NYC Scene Report – Anna Rose, The Ritualists, & more


This week’s NYC Scene Report features an inspiring sucker punch from Anna Rose, The Ritualists picking an “Ice Flower,” States & Capitals getting all up in their “Feelings,” and Big Cheese taking on the “Filthy Rich.”

* One of my favorite badass women, Anna Rose, has released a video for her most recent single, “Sucker Puncher,” and it features a biker who is ready for a revolution – a Dance Dance Revolution.

Dean Elix Bais is the performer in the clip, which was filmed in Desert Hot Springs, California, and directed by Rose’s longtime friend, Émilie Richard-Froozan.

In a statement, Rose said of the video, “Émilie and I grew up together, dancing our asses off to any hit song we could get our hands on, singing at the top of our lungs. We wanted to make a video that felt like that. We’d go on road trips, get lost, and make videos, so this was really just an excuse for us to do what we’ve always done for the love of a song.”

Rose adds that this particular song is for all the underdogs in the world. “For me personally, the struggle to be heard in an industry where a songwriter’s work is so undervalued has almost crippled me at times, but writing this song with Justin Glasco felt like a triumph. Truthfully, this whole upcoming record is brutally honest in a lyrical sense, and this song felt incredibly cathartic in its writing and production. It’s a testament to the fight I have inside me. I’ve never been quiet, I’ve always been rebellious, I have never cowered to the industry standard, and I do not apologize for that.”

Click play on “Sucker Puncher” and get ready to dance in the desert.


* If you’ve ever worked in a office there’s a pretty good chance you’ve daydreamed about having a cage match with someone you work with, possibly even your boss (hey, don’t act like I’m the only one). NYC-based rockers The Ritualists took this idea and ran with it for the video for their song “Ice Flower.”

“Ice Flower” is off the group’s recently released debut album, Painted People, which frontman Christian Dryden discussed in a statement, saying, “With this record I've specifically tried to be anthemic. I've always loved going to shows where immediately after the performance, and even in the ensuing days after, you just can't help but remember, and sing, the songs you've just heard. It’s almost like a higher form of communication.”

Speaking of that higher form of communication, The Ritualists will be hitting the stage at Berlin Under A in NYC on August 24th, and at O'Brien’s in Boston on September 26th. Please leave your cage fighting at the office!


* New Jersey-based pop-rockers States & Capitals recently released their debut album, The Feelings, and it’s the culmination of an entire life dedicated to music for 22-year old frontman Richie Arthur.

Richie was enrolled at the School of Rock in his home state at the age of seven, and notes, “Once I developed to writing and really focusing on the artistry, I found myself falling in love with the songwriting side of music rather than specific genres or groups – anything (John) Mayer touches, Martin Johnson, Alex Gaskarth, really paved the way to where I’m at now.”

Where he’s at now can be heard on States & Capitals’ latest single, “Feelings,” which he says, “(is) about accepting somebody who may not know how to react on or in a relationship quite yet, and trying to help guide that person through a brand new world of emotions.”

Check out the song, and get in your “Feelings” with States & Capitals.


* Brooklyn-based grunge rock band Big Cheese decided to attempt to embody their name with their latest single, “Filthy Rich.” In this case, being the big cheese wasn’t all that it’s cracked up to be.

In a statement, the band described the song, saying, “It’s the internal dialogue of some filthy rich guy who thinks he’s king of the world because he wears the biggest suit,” adding, “We just sat down to write a song about some totally oblivious rich idiot who hides behind money, and validation from others. If it fits the political landscape, that was an accident.”

“Filthy Rich” is off Big Cheese’s upcoming album, Wild To Be Born due out September 13th, and you can listen to the single right here.


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

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