A veteran of rowdy, beer-soaked, neon-tanned Los Angeles nights with several punk and rock band (the Katellas, Katatonic, as well as a touring stint with LA punk pioneers, the Dils), Brian Melendez switched gears to his original love of folk and country music his 2021 release “Lies, Laments, and Love Songs,” a sparse, emotional collection of originals and covers ranging from an Appalachian lament to a Canadian plains tune.