Last year Kevin Litrow and his solo persona Litronix put out Elvis Lives, an album that was something between a recalibration and a reinvention. Recorded by the esteemed producer Greg Ashley, Elvis Lives saw Litrow dial down his signature throbbing Suicide-style synthesizer and motorik robo-rhythms to explore something more traditionally transcendental: guitar and human voice, channeling the full force of the human spirit. ►

Jupiter Black and the enigmatic Tre Seoul team up here on a song and visual that’s spook-blime. Jupiter is either cursing or blessing a wayward youth, played by the stoic Sistergrass. Tre exists in a visual vacuum, a man apart observing and reporting but never retorting, letting Jupiter do the work of possessing folk. Their verses are pure syrup, delivered like sorbet melting in the sun—drip drip. ►

L.A.'s Levitation Room put out their Headspace (Greenway Records) last fall and took the scenic route through all the microbiomes of mid-to-late 60s psychedelia, although they skipped Altamont to spend more time at Monterey Pop. But now without access to any outside studios (or outside ... anything?) they've retreated to a more fundamental format. "Quarantine" is the understated acoustic coda Headspace never had, the contemporary reincaration of those mellow moments on so many underrated little-band-on-big-label psych LPs. There couldn't be a better time for this sort of indoors mood. ►

When 2016 happened, the innocence of skimming Jezebel turned into the self-flagellation of reading Reductress, and the non-stop queer boogaloo was interrupted by the draconian plans of a sentient sunburn. As other bands wrote protest songs, Dream Machines just got super slutty, celebrating the bacchanal joy of fucking right in Mitch McConnell's wilting face. Their new EP Trust / Desire drops today, and it's a juicy lucy. We talked about being 18 again, why their live show is better than yours and LaCroix. That bit is right at the top. This interview by Tolliver. ►

Last time we saw L.A.'s Kevin, their overcranked synth-wave song "Bike" found them doing down and dirty Screamers-adjacent weirdness in the asphalt back alleys of the city. But now it's a year later and they've ... ascended. ►