NYC Scene Report – Renata Zeiguer, Hayes Warner, & VHS Collection

This week’s NYC Scene Report features Renata Zeiguer preparing a Picnic In The Dark, Hayes Warner roaming the city’s streets, and VHS Collection with something that unites us all.

* You know how sometimes you’ll hear a voice that’s so unique it makes you stop what you’re doing so you can just bask in the vibe? That was the case for me when I clicked play on the video for Renata Zeiguer’s retro cool song “Sunset Boulevard.”

“Sunset Boulevard” is off the Brooklyn-based artist’s upcoming album, Picnic In The Dark, which will be released on April 8th via Northern Spy, and whether you consider her vocals from another era, or outright otherworldly, the song is an absolute must-hear.

Zeiguer will be hitting the road in March for a tour that will run through early April, and after listening to “Sunset Boulevard” I can only imagine the incredible atmosphere she creates.

* You already know one of my favorite things to do here is write about fresh new artists in the scene, and this week that fresh new artist is Hayes Warner, who recently released her debut single, “Like You’re In Mine.”

The video for the indie alt-pop song features Warner roaming the city’s streets, including making her way through Chinatown, and walking down 125th street. She also moves from the streets to the water, riding the ferries of the East River.

The inspiration for the clip stems from her youth, as she explains, “Growing up, I used to love strutting around the city with my headphones on, pretending I was in a music video.”

Now that daydream is a reality, and being that Warner is armed with a great voice, I predict more of her daydreams will become realities in the years to come.

* NYC-based trio VHS Collection have a universal message with their latest single, “Survive.”

The final release ahead of their upcoming album, Night Drive, which is due out February 25th via Tiger Tone / [PIAS], “Survive” dials back the synths listeners may be accustomed to, and has a much more indie rock feel to it. Explaining the inspiration for the song in a statement, the band said, “‘Survive’ is a song about persistence, and resilience in the face of adversity, or just everyday living – what we do to manage and cope, what makes us show up and keep grinding. It’s a celebration of the process of pain, obstacle, healing, recovery, and victory. No matter how big or small, this is the human condition.”

The band continued, adding, “The song references regret, both in the actions taken, and not taken, and is a pause, and reflection on those actions. The climax of the track happens at the end, and is a sing-all, in that we all share the commonality of pain, and hardship at some point. Even the good life is a tough pill to swallow sometimes.”

A reminder that survival is a shared experience, check out the video for “Survive,” which illustrates that in our own way we all strive to survive.

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