NYC Scene Report – L’FREAQ, TMBOY, & more

This week’s NYC Scene Report features a view of dark synth-pop artist L’FREAQ in the “Moonlight,” electronic avant-pop duo TMBOY putting things into “Focus,” singer-songwriter Rue Snider’s “Experiment In Love,” and Van Bellman rocking our socks off.

* Certain songs immediately grab your attention, and “Moonlight,” by NYC-based dark synth-pop artist L’FREAQ, is one of those songs.

Her breathy vocals, combined with the slower, almost downtempo, synths make for a powerful one-two punch that’s downright captivating.

“Moonlight” is off of L’FREAQ’s upcoming EP, Weird Awakenings, and if the rest of the EP is anything like the single, it will be one wake up call that will be a pleasure to receive.

L’FREAQ is planning a Fall tour in support of Weird Awakenings, but you can open your eyes, and ears, to “Moonlight” right now.


* Brooklyn-based electronic avant-pop duo TMBOY are putting things into “Focus” with their latest single.

Sarah Aument, who is one half of TMBOY, with Will Shore being the other half, says of “Focus,” “This song is super personal. It’s about my childhood and feeling like I was very different from my siblings. I spent a lot of time trying to push down the things that made me different from them, for about a decade or so, until everything exploded out of me. ‘Focus’ is really about that process, and also forgiving myself for trying to redirect, or control, who I was.”

Musically, she says, “The song started with a simple cowbell sample that Will made, and it had this steady propulsion to it that immediately made me visualize water rushing towards me like some inevitable pressure bursting forth. That sample actually dictated the key of the song while also setting the tone for the lyrics.”

Check out the stunning black and white music video for the song, and get into “Focus” with TMBOY.


* The end of a romantic relationship is never a simple thing, and Brooklyn-based singer-songwriter Rue Snider’s latest single, “Experiment In Love,” tackles this reality.

“Lost love and heartbreak sometimes lead to obsession, which can fester like a wound,” he says of the inspiration for “Experiment In Love,” and the accompanying music video, “That’s something we often keep private, even from people closest to us, but the pain and the creeping darkness are real. Unchecked, they can become very powerful forces in a person’s life. The video attempts to make that internal struggle external, and show a person unraveling, and giving in to the sadness.”

“Experiment In Love” is the second single off Snider’s forthcoming album, City Living, and you can check out the video right here.


* Are you ready to rock? No, really … are you? You are? Good, because Van Bellman – which is the brainchild of Brooklyn-based musician Zac Taylor – has released his debut single, “I Hate To You See This Way,” and it has the ability to rock your socks off.

The theme of “I Hate To See You This Way” is the pain of watching someone you love self-destruct, and not being able to help them, and from the opening salvo your emotional level will be anywhere from “aggressive head nodding” to “flipping over your desk” (If it turns out to be the latter, Adam’s World, and the NYC Scene Report, will not be held responsible … but we will party with you).

Click play and 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.