In December, Brooklyn’s Ciao Malz (aka Malia DelaCruz) released her label debut, the Safe Then Sorry EP, which was a surprise end-of-year indie hit, thanks to significant press acclaim. While a follow-up is still a while away, Ciao Malz has issued a cover of Elliott Smith’s ‘Clementine’ from his classic 1995 self-titled second album. Coincidentally, it was a cover of Frog’s “You Know I’m Down”) which introduced her to the Audio Antihero label, and saw her join Frog on their roster late last year.

“‘Clementine’ is probably my favorite Elliott Smith song. The way he picks up on a bartender singing and turns it into something so eerie and beautiful is wild. The harmonies are something I’ve always wanted to nail, and I love experimenting with them when I’m recording. And yeah, sometimes it’s just fun to channel Elliott Smith for a while.”

‘Clementine’ isn’t the only new recording from Ciao Malz this month. Having already recorded radio sessions for WVKR (accompanied on pedal steel by Hefner’s Jack Hayter), East Village Radio, BFF.FM, and numerous others, her most high-profile session to date just aired via NPR-affiliate WFUV in the Bronx. Without the expanded lineup of guitarist James Chrisman (Sister.) and drummer Felix Walworth (Florist / Told Slant), DelaCruz performed solo acoustic versions of “Two Feet Tall” and “Gold Rush,” alongside an interview.

On April 10, rising Los Angeles shoegazers Steel Wool will share their self-titled debut EP (cassette and digital) via independent LA label Bug Body. Born out of their drummer Evan’s bedroom studio, Steel Wool has been making waves across the southland with plenty of local radio love, including shoutouts from KCRW and a live session at KXLU.

The group, consisting of Sean Lissner (guitar/singing), Jaden Amjadi (bass/screaming), Sam Schlesinger (guitar), and Evan Landi (drums) have developed a reputation for their boisterous live shows in garages, backyards, and DIY haunts of all stripes.

Their eponymous debut finds the dream-pop upstarts pushing the edges of the otherworldly, fuzzed-out sounds that inspired them. A reverb-drenched ode to wasting away, ‘Fading’ builds a hazy, atmospheric soundscape of modulation before erupting into an onslaught of feedback and noise.

Meanwhile, tracks like ‘Another Sunday’ and ‘Tired Movements’ revel in the subdued yet restless tension between Lissner’s pining vocals and the band’s ruminative instrumental concoctions. On 'Heaven or La Brea’, the band lets go of their restraints, and crescendos from a bursting-at-the-seams indie-rock anthem to a blistering collage of distortion.

Steel Wool is celebrating the release with a show in Los Angeles at Silver Lake’s El Cid on April 22 with support from bedbug and standingandlookingaround.