Behind the Lost Boy ? moniker, Brooklyn-based rocker/guitarist Davey Jones draws a character from tales of the late ‘60s through the early ‘90s in Lower Manhattan and Downtown LA. Inspired by memoirs, literature, and music from this era, Lost Boy ? tells the story from this retro vantage point exploring the trials, tribulations, and sounds of the Sex, Drugs, & Rock N Roll era. Today, he’s back with a new record titled Paranoid Fiction.

Once a month, National Sawdust puts on “The Revolution,” a  performance series showcasing Brooklyn & Harlem artists as a means of empowering and invigorating the local music and arts scene. Each month, three innovative and emerging artists from different genres get to showcase and share their work in a space that fosters connection, healing, and revolution. Sponsored by the Deli, Revolution Vol. 33 will take this place this upcoming Saturday featuring Addison Frei, Ryan Peter Scott, and Samira Gibson. 

Based out of New York by way of South Carolina, Samira Gibson taps into a haunting groove in her experimental neo-soul. Wielding her rich, powerful vocals like a knife, Gibson cuts through the noise and lets her words shine in her latest release, “Mona Lisa Remix.” The young singer has an impressive repertoire, having performed background vocals for heavyweights like Mary J Blige, Vic Mensa, and Elle Varner.

Ryan Peter Scott looks for answers to life’s greatest conundrums in his particular style of smokey, guitar-based blues. His introspections are highlighted on his latest record, Smoke & Licorice, which focuses on the journey of a young man searching for his own voice and autonomy. In a blend of funk, jazz, avant garde, and 70s rock, Scott creates a sound that feels familiar but innovative, as he flexes his prodigious guitar skills in his music.

Pianist, composer, and producer Addison Frei writes socially conscious and compositionally complex neo-jazz. He’s currently studying at Julliard, and working on a digital EP called Future Speak that explores today’s political climate through spoken verse, acoustic improvisation, and components of electronica amongst his piano compositions. 

Listen to the playlist below:

Chloe Lilac’s coined ‘bedroom pop’ has torn through the NYC scene with the release her latest single, “Summer,” released October 24 with an accompanying music video. Her reach, however, has not stopped there, as this new track has already accumulated over 800K streams on Spotify, gaining widespread critical acclaim in the process. This solo artist debuted her lighthearted sound with a series of three self-released singles—the first of which, “Reckless,” immediately catching industry attention with its rapid ascent to the top of pop charts. Rooted in nuanced coming-of-age themes, her carefree style brightly captures the liberated feeling of being young. Her newest 90s-inspired music video tugs at latent memories of summertime during youth, showcasing an image of reality that is tinted by wistful nostalgia. Lilac’s spirited lyrics and nonchalant sound merge to create an explosion of feel-good dream pop. Stream Chloe Lilac’s latest music video, and catch her performing “Summer” live at Mercury Lounge on December 6 with NYC-based rock group, Demi. 

If the debut album Million Movies by San Francisco’s husband and wife duo Love Jerks had come out about 40 years ago, it’s likely that they would’ve been tapped for the Rocky Horror Picture Show soundtrack. The album is unlike anything else, combining over-the-top emotion with corn-syrup-sweetened lyrics and a delivery so ironic that it becomes serious. Teeny-boppers face doomsday on the high-speed track "Apocalyptic Make-Out," featuring the tongue-in-cheek chorus of "Oh owww. Squeezing these. Kissing that." Love-birds spin "round & round" on "Gold Sparkle," the perfect prom song for the hopelessly and embarassingly smitten. The self-titled track begins with Bryan declaring "You’ve got some fangs, but it don’t get me upset / I’ll bring the blood, if you bring the turtleneck." On this album, love is weird. It’s fanatic, fleeting, fabulous. And, most of all, it’s grand. Because what could be better than two love jerks finding each other and forgetting the rest? Get a little closer to synth-pop heaven and stream Million Movies below and keep an eye out for the Love Jerks’ next live show. – Lilly Milman

“Can you forgive yourself for turning your back in fear? Do you understand your friends when they decide to stay at home?”

These are some of the questions Brooklyn singer-songwriter Pearla asks on her recent single, “Forgive Yourself,” a track filled with inquiries that are so disconcerting and difficult to answer that it’s hard to tell if they are experiments in self-examination or merely rhetorical. Regardless, there’s a remarkable amount of introspection evoked over the course of “Forgive Yourself’s” three sparse minutes, all building to an explosive end of featherweight vocal harmonies and thunderous electronic noise. Pearla’s sound is mellifluous and engrossing, but her music resonates so strongly from the sense of unease in what she asks of us as listeners – to take a good hard look at our lives, and ask for forgiveness. It’s a task easier sung than done.

Pearla will play Zone One at Elsewhere on November 28th, supporting Ritual Talk and Stello. Ahead of the show, stream her newest release Forgive Yourself, Pumpkin below. -Connor Beckett McInerney (@b_ck_tt) Photo by Josh Katz

A consistent New York sound pervades the entirety of For The Rest To Rest, the newest release by Brooklyn trio Veda Rays; it’s one that reads like a sly nod to records like Room On Fire and Antics and a continuation of the very same raucous hellraising indie that characterizes the Big Apple’s sonic aesthetic. That isn’t to say that Veda Rays don’t have some tricks of their own up their sleeves – Rest’s eleven songs provide a fresh take on driving, guitar-based post-new wave through fuzzed-out production and subtle synth parts, bringing an additional depth to their tracks that fills the entire record with a sound that’s simultaneously dark and dreamy. In doing so, Veda Rays solidify themselves as expert purveyors of indie, pushing NYC’s sound in a direction that develops the city’s sonic traditions while quoting them.

