expanded into a full-length bearing the same title, out and July 25. “Hourglass” is a dreamy, alluring invitation to check out the full release.

■ Stella Prince, “Hand in My Pocket” — As is most always the case, we’ll leave you with a cover song: Here’s Stella Prince’s folky reimagination of Buffalo Springfield’s “For What It’s Worth.”