This inaugural Weekly Roundup features some great new tunes by Bleached, Local Natives and more. Just a refresher: This is the place where I highlight local and up-and-coming artists from around the LA and SF area, mostly. Email me at billy.gil@gmail.com if you would like to be included!

Thao & The Get Down Stay Down – “We the Common (For Valerie Bolden)”

SF resident Thao and her Get Down Stay Down have released the first song from their upcoming new album We the Common. It’s a bigger, more fully produced sound and more politically charged song than her previous work, and I think the changes suit her music well. We the Common is due Feb. 5 on Ribbon Music.

Bleached – “Next Stop”

LA punks Bleached, lead by the Clavin sisters Jessica and Jennifer (formerly of Mika Miko), released one of my favorite songs of last year, “Searching Through the Past.” Now their first full-length record, Ride Your Heart, is up for release April 2 on Dead Oceans. “Next Stop” is the first taste of that record and features the hard-charging surf punk guitars and scrappy sister harmonies of their previous singles, honed down into a hearty two-and-a-half minutes.