NYC Scene Report – Fences, BOYSLASHFRIEND, & more

This week's NYC Scene Report features singer-songwriter Fences frolicking in the woods, R&B artist BOYSLASHFRIEND teaming up with Jade <3 of Blind Benny, some '80s inspired pop/rock from Crying, and a fan made video for singer-songwriter Jaymay.

* Brooklyn-based singer-songwriter Fences is having quite the adventure in the woods in the video for his latest single, "Buffalo Feet."

Personally, I've never seen a bed in the middle of the woods until this video, but now that I think about it, that's probably the only way you could get me to go camping ever again.

"Buffalo Feet," which is a pop tinged track with a memorable chorus that you'll be happy to have stuck in your head, is off of Fences' recently-released six-song EP To The Tall Trembling Trees, and you can check out the video right here.


* NYC-based R&B artist BOYSLASHFRIEND, who’s been featured here quite a few times over the years, has completely flipped his full length debut, Low Key, with a remix album titled The Low Key Remixes. The album is available as a free download, and as a ridiculously amazing bonus, it features appearances by none other than longtime column favorite, Jade <3 of Blind Benny!

One of the remixes with Jade <3 is the Obey City and Canblaster remix of “Low Carb,” which is a dance floor ready song that will have you moving in your seat. This version of the song would also fit in nicely in a mix of early '90s R&B.


* NYC-based indie pop/rock group Crying released their debut LP, Beyond the Fleeting Gales, last month, and in their own words, it most closely resembles "’80s era Rush, when they embraced more pop."

A good example of this is the song "Revive," which starts with a boisterous '80s hard rock style intro, but clearly has pop sensibilities when it comes to the songwriting, and vocals.

Crying is currently on tour through November 5th. Sadly, they aren't hitting any venues near me, but rather than crying about missing Crying, I'll just keep spinning their music.


* People have varied definitions of what it means to be "making it" in music. If your fans are creating incredible music videos for you, I think that should definitely qualify.

This is the case for NYC-based singer-songwriter Jaymay, who recently released a fan made video for her song "Today & Tmoro" (that's not a typo, that's the title of the song). The animated clip was created by Kyle Mishler, aka Metonymity, and takes viewers on a trip down a city street.

With a chorus that includes the line, "This is life, today and tomorrow / This is life, full of strife, full of sorrow," one could say "Today & Tmoro" is a bit emo, but hey, we all get a little emo sometimes, and Jaymay's songwriting, combined with Metonymity's artwork, makes being emo sound, and look, petty darn good.


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