NYC Scene Report – Dirty Dishes, ROMP, & more

This week’s NYC Scene Report features the retro alt-rock of Dirty Dishes, pop punk from ROMP, new wave influenced garage rock from Monograms, and an electro-pop song from Brooke Forman.

* When Brooklyn duo Dirty Dishes' new song "All of Me" begins you might wonder what on earth the weird noise is. As the shoegaze influenced vocals come in, however, and everything builds up to a noisy guitar, that original, fairly strange, sound becomes part of the backdrop of a song that harkens back to the '90s college alt-rock scene.

The twosome creating that sounds are singer/guitarist Jenny Tuite, and synth player Alex Molini. The two met when Alex puked on Jenny's shoes at a party, and offered to buy her a new pair. Instead of shopping for new shoes, they formed a band. Judging by "All of Me," I'd say things turned out pretty alright.


* New Jersey based pop-punk act ROMP have appeared in this column before, and with their album, Departure From Venus, due out March 4th via Bad Timing Records, it’s the perfect time to feature them again.

The album cut I’m loving the most from Departure From Venus is “Avoiding Boys.” It’s the kind of song that can influence you to have “a great fucking day” no matter how you’re feeling. In fact, if you’re having a meh day, double down on “Avoiding Boys” and play it twice. Trust me on this one.


* Staying in rock, but moving to a band with more new wave influences, up next is Brooklyn’s Monograms. Monograms released their Downer EP last month, the second single off of which is “Something,” a song with a garage rock vibe that you could easily imagine being the soundtrack to reckless youth.

So whether you’re rocking out at a basement party, or speeding down the highway, “Something” has the something you need. Click play, and crank it up.


* Indie electro-pop artist Brooke Forman is going to see the world thanks to her music. She’s already performed in Southeast Asia, and has an international tour planned for the spring. What should the world expect from the NYC based singer-songwriter? Something that roars, as Forman’s debut EP, due out later this month, has her in the role of a Lioness.

The title track of Lioness is a radio ready pop song that seeks to inspire, and the video features Forman having a jam packed 24 hours. Check it out, and join her for quite the interesting ride.


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