NYC Scene Report – LUV DOT GOV, The Vaughns, & more

This week’s NYC Scene Report features a retro video game inspired video from LUV DOT GOV, The Vaughns giving us a reason to “Shout,” Gemma’s love song to NYC, and Zr. King boarding “Ships In The Night.”

* If you grew up spending countless hours playing NES games, you’re going to love Brooklyn-based indie rock band LUV DOT GOV’s video for their latest single, “Helsinki.”

In a Super Mario Bros-like world, the band is on a mission to defeat Satan. This includes navigating treacherous traps, discovering special abilities, and, of course, rocking out.

The clip was written and animated by LUV DOT GOV’s own Patrick Fischer (keyboard/synth), and the song is off the band’s debut album, At Least We’ve Got This Madness, which was released last year.

Check out the video, and watch out, because at times the floor is literally lava!


* New Jersey-based indie-rockers The Vaughns have released a fantastic new single titled “Shout.”

Lead singer Anna Lies discussed the song in a statement, saying, “‘Shout' is this last-ditch effort of declaring love, and attempt to keep someone’s attention before moving on. Glued together by a pronounced chorus and bright guitars – I think it showcases some of Dave’s tastiest guitar work yet – we’re all really happy with how it turned out.”

“Shout” is off the band's full length debut, FOMO, which was released earlier this month, and you can check out the colorful video for the song right here.


* Brooklyn-based indie soul-pop duo Gemma will be releasing their sophomore album, Feeling’s Not A Tempo, this Friday, May 31st, and the latest single off the project is the super groovy “’Til We Lose The Feeling.”

Gemma’s Felicia Douglass explained the song in an extended essay, part of which said, “’Til We Lose The Feeling’ is my love song to New York: A celebration, a thank you for knocking me down and lifting me up day after day. I’m fascinated by how this city is romanticized on television and the big screen, and I wanted this song to reflect that magical instance of being whisked away in it. New Yorkers take so much pride in the hustle and people latch onto the idea of this intangible pulsating energy in the air. I grew up in Manhattan and one of my favorite things is to walk miles and miles without a destination. It’s nice to take it all in and feel the city breathe.”

Check out Gemma’s ode to the city, and groove along with “’Til We Lose The Feeling.”


* NYC-based hard rockers Zr. King hope fans are ready to climb on board some “Ships In The Night.” “Ships In The Night” being the latest single off the band’s recently released full length album, Musically & Morally Bankrupt.

If you’re into a combination of grunge, and classic rock, and love kick ass guitar solos, “Ships In The Night” is going to be right up your alley (although ships wouldn’t make a lot of sense in alleys. Ah, you know what I mean.)

In their bio on Facebook the band describes themselves as “Basically: rock'n'roll, duck hunting, moonshine and speed dating,” and all I have to say is, as long as the duck hunting involves the NES Zapper, I’m in!


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