NYC Scene Report - Fireships, Peru, & more

This week’s NYC Scene Report features a colorful clip from Fireships, a happy tune from Peru (the band, not the entire country), a life-defining video from Small Black, and some 90s inspired R&B from BOYSLASHFRIEND.

* If you're looking to add a little color to your life, Fireships has a whole bunch to throw in your face. Well, technically they throw it in their own faces, as the video for the indie pop band's latest single, "Gush," features the group using an interesting painting technique, making a gigantic mess out of a Brooklyn loft, and having a great time in the process.

"Gush" is off of Fireships' eponymous debut album, which was released this spring via End Up Records. The band's style is a mixture of pop, folk, Americana, and indie rock, and will give listeners flashbacks to earlier eras of pop-rock. The first time I listened to “Gush” I immediately thought it would fit in perfectly with a playlist that includes bands like The Cars, and The Romantics.

Give "Gush" a spin, but when it comes to the paint throwing, I'd suggest the old "don't try this at home" warning... unless you're going for a batsh*t insane look for your living room.


* Ever hear something so unbelievably happy, and joyous, it puts you in a good mood? I’m pretty sure that's the goal of Peru with their latest single, "I Need You," as the Long Island based indie soul-jazz-pop band gives listeners a declaration of dedication that's designed to get you dancing, smiling, and feeling good.

The accompanying video for "I Need You" is filled with a plethora of smile-inducing visuals, including someone doing the worm. It’s impossible to hate on the worm, which is why it’s impossible to hate on Peru.

If this song is any indication of what the band’s debut EP, Ordinary People, will sound like when it's released on December 14th, we might have something that will be able to get us to smile through the snow.


* I don't know how small Brooklyn synth pop-rock band Small Black is in physical stature, but the video for "Boys Life," which is the lead single off of their just released album, Best Blues, is something that deserves to be big. The clip features moments of a woman's life told in random order, and makes the viewer appreciate the many things that make up the always unfinished product that is each individual person in the world.

The song, and the album as a whole, is about loss. The theme comes from singer Josh Hayden Kolenik's discoveries when he went through his family's Long Island home after it had been flooded by Hurricane Sandy. The photo on the album's cover comes directly from that search.

Small Black is currently on tour, and will continue to be throughout the fall, and you can check out "Boys Life" right here.


* The 90s were a fantastic time for R&B. NYC's BOYSLASHFRIEND knows this, and embraces the style of 90s R&B, while mixing it with modern dance music. The result is a sound with one foot in the past, and one foot in the present, that pretty much everyone can get into.

BOYSLASHFRIEND's latest single is "Textures." The song is off of his recently released debut album, Low Key, and the video for it, which was shot in NYC, features models Lindsey Wixson, and Maria Sivakova, as well as producer Mess Kid, and of course BOYSLASHFRIEND.

On his Facebook page, BOYSLASHFRIEND describes his music, saying, "I sing songs you should sext to." After listening to "Textures," I think that's a fairly accurate statement. Check it out.


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