Join me at 10 tonight on 88.5 FM The SoCal Sound for this week’s L.A. Buzz Bands Show — I’ll have new songs from recently released albums by Brainstory, Local Natives, The Black Watch and Janelane, along with new tunes from Nitefire, Jelani Aryeh, Hana Vu, Lawrence Rothman, Rett Madison, Giant Killer Bats, Monica Aben and more. Listen here if you’re out of FM range; find previous shows in the archive. And support public radio. Nitefire, “LA’s Got Gorgeous” Hana Vu, “22” Jelani Aryeh, “Shudder” Janelane, “Useless” Diamond Hands, “Do It All Again” Ciao Howdy, “The Thing You Do” Brainstory, “Nobo ..read more

OK, deep breath. Greatest Hits … This Week (Vol. 287), Buzz Bands LA’s latest compendium of things we feel compelled to share, starts off with a bang — the new single from garage-rock prodigies Nitefire. Then we settle in for new songs from the likes of Jelani Aryeh, Hana Vu, Iress, Local Natives, Brainstory, Isaac Watters, The Black Watch, Rett Madison, Giant Killer Bats, Cameron Leahy, Winter, Cold Cave, Monica Aben and a bunch of others we can’t fit into one paragraph. The playlist is 30-some track deep and, seemingly, 30-some genres wide. Have at it. Past playlists here. ■ Nitefire, “LA’s ..read more

Five fun facts about The SoCal Sound’s Spring Into Summer Pledge Drive: ■ The SoCal Sound is member-supported public radio, and you are the public — 91% of the station’s operating budget comes from subscribing members. ■ The SoCal Sound airs 55-plus minutes of algorithm-free music per hour — handpicked tunes on programs such as The Morning Show with Nic Harcourt and Jet, Middays with Julie Slater, Afternoons with Matt Pinfield, Bilingual Sounds with Byron the Curator, the Dylan Hours with Lisa Finnie, Open Road with Gary Calamar, Sundays with Mimi Chen, Ann the Raven’s Blues, Tangled Roots wit ..read more

Even with that one festival starting today, there was a lot on our plate for Greatest Hits … This Week (Vol. 286). Check out songs from Janelane, Lawrence Rothman, Talker, Ariella, Launder, David Robert Pollock, Claire Rousay, Auditorium, The Black Watch, Jesse Jo Stark, Jade Bird, Irontom, Big Search, Cary Brothers, Catpack, Love Trip, Vicky Farewell and more on this weekly installment from Buzz Bands LA. ■ Talker, “Old Enough” — Six years, three EPs and a roller-coaster of melodic memoirs later, songwriter Celeste Tauchar will release her debut Talker album on June 21. It’s titled “I’m ..read more

Join me at 10 tonight on 88.5 FM The SoCal Sound for this week’s L.A. Buzz Bands Show — I’ll have new songs from Beachwood Sparks, Winnetka Bowling League, Milly, Sparkbyrd, Janelane, Paige Stark, Max Foreman, Waverly Drive, Pride Month Barbie and Nico Vega, along with songs from just-released albums by Kate Clover, Cuffed Up, Lo Moon and the Palms. And more, in a jam-packed local music hour. Listen here if you’re out of FM range; find previous shows in the archive. And support public radio. Milly, “Drip From the Fountain” Janelane, “Clean” Sparkbyrd, “Arrow” Beachwood Sparks, “Torn in Two” Du ..read more

Here’s some pre-eclipse listening for you — Greatest Hits … This Week (Vol. 285). The riches herein include the debut single from Sparkbyrd; album announcements/new songs from Beachwood Sparks, Milly, Winnetka Bowling League, Guppy, Draag, NxWorries, Jess Cornelius and Pride Month Barbie; and fresh tracks from Paige Stark, NoMBe, Max Foreman, La Luz, Cassowary, Tender Misfit, Townies, Tiny Stills and more. This is our 13th playlist of the new year, so catch up on your 2024 here. Find info on the artists and songs beneath the player. ■ Milly, “Drip From the Fountain” — This week’s sounds ..read more

Join me at 10 tonight on 88.5 FM The SoCal Sound for this week’s L.A. Buzz Bands Show — I’ll have new songs from Nico Vega, Angélica Garcia, NoMBe, Blondshell, Maudlin Strangers, Lauren Ruth Ward, The Rocky Valentines, Easy Sleeper, Communicant, Peel, The Drives, Temme Scott, Local Natives and more. Listen here if you’re out of FM range; find previous shows in the archive. And support public radio. Nico Vega, “$5” The Drives, “Overeducated” Angélica Garcia, “Color De Color” Maudlin Strangers, “Silver Stain” Blondshell, “Docket” (feat. Bully) Communicant, “Annabella” Temme Scott, “Softly” Local ..read more

Storefront Church‘s magnificent new track from last week’s playlist was deservedly well-received, and a cool thing happened when Lukas Frank took to socials to thank everybody. Rather than the too-frequent chest-thumping or humble-bragging in which some artists engage, he took the opportunity to highlight a handful of other L.A. artists who are making great music. (See his post here.) So Nos. 5 through 9 on Greatest Hits … This Week (Vol. 284) are courtesy of Lukas Frank — Angélica Garcia, Marina Allen, Loren Kramar, Clarity and Lane Hartley. As a result, the 284th edition of our (almost-) wee ..read more

Join me at 10 tonight on 88.5 FM The SoCal Sound for this week’s L.A. Buzz Bands Show — I’ll have new songs from Storefront Church, BEL, Remi Wolf, Kate Clover, Clara-Nova, Brainstory, Rosie Tucker, La Poré, Daz & the Demons and the Red Pears, along with the latest from Peel, Near Beer, Brother Swan and Crêpe Girl. And more besides that, so tune in at 10 p.m. Listen here if you’re out of FM range; find previous shows in the archive. And support public radio. Storefront Church, “The High Room” Clara-Nova, “Future Black Hole” Daz & the Demons, “Ronnie and Louise” Kate Clover, “Here Comes ..read more

We’re sufficiently recovered from being gobsmacked by the new Storefront Church single to share Greatest Hits … This Week (Vol. 283), the latest mix from Buzz Bands LA. Press play to hear that, along with new tunes from Clara-Nova, Remi Wolf, BEL, Brainstory, La Poré, Los Yesterdays, Cuffed Up, Crêpe Girl, Cameron Leahy, Gregory Ackerman, Mt. Joy, Daz & the Demons, Billy Tibbals and more. Enjoy. ■ Storefront Church, “The High Room” — Lukas Frank’s new tour de force as Storefront Church sounds like a soundtrack waiting for a movie. It’s pretty jaw-dropping. Storefront Church’s new album ..read more