"Visions of Plumerias," the lead single from Rudy De Anda’s debut EP Ostranenie, opens with ominous, plodding drum hits, like a storm approaching his Long Beach hometown at the end of a revelrous day… but there’s no panic to be found! De Anda’s sing-song vocals lope around to distract us, his mind on a "sea of people" and clouds covering once grey skies; there’s nothing expressly cheery about "Visions of Plumerias," most of the pos vibes offered by De Anda come with conditions, but one thinks that it ends with a charming smile, and that tension lends the song that much more spacey magic.

Ostranenie releases July 7th (Porch Party Records) so stream the rest once its available on his Bandcamp, and you can find De Anda at Pomona’s Glass House soon after on July 18th. – Brian J.K. Regan

Melodic simplicity suits recent Artist of the Month winners MUNA – the pop trio’s latest single, "So Special", is imbued with a sparkling effervescence that befits its sweetened brand of soft rock. The song’s chiaroscuro ambience gives the impression that things don’t bode well – this is a song about a complicated pairing , after all – though once it kicks in into its contagious chorus they prove their hooks are tightly in place. Their first singles may have caught a whiff of that eighties synth cool Haim popularized a few years ago, not to mention that their ability to keep us guessing with each new track follows a similar path to superstardom. But that shouldn’t in any way impair their confidence; if anything, they’re playing it smart. 

“Soaring,” the new single from our top-voted Artist of the Month, GoodKids, sounds like, well, a couple of good kids soaring on comparable feelings. Prominent vocals lend an air of vulnerability from the outset, and the tone is retained once “Soaring" really takes off (sorry) in its final act. The positivity and jingle-jangle pop charm remind me of SoCal ensemble The Mowgli’s, but GoodKids come across that much more intimate for their straight-forward production. Find out when they’re next in your part of town at the band’s Facebook, and get psyched for the show by checking out their Soundcloud. – Brian J.K. Regan

Dream pop quintet Nightjacket go for a paisley vibe on their latest single "It’s Alright", a tender and sophisticated number with light psychedelic elements that brings to mind the woozy, country-tinged elements of mid-career Mazzy Star. Singer Holland Belle’s vocals are more affective than langorous, though, her resonant vocal exertions a good fit for the band’s brisk, jangly tempo. Mixed by Jeff Ziegler (The War on Drugs, Kurt Vile), the songs on their debut EP, Eternal Phase, sound impressively confident, never straying from solid songwriting even when they’re just about to verge into droning atmospheric textures. 

The self-released Eternal Phase comes out in digtal markets on June 23, which the band will be celebrating with a pre-release show the night before at The Echo.

Albert’s debut album, Businessman, was recorded in Woodstock, N.Y., just another reason to love their hometown. Singer-songwriter Nolan Bryan, front-man of Albert, must have spent the better part of his life buried going through his parent’s vinyl collection of soulful rock and roll and deep-rooted southern rock. Bryan’s soothing voice is a melting pot of rock and roll legends, backed by the musical talents of Mike Coulter, Johnney Sneed, Jamie Elman, Claire Wellin, Ryan Porter, Joel Bunn and Eric Hargett. The plethora of musicians add a crafted tune to Albert, with instruments that are unusual for an up-and-coming rock group including horns, saxophone, trombone and violins. With influences like The Beatles, The Kinks, Bob Dylan and my favorite, The Allman Brothers, Businessman’s two years in the making, with help from 3-time Grammy winner Justin Guip, was a success. Which is a beautiful combination of music that is itching for a comeback.

Catch Albert play this year’s Atwater Artwalk on June 20. – Kayla Hay

So here’s one to shake off the mid-week blues. Electro pop duo Solar Heist have just released their sophomore EP Day Trip, a wildly emphatic five songs of the synth pop persuasion that invites dancefloor abandon. Its members, Jason Powers and Justin Karcich, are longtime friends who share a symbiotic creative relationship: Powers mostly gives the songs their conceptual treatment, while Karcich draws on his experience as a DJ to flesh out their compositional style. 

Though no tour dates have been announced just yet, the band is currently preparing to take these songs into a live setting this summer and fall. Which, frankly, sounds like the perfect way to end that jolly day trip.  

Teenage Wrist, featuring members of Chain Gang of 1974 and Swing Hero, create stormy yet catchy post-rock, reminiscent of Jimmy Eat World before the radio years. Their latest single, "Summer," is naturally a summer tune, with big dramatic guitars made for the outdoors; that said, it still feels like a good song to get sullen to, which makes sense given the tune’s origin in a failing relationship (according to guitarist Marshall Gallagher).

You can listen to EP Dazed at their Soundcloud and then go catch them at the Silverlake Lounge on June 18th. (21+, so, unfortunately, no teenage wrists allowed.) – Brian J.K. Regan

EBM revivalists High Functioning Flesh have just released a video for the track "Mistakes Were Made", which features the duo of Gregory Vand and Susan Subtract lip syncing while moving and grooving as graphics effects remiscent of eighties-era 120 Minutes shuffle in and out. 

The duo is holding a record release party at Non Plus Ultra tonight alongside Drab Majesty and Costume in support of their sophomore effort Definite Structures, out now via Dais Records.

Songwriting collaborators Aaron Mort and Sami Akbari, known as The Bad Years, show us a day in the life summary of things to do in LA County on their video for the track "Beautiful Liar", the first single of off their just-released EP of the same name. Curiously enough, it’s the second music video we present to you this week that exalts our city as musical poetry. The sandy, grainy photography of the video fits the song’s finely attenuated psychedelic elements, which hover gently in a hazy shimmer as they both drawl their words surrounded by woozy guitar tones. 

The Bad Years will perform a record release show at The Satellite on June 11. 

Corsica Arts Club have fully evolved into their own identity with their self-titled debut EP, four catchy tracks of spiky guitars and lush electronics that invigorate with a gentle, cool mist. The original project of Brendan Thompson and Arash Parsee, they’ve since matured into a thrillingly confident quintet to bring their Labrador records-recalling indie pop into a live setting. 

The band is celebrating the EP’s June 9 release with an album release show at the Satellite on June 12th. 

Couple Skate announced that they will be releasing the debut LP, Dream Center, from Michael Vidal on June 9th. Michael Vidal was previously part of punk shapeshifters Abe Vigoda, and by the sounds of his first single "Dreams (Come Back to Me), it seems to carry over the lush synths and pristine guitar work of their pre-demise album Crush. Vidal also released a rather curious video for the single, which you can watch below.

You can catch Vidal with Girl Pool and Stephen Stephen Steinbrink at Eagle Rock Center on June 1st. 

There’s a loose, unhinged attitude about Losing End that’s easy to admire. The no-frills three piece play their hearts out with a freewheeling rock n’ roll spirit, gravitating towards careening, amped-up scorchers that are faintly softened with sharp hooks and rousing choruses. There’s noise involved, but played with a ragged-but-right melodic richness that entices one to listen to them over and over. Their debut EP Are We Still The Same makes its case in just about thirteen minutes with barely a second wasted – these are tight, biting punk songs played as pop, delivered with an unaffected candor that aligns well with their discerning changes in guitar dynamics. Just as it ought to be. – Juan Rodríguez