NYC Scene Report – BATYA, Lucky Chops, & more

This week’s NYC Scene Report features the dream pop of BATYA, a big, brassy, Beatles cover from Lucky Chops, a little bit of pop perfection from AJR, and some “Sympathetic Magic” from the very unique Charming Disaster.

* New York-based dream pop artist BATYA is filled with questions, the first of which can be found in the title of her new single, “What’s My Name.”

“What’s My Name” is the title track off of BATYA’s upcoming debut album, due out this spring, and she describes the breathy song, saying, “This is a track about self-discovery, being unsure of where you came from, and where you're going. I've been lost before, and every time I hear, or sing, this song it brings me back to those moments of uncertainty. Most of us experience getting lost at different times of our lives. It's a song that a 15 year old can turn on, or an 80 year old, and both relate to it in the same way.”

Check out the video for “What’s My Name,” and discover BATYA.


* Brass instruments can be cool … REALLY cool. That’s the concept behind the music of NYC band Lucky Chops.

“When I play, I want to inspire people, and show them that playing a brass instrument can be cool, and they can have a lot of fun doing it,” explains the band’s trumpeter, Joshua Gawel.

Lucky Chops have a new EP on the way, titled Walter, which is due out April 21st, and in anticipation of this they’ve released a video for their big, brassy, boisterous cover of the Beatles classic “Helter Skelter.”

Check out the clip, and get hyped to the Lucky Chops vibe.


* If you happened to be watching the Today show last week you may have caught NYC indie pop act AJR performing their latest single, “Weak.”

“Weak” has been huge for the trio from the city, as it’s racked up over 100 million streams on Spotify, and with the video AJR released for the song last month, it’s safe to say those numbers will continue to rise.

Check out the clip, which features AJR on an abandoned subway train. If you’ve seen the horror film The Midnight Meat Train you might get some flashbacks, but don’t worry, I promise there isn’t a killer in one of the cars!


* Brooklyn-based duo Charming Disaster seem as though they’d be equally at home on a vaudevillian stage, or in an indie venue in the city. Take, for example, the beautiful back and forth of their latest single, “Sympathetic Magic.”

The track features the duo of Ellia Bisker and Jeff Morris trading lines, as well as coming together for the climaxes of the song.

The twosome are reportedly inspired by gothic humor, noir storytelling, French new wave film, Americana murder ballads, and the cabaret. Yeah, that’s all in there during the five-plus minutes of “Sympathetic Magic.” Can’t imagine it? Click play, it’s a fun ride that starts here, and continues with the release of their sophomore album, Cautionary Tales, due out April 21st.


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