Name: Adam Bernard Home: Fairfield, Connecticut, United States About Me: Entertainment journalist with 15+ years of experience. Supporter of indie music. Lover of day baseball, fringe movies, & chicken shawarma. Part time ninja. Nerdy, but awesome. See my complete profile
This week’s NYC Scene Report features a lesson in the art of the “NY Rip Off” from garage rockers BOYTOY, animated music videos from indie rockers oso oso, and Jeff Rosenstock, and grunge-pop band The Worst Humans telling us what they’re all about.
* Brooklyn-based garage rock foursome BOYTOY are currently finishing up a run of West Coast tour dates, and one thing all their West Coast fans are learning about is the concept of an “NY Rip Off.” No, this has nothing to do with ticket prices, it’s the title of the band’s latest single, and it’s about everything a creative person goes through in NYC while trying to survive.
“NY Rip Off” is featured on the band’s sophomore album, Night Leaf, which was released in April via PaperCup Music / Stolen Body / Burger Records. The band explained the inspiration for the song in a statement, saying, “‘NY Rip Off’ is a British-beat inspired song that honors the battle of New York City living,” adding, “If you get bummed every time you get ripped off, the city will spit you out. From the outside it seems twisted, but to us it's endearing because we're all getting screwed together. There's something romantic about predictability, and a swindle is never a surprise in New York. Like that Bill Withers line, ‘Just keep on using me till you use me up,’ ‘NY Rip Off’ is a sardonic love song about taking the struggle with your head up, loving every bit of it.”
Fall in love with the struggle, and BOYTOY, by clicking play on “NY Rip Off.”
* Long Island-based indie rock act oso oso have released a new two-song single, just don’t ask me to pronounce the name of it. Titled, gb/ol h/nf, the release coincides with the vinyl reissue of The Yunahon Mixtape.
gb/ol h/nf, the title track off of which features a summertime vibe, represents the first new music from oso oso since signing to Triple Crown Records earlier this year.
You can currently catch oso oso on tour with Citizen, and Queen Of Jeans, and you can see a very colorful version of his work with the video for “gb/ol h/nf,” which was animated by Joel Kirschenbaum, right here.
* We aren’t done with the animated videos yet this week, as indie rocker Jeff Rosenstock released an animated clip for his latest single “9/10,” which is off of his 2018 album POST-.
The clip, which starts sweet, and gets equal parts strange, and depraved, over the course of three and a half minutes, was created by Joren Cull.
In addition to releasing the video, Rosenstock has spent the past several months scoring Craig of the Creek, a new animated television show on Cartoon Network, and he’s currently on a tour that lasts through mid-August. In other words, he’s a busy man, and he may need a boost, just like the little guy in the video for “9/10,” which you can check out right here.
* Brooklyn-based grunge-pop band The Worst Humans are back with a revealing new single titled “What I’m All About.”
In a statement, vocalist Ian Holubiak said of the song, “If you've ever felt so bored that it infuriates you, or makes you want to die, then the thesis of this tune will resonate with you.”
Even if you’ve never felt that bored, “What I’m All About” is a heck of a great song. Vaguely reminiscent of blue album era Weezer, and with early ‘90s grunge rock inspirations throughout, if this is what The Worst Humans are all about, I can’t wait to hear more.
For more of the best of NYC’s indie music scene, come back next Wednesday, and check out the archives for previous columns.
