NYC Scene Report - Vomitface, Craig Greenberg, & more


This week’s edition of the NYC Scene Report features some “bruising” rock from Vomitface, the city’s newest piano man, Craig Greenberg, the always cool Jack + Eliza, and something “fishy” from Rachel Mason.

* Surfey, screamey, and noisy, are not three long lost dwarfs. Rather, they’re the perfect way to describe Jersey City/Brooklyn trio Vomitface, who are leaving a mark with their latest single, “Bruise.”

“Bruise” is off of the band's Another Bad Year EP, which was released yesterday via Boxing Clever Records. The sound of the album is an amalgamation of the band’s surf punk, noise rock, and hardcore influences.

When asked about the single “Bruise,” vocalist/guitarist Jared Micah said in statement, “Merriam-Webster defines bruise as ‘an injury involving rupture of small blood vessels and discoloration without a break in the overlying skin.’ This seems an apt metaphor for the unpleasantries we sweep under the rug; the shiners we camouflage with designer sunglasses. It may fade over time, but it's also a trauma that persists in different iterations. It’s the Snapchat of wounds.”

Click play, and get bruised by Vomitface.


* NYC singer-songwriter Craig Greenberg is the kind of guy who will let you know “That Girl is Wrong for You.” “That Girl is Wrong for You” being the title of the lead single off of his upcoming album, The Grand Loss & Legacy, due out May 15th.

A piano man at heart, The Grand Loss & Legacy features Greenberg on a vast array of instruments, from the aforementioned piano, various keyboards, acoustic and electric guitars, and percussion.

The album’s inspiration comes from the loss of a loved one, as Greenberg explained in a statement, “I lost my mom last year, while I was finishing up the record, and while it’s been a very difficult time, I was fortunate a short while after she passed, in reflecting on her life and looking for the positive, to realize the parts of who she was that are in me, and that I now feel obliged to embrace and carry forward with me in my life, hence the ‘legacy.’ I liked having the word ‘Grand’ in there, as well, for several reasons. First my mom was larger than life in some ways, and I thought the classic use of the word (from the 1920s) applied to how she lived. Also, I live off of Grand Street in Brooklyn, and made the record very close by.”

Check out “That Girl is Wrong for You,” and get right with Craig Greenberg.


* How many times have I written about NYC duo Jack + Eliza? Let's just go with "a lot." The reason they've frequented this column is because sonically they have just the right mix of classic cool, and current indie pop.

Jack + Eliza's music can cross generations, and with that music they’re about to cross the globe, as tomorrow the duo will embark on a world tour that begins in the UK, and wraps up in North America.

The twosome will be performing music off of their upcoming debut album, Gentle Warnings, which is due out June 9th on Yebo Music. The latest single from the album is "Oh No," and I have it for you right here.


* Many albums have a storytelling element that runs through them, but very few have a story quite as intriguing as the one NYC artist Rachel Mason explores on The Lives of Hamilton Fish, which is due out May 15th, and is the soundtrack to her feature film of the same name.

The songs tell the story of two men named Hamilton Fish who died on the same day, a true coincidence that Mason randomly happened upon. One Hamilton Fish was a serial killer, while the other was a politician from one of the country's oldest political dynasties.

On the film end of things, The Lives of Hamilton Fish, which has been shown around the world, and taken home awards, features Mason as a newspaper editor who creates a fantasy out of the two men’s lives.

While the album will be out in a few days, the next showings of the film will be at LACMA on June 23rd, and at Joe's Pub in NYC on July 26th. You can check out a promo for the film, and the album, right here.


For more of the best of NYC’s indie music scene, come back next Wednesday, and check out the archives for previous columns.


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