NYC Scene Report – Record Heat, Hannah Gill, & Jake Palumbo

This week’s NYC Scene Report features Record Heat singing about “Nathan,” Hannah Gill with a tale of being “Lost In Love,” and not one, but two new songs from Jake Palumbo.

* The summer may be in our collective rearview mirror, but this column is about to experience some Record Heat – Record Heat being the Brooklyn-based alt-pop band that was formerly known as Spirit Animal.

The latest from Record Heat is the crank-it-up-to-eleven single “Nathan.”

Explaining the inspiration for the song, the band says, “This one’s about the business, the bastards, the brutality. Hundreds of shows, a quarter mil of merch, and still a hundred thousand in debt. With ‘Nathan’ we tried to make it make sense.”

My prediction – “Nathan” is going to lead to something for Record Heat, because it’s an absolute gem.

* I’m not sure how many times I’ve waxed poetically about Hannah Gill’s incredible voice, but let’s just say she’s no stranger to this column. Her latest single is “Lost In Love,” and the video for it stars a couple of mice.

That’s not a typo, the video for “Lost In Love” features a tale of two field mice in love.

The song is off of Gill’s Songs From Quarantine EP, and you can check out the video, which was conceptualized and directed by the artist herself, right here.

* It comes as no surprise that Jake Plaumbo has stayed busy during the pandemic. The emcee, producer, and SpaceLAB Recordings owner is one of the hardest working people in all of independent music.

His latest release is a double shot – “Country Boy, City Kid” with “Exit Stage Left.”

Palumbo discussed the two songs, which are off his next project, Plant-Based Libtard, saying, “The A-side, ‘Country Boy, City Kid,’ is a humorous, upbeat, and lewd anthem with the type of social commentary cleverly snuck into the hedonism you’ve come to expect from the kid, haha. The B-side, ‘Exit Stage Left,’ takes a darker, more serious tone, addressing everything from mental and physical health issues, to drug addiction claiming a friend, to social media irresponsibility, to proudly wearing my position as a guest in hip-hop on my sleeve.”

Check out the video, which features both songs, and was directed by Palumbo himself.

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