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Here’s Greatest Hits … This Week (Vol. 276), featuring songs from newly announced albums coming from Death Lens, Loren Kramar, Sofia Bolt, Joh Chase and Niina Soleil, plus new singles by Cold War Kids, Porno for Pyros, JJUUJJUU, Mehro, Meija, Maudlin Strangers, Fatal Jamz, Child Seat, the Drives, Clara-Nova, Creature Canyon and more. Plus, a jam from the remade and recently released Deap Vally album in anticipation of the duo’s farewell tour.
Have fun. Short bits of info on the tracks beneath the player. See our previous playlists on Spotify.
■ Death Lens, “Cold World” — The title track to the new album Death Lens will release May 3, “Cold World” sounds massive, even lustrous, beyond the solid post-hardcore of their 2022 album “No Luck.” “‘Cold World’ just seemed to fit in the days we’re living,” the band says of the album title. “It’s the desire to thrive in a deteriorating world all while pushing those who feel like there is no hope and hoping to give them a second wind, a sense of hope.” Watch the video. Witness them open for Wavves on Feb. 14 at 1720.
■ Cold War Kids, “Heaven in Your Hands” — Just two months after the release of their 10th album, a self-titled collection, Cold War Kids are back, moving incrementally away from the bluesy indie-rock for which they are known. “‘Heaven in Your Hands’ is a song about a friend that has taken a dark turn towards hopelessness and cynicism,” frontman Nathan Willett says. “And you want to ask them, ‘What if, instead of despairing, you were vulnerable and said out loud what it is that you want to change in your life? What if heaven were to fall right in your hands? Would you be able to see it?’” Cold War Kids play the Fonda Theatre on March 20 and March 21.
■ Loren Kramar, “Glovemaker” — “Glovemaker” is the title track to the album Loren Kramar will release April 26 via Secretly Canadian. While watching the video, we were thinking that in a world where everything is performative, the quality of the drama is the real currency.
■ Clara-Nova, “Find a Window” — The follow-up to “Silver Medal Sunset,” “Find a Window” is a little slice of hope from songwriter Sydney Wayser, advocating for “letting the light in” amid a dark tumult.
■ JJUUJJUU, “Some” (feat. Boogarins) — It’s a strange, strange world we live in, as a song from the Sixties pontificated. The guy who started the Desert Daze festival in 2012 as counter-programming to Coachella is playing Coachella this year. That would be Phil Pirrone and his psych-rock monsters JJUUJJUU, whose new single is a long-distance collaboration with the Brazilian neo-psych outfit Boogarins.
■ Sofia Bolt, “Go Away” — L.A.-based Frenchwoman Amélie Rousseaux has announced that her sophomore album, “Vendredi Minuit,” will be out May 10. See Sofia Bolt on Wednesdays in February at Gold-Diggers.
■ Fatal Jamz, “Moan” — The duo of Marion Belle and Nicholas Allen Johns, who released the full-length “Fatal Attraction” last year, return with this slice of ’80s pop, co-written by Paris Yavuz.
■ Joh Chase, “Avalanche” — First single from Joh Chase’s new album, “Solo,” coming out April 26.
■ Mehro, “Ketamine” — All about chemistry? After releasing “Dopamine” last October, Mehro is back and whistling through … an ode to Special K? (video). Live March 21 at the Roxy.
■ Luna Shadows, “Little Rituals” — Luna Shadows’ new single, a collaboration with Bradley Hale and Thom Powers, is about embracing the pain, as a way of moving past it. Watch the video here.
■ The Drives, “Maybe I’m a Masochist” — From their roots as a garage-rock band, the Drives (Andrew Levin, Casey Chen and Geo Botelho) continue their migration toward a cinematic indie sound, à la Bad Suns. The Drives’ second EP is in the works.
■ COQUÍ, “Spun” — We’ve followed Samuel Jacob Lopez Jr. for a long time, all the way back to Tapioca & the Flea, and he’s never made a song that sounds like it oughta be blasting across the countryside at Glastonbury.
■ Deap Vally, “Bad for My Body” — Raising a glass to Lindsey Troy and Julie Edwards, aka Deap Vally, who are calling it quits — but not before this week’s release of “Sistrionix 2.0” (a re-recording of their 2013 debut album) and a farewell tour that brings them to the Teragram Ballroom on March 9.
■ Creature Canyon, “Holding On” — New jolt of adrenaline from the San Diego-bred quartet of Austin Steele, Ryan Amyot, Aaron Lund, and Luc Fralic.
■ Maudlin Strangers, “Don’t Worry, I’m Fine” — Jake Hays and mates, who resurfaced in late 2023 with “I’m Not in the Right Mind,” kick off the new year with a song reminiscent of the Neighbourhood.
■ Meija, “Magic” (feat. Jawny) — Songwriter Jamie Sierota, who played “Possum” with Eels last November, teams up with frequent collaborator Jawny for a light-hearted tune about the wonders of things.
■ Niina Soleil, “Whiskey Valentine” — Nina Shallman has been releasing music since she was a teenager, and in 2022 she adopted the persona Niina Soleil. With the release of of the Western-tinted “Whiskey Valentine” — her first single since “Happy Pills” a year ago — Soleil announced that her debut LP, “Heliophilia,” will be out this spring.
■ 18 Wheeler, “Game” — Title track from the debut EP by songwriter Matteo Debole, “Game,” released today. For fans of left-field ’60s and ’70s guitar-slingers.
■ Hannah Connolly, “Party Is Over” — The Wisconsin native has everything it takes to be the next belle of the Americana ball. Her sophomore album “Shadowboxing” (out March 1) was recorded at Jon O’Brien’s Idyllwild studio, and “Party Is Over,” the album’s fourth single, features Via Mardot’s theremin. Live March 8, opening for Sam Outlaw, at Zebulon.
■ Child Seat, “Something Good” — After releasing their debut album in 2022 and an album’s worth of singles last year, the duo of Madeleine Mathews (MAWD) and Josiah Mazzaschi (Light FM) continue to light up the dance floor with their next-wave new wave. A full-length, “Dancing at the Disco,” is coming this summer. Live on Feb. 8 at Resident (with Dolly Dagger and Fox Violet) and on April 12 at Permanent Records Roadhouse.
■ Porno for Pyros, “Little Me” — New single to usher along Porno for Pyros’ farewell tour (Feb. 13 at the Observatory, Feb. 18 at the Belasco, and also streamed.)
■ Kate Hudson, “Talk About Love” — Yes, that Kate Hudson.
■ Oh Bummer!, “Watch It Break” — Tanner Houghton’s new EP “To Be a Part of the World” is out March 8, and “Watch It Break” (video) is a pretty endearing eye into his world, part of which includes deadpan twee-pop with a rap verse mixed in. Live March 6 at Genghis Cohen.
