NYC Scene Report – VISTA, The Living Strange, & more

This week’s NYC Scene Report features VISTA rocking out in the face of a “Witch Hunt,” alt-rockers The Living Strange getting a “New Pet,” hip-hop artists MC Eleven and We Are The Karma Kids having a “Sunday Fun-day,” and pop artist Liz Asaro holding out hope for “All The Good People.”

* Long Island-based rock outfit VISTA have spent the better part of the past year on the road, including dates on this year’s Warped Tour. Somehow, they’ve also found the time to release a new single, titled “Witch Hunt,” that’s blown up on Spotify and now has an official video.

The clip features Hope Vista and crew rocking out, with the band’s trademark \/ /\ lighting as part of the backdrop.

The song is incredibly addictive. There’s a chance it will get stuck in your head after just one listen, but don’t worry, “Witch Hunt” is the kind of song you want stuck in your head.

If you’ve been on the hunt for great rock music, VISTA has some for you right here.


* Brooklyn-based alt-rockers The Living Strange have released a wild video for their latest single, “New Pet.”

In a statement, the band’s frontman, Elijah Sokolow, explained the clip, saying, “‘New Pet’ is like a rhinoceros in the hot sun charging for a bountiful patch of grass while simultaneously running from all of its past traumas. Since we couldn’t afford to pay a rhino for the music video, we settled on used car parts we found on the street instead. It's all about perspective, and how that can shape someone’s reality, or at the least, what they think their reality is.”

“New Pet” is off of The Living Strange’s full length debut album, Gunk, which will be released on August 17th. Check out the video, and let them alter your perspective on reality.
  

* If you’ve ever thought the phrase “Sunday Fun-day” needed an indie hip-hop anthem – and if you know me you know I’d be one of those people – Brooklyn’s MC Eleven and Queens natives We Are The Karma Kids (Duncecap and Gruff Lion) have created that anthem with their song “Sunday Fun-day.”

The song is off of MC Eleven and We Are The Karma Kids’ collaborative album Kombinations, which was released back in 2016, but the video for “Sunday Fun-day” was just released a handful of weeks ago.

The clip was shot entirely in Hi-8 Super-VHS format with an added fish-eye lens, and you can check it out right here.


* NYC-based pop artist Liz Asaro has released a new single, and with it she’s speaking to “All The Good People.”

The inspiration for “All The Good People” came from Asaro becoming involved in a political debate on social media, and immediately noticing no one was willing to consider any point of view other than their own.

Co-written with Demitri Tikovoi, and recorded in London, musically the song is the result of Asaro experimenting in the studio to find the right mix of real instrumentation and electronic and percussive elements.

Check out the result of those experiments, as Asaro holds out hope for “All The Good People.”


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