You can catch Veda Rays at The Footlight on November 17th alongside Little Hustle, Gracie Mansion and Le Guin. Until then, stream For The Rest To Rest below. -Connor Beckett McInerney (@b_ck_tt), Photo by Lydia Gammill

Sister Sparrow embodies a new type of femme fatale in her new video “Ghost” – not one of a last century Bond girl, but of a 21st century woman who knows her worth, and better yet, the tools at her disposal.

Sparrow sings over the track’s chorus that she’s “gonna give you the ghost,” referring to the act of severing communication entirely with a (now former) romantic partner; this ear worm refrain is further accented in the music video by an entourage of choreographed dancers clad in black, body rolling at the costume party while the aforementioned scorned lover searches the room for Sister Sparrow as she evades him through the crowd. As the scene concludes, Sparrow’s ex-bae turns around to find the party has disappeared entirely, transitioning the subject matter from figurative to literal in a Gone Girl-by-way-of-Sixth Sense twist – fittingly spooky for the video’s release on Halloween earlier this week.

The whole production is a fun, wordplay-laden track that juxtaposes themes of modern dating with the idea of actual spirits, accented by the track’s upbeat style and playful instrumental accents. If you’re already missing last week’s scary energy, “Ghost” provides an avenue to extend the autumnal spooks as you dance your way into November. Watch the video below, and catch Sister Sparrow at Irving Plaza December 1st. -Connor Beckett McInerney (@b_ck_tt)

There is an alluring, melancholy feel to much of New York City based trio Hotline‘s music. Throughout their recently released 10AM EP a sense of longing and sadness can be felt. “Anywhere Else” leads off with an unadorned jangly pop enhanced by smooth, ethereal vocals. Atypical chord changes emerge, creating a bridge between the primary melodic progression. The universal theme of wanting to be “anywhere else” resonates with those looking to break out of their rut and just “go.” Angular, flowing arpeggios and busy snare drum rolls create the shifting undercurrent on “One Of Us”. However, more structured chords establish an instrumental break between verses, where a songs chorus frequently resides. Adding an extended over two minute open note instrumental coda sees the band dipping into early Sonic Youth territory. “Black Sequins” floats like a whimsical ride on some distant lazy river. Final cut “Soda Lime” moves with pace and purpose, capturing the thematic yearning running through the entire record. Hotline have two shows coming up, playing Alphaville on 11/12 with Wolf Diamond and Hygieia and then on 12/2 at Secret Project Robot. – Dave Cromwell

In August, Eyes of Love put out their highly anticipated debut LP, End of The Game. Helmed by Brooklyn songwriter Andrea Schiavelli, EoL is a true meeting of the minds that brings together some of the New York underground’s most innovative musicians including Lily Konigsberg (Palberta, Lily and Horn Horse), Sammy Weissberg (The Cradle, Sweet Baby Jesus), and Paco Cathcart (The Cradle, Shimmer). End of The Game is an expansive–and impressive–debut of 14 tracks ranging from breezy pop to lush orchestral arrangements. Schiavelli’s vocals find the ability to make any turn of phrase sound instantly classic and accessible, reminiscent of the Magnetic Fields. Be sure to give their excellent album a listen below, and catch the band live this friday when they’ll be playing alongside Straw Pipes, Sieve, and Inspect Element in a show put on by WNYU radio. – Sara Nuta

New York psych-rock revivalist LUKKA lets dynamic range form the backbone of her upcoming debut, ENCOUNTER, her understated vocal performance emerging as if from an antique telephone against bombastic, interwoven guitars and a punching percussive backbeat. It’s a spot-on choice in terms of production, as it fills the entirety of the LP with a sense of wandering space, evocative of both psych pioneers like The Zombies and contemporaries such as POND and Tame Impala. Careful to not lose the forest through the trees, however, ENCOUNTER never gets too spacey, tunneling forward with explosive sunburnt energy on tracks like “Life Is Like On TV” and recently dropped single, “Blackhole Fusion,” finding the perfect balance between stillness and motion that channels psych’s colorful past in the fashion of contemporary, energetic alternative rock.

You can catch LUKKA’s technicolor soundscape at Pianos on November 16th. Until then, stream single “Blackhole Fusion” below. – Connor Beckett McInerney (@b_ck_tt)

The Rassle caught our ear back in 2011, when the two-piece was performing around Brooklyn and garnering attention for their excellent live shows and hybrid psych-noise-pop sound. We had lost hope to see a full-length release, but the indie rock duo–made up of brothers Blair and Reed Van Nort–is finally ready to deliver debut album Roll On.

The Rassle’s edgier sonic qualities are leveled out by their indie rock sensibility, mixing softer psych-inspired melodies with solidly catchy songwriting chops. It’s all topped off with a slick mastering and mixing sheen that makes for an effortlessly great rock record.The 9 tracks on this record gleam thanks to shiny production from John O’Mahony, but still manage to keep the band’s charming ramshackle sound intact. With everything from stadium anthems to hooky sing along choruses, there’s something for everyone on Roll On. Listen below and don’t miss this band live when you get the chance. – Sara Nuta

Back in February, Miles Arntzen a.k.a Miles Francis put out his debut solo EP Swimmers. Today he’s continuing to make waves with the release of new single and music video entitled “Sophomore Slump.”  Francis, who also played drums in Antibalas, is an NYC-based multi-instrumentalist and songwriter who crafts organic, off-kilter pop. Directed by Charles Billot, the accompanying visuals for “Sophomore Slump” find Francis maneuvering dark corridors and bright balloons, surrounded by masked figures in feather boas dancing alongside the song’s jittery melody. Here’s what he had to say on the video’s genesis, “The video is basically a dark funhouse version of my mind. The clutter, the calm; childhood, adulthood; confidence, insecurity – it’s all in there, and I’m surveying all of it.” Watch below! – Sara Nuta