Guitarist, singer songwriter Kaycie Satterfield is a welcome voice to the growing scene of NYC storytellers. One of Brooklyn-bred indie rock’s best kept secrets, her voice croons confessional lyrics following rhythmic leads and melodic ideas that veer her natural folky approach towards indie-influenced sonic territories. With her powerful and smart songs inspired by jazzy singer-songwriters like Carole King and Joni Mitchell, Kaycie successfully transcends musical genres and hits emotional cords in ways that are never banal. For more news on Kaycie Satterfield, check out her website or label, Brooklyn based paper moon records. – Susan Moon

Long Island natives Hoax, has released their latest single, “Unamerican Dream,” an immigrant’s vision of America in indie pop fashion. Michael Raj and Frantz Caesar are both first-generation immigrants and chose to centered the single’s focus around an immigrant father who, at the end of his life, comes to terms with his shortcomings. Michael and Frantz wanted to pay tribute to the topic by donating 50% of the proceeds to KIND, an organization that aims to help immigrant children find safety and protection in the States.

The song’s soundscape, filled with clean lead synths, guitars, and a tidy beat, blends seamlessly with lead singer Michael Raj’s emphatic vocals, and is in part reminiscent of the so-called sophisti-pop of the late ’80s that saw its peak in bands like Prefab Sprout and and The Style Council, among others. Since releasing their first EP, The Truth and Other Lies in 2017, Hoax has been unloading previews of their musical talent at a promising rate. Check out the new single, streaming below! – Susan Moon

“Honeysuckle,” a beautifully tender, reflective indie rock song, is the latest single from Brooklyn’s Pom Pom Squad prior to the release of their second EP OW (out on September 6th), following 2017’s HATE IT HERE. Berrin explains that the track is about rebuilding to resolve an issue, which one can only do once the cause of the wound is identified. The band’s sound has evolved in more sophisticated and powerful directions compared to their previous material, with an aggressive electric sound and a more angsty delivery reminiscent of the riot grrls movement of the ’90s . The single progresses from an apathetic stream-of-consciousness series of thoughts to painting a picture of a serious inward and outward, back and forth internal dialogue, tackling a painful personal experience with existential undertones underlined in the chorus: “if I’m nothing without you, am I anything at all?”. Berrin’s sultry vocals never resolve the question, and a concoction of clunky guitars play a chunky tune that continues her honest anxiety. – Susan Moon 

Three NYC-based artists with folk inclinations, Eighty Ninety, Luke Rathborne, and Common Jack will be playing a show together at Elsewhere on Wednesday, August 14th at 7 PM. 

Headliners Eighty Ninety’s sweet, tender songwriting is compelling for its ability to be somewhat indie but still reminiscent of the kind of ear catching radio pop that wavers between the commercial and indie worlds. Luke Rathborne’s single, “Don’t Call Me Baby” is a great example of this singer songwriter and producer’s style blending modern folk and an indie rock attitude. Common Jack balances out the other two acts with a modern folk sound that incorporates synths and electronic effects. Altogether, this curated show offers a night of music that is mellow and warm – check out Elsewhere’s website for more details. – Susan Moon

Maybird’s musical vision is made for a future that relies on pulling from the past. Toy-sounding synthesizers, acoustic guitars plus distorted and processed guitars, and the chorus-like harmonies that make their music sound a bit like it’s from a retro movie give the band cinematic flair. The band has a taste for writing truisms, and perhaps their nostalgic sound adds to the emphasis. The story behind their debut album, Things I Remember From Earth cuts to the core of the human experience in terms of what people are searching for and come to find self-evident. The journey to writing the album comes from Kurt Vonnegut’s The Sirens of Titan as a crucial source for inspiration. The philosophical themes surely inform the thoughtful hooks, which sometimes admonish looking too far into the future. 

A key influence behind Maybird is the reputable rock band Dangermouse, who helped them release the EP Turning into Water after discovering them in 2016. The four-song EP Unraveling followed soon after in 2017 with the help of producer Patrick Carney of The Black Keys. The clash and eventual concoction of these experiences resulted in the songs on their debut, all of which are tinged with the right amount of apathy that ultimately makes their music so cool.

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Susan Moon

"Been disconnected / everything’s feeling so hectic," Emily Fehler muses, just within seconds of the song’s start. "Undertow" is the beginning of a tellingly honest vignette by a clever, talented musician. Under her Gold Child stage name, Emily has had her share of recognition with mentions from Rolling Stone (Top 200), NPR (Best New Music), Refinery29 (a media outlet which often focuses on artists empowering women), and Brooklyn Vegan. With its warm aura blending country and dreampop, the song is at once disarming and pleasant in its nostalgic overtones, with the dark folk elements bringing to mind powerful singer/songwriters like Angel Olsen or Neko Case.

The country-influenced instrumentation has been a driving force in developing her music since graduating from Berklee College of Music in 2012(She’s a self-professed student of country music’s golden era with a slight obsession with Patsy Cline and Emmylou Harris). That, plus the lyrical content in "Undertow," paints a picture of a musician interested in taking American roots music to new places and the courage to face any personal demons she gets dealt by life – in this single’s case, a problem with anxiety: "Gotta get to the right time and place someday," leads to the chorus that carries Gold Child’s message: "So emotional / lost all my control / slipping in slow motion down this waterfall / stuck in the undertow." 

