Clones of Clones’ latest single, “Somebody Else” — released last Tuesday and already soaking up thousands of plays — sounds true to form for the band, but with a decidedly sunnier temperament than earlier titular single “Monster Heart.”

The playful lyricism on “Somebody Else” serves as a distraction from the cheerless subtext.

“That’s how I deal with sad things sometimes,” says lead singer Ben Payes. “No one wants to delve into complete sadness when sad times are approaching.”

If you think Clones of Clones actually sounds like a clone of some other band you can’t seem to put a finger on — well, the group is OK with that.

“Good music is rooted in something familiar and comfortable,” Payes is quoted as saying on the band’s press site. Clearly, thousands of others agree.

Clones of Clones plays Aug. 28 at IOTA Club and Café.

On the third single from the band’s forthcoming EP, songwriter Jay Nemeyer nods to bands like Phantogram and Sohn, who texturize their electronic music with organic sounds.

Thematically, “Rain” (listen below) flows with the rest of the EP, depicting a last-ditch attempt to save a drowning relationship. At the heart of the track is a relentless, alarmlike vocal drone that triggers a wave of intensity, like the downpour in which the narrator seems caught — and Nemeyer throws in a few layers of sound to build a foggy atmosphere.

Combined, those elements add up to the band’s heaviest single to date, which seems to be the point.

“It’s about the compounding effect loss in one area of your life can have on the rest,” Nemeyer says.

Color Palette plays Aug. 15 at Ghost Office in College Park, Maryland.

The 28-year-old D.C. native leads Color Palette, the electronic-rock outfit set to release its debut EP in August. The catchy “Heartless” (listen below) — which Nemeyer wrote and, with Kyle Downes, co-produced — is the EP’s second single, following up on “Seventeen.”

While it describes a particularly ruthless romantic partner, the tune is far from miserable; it’s accessible, sounding indebted to janglers R.E.M. and The Smiths, but without Michael Stipes’ ambiguity or Morrissey’s pretentiousness. In other words, it’s a sad song that doesn’t wallow.

“Heartless” seems to revel in the elasticity of youth — a time when emotions are vivid, reactions are uncalculated and your pain just might be healed by the end of that song. Got your heart stomped on? This track commands, “Dance it out.”

Maybe that’s why Color Palette is a band best enjoyed in the wild.

“I don’t think you can fully appreciate this music without seeing a show. We’re better live,” Nemeyer says. “Every time I’m up there singing a song, I’m reliving it all over again.”

Color Palette plays an EP release show July 25 at Rock & Roll Hotel with Drop Electric, Honest Haloway and Boon.

“There is a place for that kind of music,” says Gaddy, 27. “But we are trying to do something different.”

Lighting Fires calls its genre “woof rock,” a name its members created to describe their amalgam of grunge, shoegaze, indie rock and dance.

“We get loud,” says guitarist Cooper Drummond, 25. “I suggest ear plugs.”

The band’s new single, “Summerland” (listen below) is from the band’s self-produced debut EP, Friend Fiction. “About 70 percent of everything you hear was recorded in the bedroom of my apartment,” says Gaddy. The last 30 percent — drums — was recorded by Mike Reina at The Brink in Centreville, Virginia.

“Summerland” pairs breathy vocals with poppy atmospherics to concoct that dreamy summer vibe. But it’s the catchy guitar licks — doused in reverb — that ignite this tune.

According to lyricist Grant Skalak, 27, the song is a fictional story about joining a cult, because, well, he thought cults would be a cool thing to write about.

“We like surprising people with our lyrics. We’re not trying to be super deep or political. We aren’t trying to drive some message home. We just want people to listen to our music and feel good,” Skalak says.

“Off the record though,” Gaddy says, “we’re super Marxist.”

Lighting Fires plays an EP release show July 15 at Black Cat.

In 2013, Clones of Clones arrived on the scene with its Neighborhoods EP, produced by Justin Long, who’s worked with local rockers U.S. Royalty. The EP made locals take notice, but it sounded more commercial than the band wanted in the long run. So when Clones of Clones picked up a new guitarist — Arlington’s Todd Evans — and a new producer later that year, it spent two years making its first album and finding a different sound along the way.

Lead vocalist Ben Payes, who lives in Silver Spring, says the band’s goal was to sound “less Everclear” and “more Pixies.” It certainly achieved that. With “Monster Heart,” Clones of Clones interlaces restrained verses with a menacing plod — something like the footsteps of a beast — while Evans’ wailing guitar kicks up soot. “Look at what you’ve done to me,” Payes pleads. “Give me more!”

Fans might be surprised to know that most of Payes’ songs are based loosely on a relationship that took place almost 10 years ago. The pain he felt then has a way of creeping back.

“I can still feel that emotion,” says Payes, 29. “The anxiety, frustration. But I’m also writing about a larger concept, and that’s what I want someone to take away from our music.”

It seems the musician, in his unyielding quest for clarity and evolution, has plumbed new depths in his writing — and it seems worth the search, even if he had to hazard murky waters to get there.

Clones of Clones plays DC9 May 7.