NYC Scene Report – herMajesty, Jeremy Bass, & more

This week’s NYC Scene Report features indie rockers herMajesty feeling “Weightless,” singer-songwriter Jeremy Bass creating some unique videos from his recent tour, a clip from indie rock artist Jeff Rosenstock that is truly smashing, and a genre-bending collaborative effort from ROOS.

* If you've frequented this site there’s no doubt you’re already familiar with the music of herMajesty. Known for their fantastic live shows, the NYC-based indie rock band recently released their latest single, titled “Weightless,” and it's a gem.

“Weightless” features herMajesty’s trademark poetic, poignant, lyrics, and musically the song sounds like R.E.M. meets David Bowie.

In short, “Weightless” is yet another reason why I consider herMajesty NYC indie rock royalty. Click play, and hear for yourself.


* Brooklyn-based singer-songwriter Jeremy Bass did something absolutely brilliant while on his most recent tour – he shot several music videos for songs off of his latest album, The Greatest Fire. These aren’t tour videos in the traditional sense, however, as they don’t chronicle the journey, instead, they utilize individual places from the journey.

The video for “We Will Be You,” for example, was filmed in Joshua Tree, Yosemite, Bodi and Dublin CA, Arizona Highway 40, Anaconda MT, Yellowstone WY, and Brooklyn, NY. The footage was masterfully put together by Annie McCain Engman, who was in charge of concept/direction, filming, and editing.

Check out the clip, and get a very unique, and very cool, view of the country via Jeremy Bass.


* I think we can all recall carefree days singing along to Limp Bizkit’s “Break Stuff.” Wait, was I the only one? Regardless, if you’ve been in the mood for being careless with fragile items, you’re going to love indie rocker Jeff Rosenstock’s video for his latest single, “Melba.”

The clip was co-directed by David Combs and Ben Epstein, and in a statement, the former explained the concept for the video, saying, “Jeff wanted to make a video featuring a character who, consequence free, carelessly destroys everything around them. The idea of such a character reminded me of how often the abuse of power is a thoughtless exercise for those who hold it, so we decided to expand on the idea and make it a commentary on how abusive patterns get replicated, where the effects are passed downward hierarchically, and the people with the least power experience the consequences most intensely. You know, also it's fun to watch people smash shit, so we tried to have a good time with that, too.”

“Melba” is off of Rosenstock’s latest album, POST-, which was released digitally on New Year’s Day, and will get a physical release on March 23rd. Check out the video, just don't get too inspired by it.


* If you're in the mood something radically unique, you’re going to want to check out ROOS. ROOS is a composer, producer, and musician based in California and New York who loves to play with genres.

The first volume of ROOS’ three volume genre bending project titled Standards was released last week, and according to a press release about the project, Standards “uses the forms of the mixtape and the playlist to create a collage of musicians, and musical styles, including gospel, country, shoegaze, R&B, jazz, soft rock, torch songs, trap music, contemporary classical, bossa nova, and free improvisation. The music evokes the emotion of classic pop songwriting with an overarching freedom toward formal experimentation.”

Kinda crazy, right? Well, we like crazy here, because crazy creates dope music, and ROOS has created some dope music with the single “In Praise of Idleness.”

Check out the video for “In Praise of Idleness,” which is a collaborative effort by artist Barbara Signer, musician Kelli Scarr, and ROOS, that ROOS describes, saying, “I am driving counter-clockwise in roundabouts, trying to turn back time, failing to make counter-clockwise pottery, in Yunnan, China, at the edge of the busiest, most populous country in the world, while Kelli Scarr watches, trying to sing along.”


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