With tonight’s show at Baby’s All Right, Emily Fehler will have her chance to share long-awaited material. Additonally the self-titled debut album, will be released digitally on Friday, August 9th. – Susan Moon

Long Island-based indie-pop band MAYVE excels at building catchy songs with an ’80s pop flair. The four-piece first garnered attention after releasing ‘Animals’ in 2016, following it up with the ‘Motion EP’ the following year. Between then and now, their material has become increasingly nuanced and has gone through changes in style, production, and creative choices. The two new most recent singles  "Neon" and "Head High" are a clear sign of growth, showcasing a desire to develop the band’s sound in the direction of higher production values. 

Speaking about their groovy and whispery new single "Slide" (released today), MAYVE says: "[it’s about] Koinophobia – the fear of living an ordinary life. “Slide” follows the tempo of a mind left to wander. One that slips into a downward spiral and denies the tangibility of our most ineffable moments."

You can experience them live at the Velvet Lounge in East Setauket on August 16. – Susan Moon. – Susan Moon

This Saturday, July 23rd at 10 PM, The Revolution series will return to National Sawdust with another set of NYC based artists: Vocateurs, Snack Cat, and DioMara. Vocateurs is a brand new Brooklyn-based (by way of Florida) band blending soul and indie rock elements – they are so new they don’t even have a demo out yet! Snack Cat is a collective of musicians combining elements of jazz, blues, soul, and funk; their sound bases its foundation on an intriguing trombone/keys/electric guitar interplay. DioMara, a Panamian-American R&B singer, bears a stage presence that matches her soulful tunes, and she’s also the founder of a women’s charity event series called WNDR WMN.

Coming from three very different backgrounds, these artists and their music are a testament to NYC’s cultural, ethnic and artistic diversity – don’t miss their performance this coming Saturday! Tickets are here. – Susan Moon

In line with her emotional and observational tendencies, the artist behind Florist, Emily Sprague, is talking to us and herself about fear in (soft)spoken word, making many references to death and life on earth. "My hair is dirty blonde," Florist begins. ". . . Sleep early, wake early," the lullaby continues. The monologue is visual and representative of the artist’s visions as she explores them on Emily Alone. The project, like the track, navigates stream of consciousness ideas with an emphasis on the elemental realm. "If I lose my mind, please give it back to the earth, fire, water, wind, earth, fire, water, wind, and lie down, lie down with me." Florist drifts in and out of song and line, passing between the two like there is no time for anything but also a vast wealth of it. Her mind is in the right place as she questions her body and spirit, waxing poetic and musing ideas.

Of the song, Sprague says: "’Celebration’ is a love song for darkness and the peaceful end to all things. A song in three movements: reality, fantasy, memory.  In a lot of ways this song is the thesis to Emily Alone. Minimal arrangements – acoustic guitars, synthesizers, and voice accompanied by the ambient sounds of earth. Birds and water. The song begins with an experience of the now. It falls into imagining the way that things will always return to what they should be.  It ends with a burial of negative forms and the acceptance of a beautiful new path towards growing from nothing."

Emily Alone is available for pre-order now and out on 7/26 via Double Double Whammy. – Susan Moon

Daydream is an appropriate title for Brooklyn-based Pearla‘s first single from her upcoming debut LP Quilting & OtherActivities. Behind the band moniker, singer/songwriter Nicole Rodriguez reveals her most intimate thoughts through beautifully arranged emotional lullabies laden with metaphors and lush melodies. Recurring themes include love, evocative personal memories, the search for ways to escape darkness, whose emotional power gets boosted by her enchanting voice and a sparse but vivid production. Combining elements of folk, pop and psychedelia with a playful yet sober approach to songwriting, "Daydream" carries a wistful sort of confidence and a poetic power that’s rare to find. 

In other Pearla-related news, the artist will be headlining Rough Trade on August 28th, celebrating the debut album release on Egghunt Records (Lucy Dacus, Camp Howard, Gold Connections). To hear the full EP, you’ll have to wait until the September 6th release. – Susan Moon

New York-based musician Gabrielle Marlena‘s new single and video for "Older Than Me" discusses the problems she had with dating an older man. The source of her frustration is peeled away in the music video’s imager, featuring a wedding dress, cake, and of course, an older man (in a wheelchair, played by Marlena’s sister). The track’s languid rhythm, rolling drums, and Marlena’s tender delivery give the song th aura of a confession from a friend, including self-deprecating moments detectable in both the lyrics and the video. The title stands out as the pinnacle of an outburst outlined through the song’s crescendo, a realization that each aging year brings an opportunity to take control of one’s life. It plays to the artist’s benefit to admit her faults in the relationship, naming the specifics about exactly what makes her feel the way she does. – Susan Moon

Stream

Manhattan-based artist Austin Lesch (aka Boo Riley)’s most recent single, "Mango Garry," is a clever, mid-tempo track vaguely remenescient of Steely Dan that will send you back to that sunny era in the ’80s when you could hear quality pop rock on the radio. From the beginning, the song is packed with sophisticated songwriting twists and held together by Lesch’s smooth, made-for-radio vocals. The song opens a three-track, impeccably produced and performed EP – you can stream it below. – Susan Moon