NYC Scene Report – Yo Kinky, Lenii w/ Callie Reiff, & JMNOP

This week’s NYC Scene Report features Yo Kinky feeling some “Resistance," Lenii teaming up with Callie Reiff for a rebellious anthem, and the long-awaited solo album from O.I.S.D.’s JMNOP.

* When it comes to Queens indie pop-rock duo Yo Kinky, it was love at first listen when I heard their debut single, “Someone I Used To Know,” back in late November. Their recently released follow up single is equally impossible to resist, despite the title of the song being “Resistance.”

With a Yeah Yeah Yeahs meets synth pop-rock sound, “Resistance” is so damned good it’s legitimately surprising that this is just the second offering from the Yo Kinky duo of Laura Wight and Tom Unish.

I can’t wait until live music is back, and I’ll be able hear them perform this song live, as this is the type of vibe I want to exist in.

* NYC, by way of Ireland, indie alt-pop artist Lenii has become a favorite around here, and she recently released a killer remix of her song “The Kids Are All Rebels.”

“The Kids Are All Rebels 2.0” sees Lenii teaming up with fellow NYC-based artist Callie Reiff, and the result is a fantastic, thumping, anthem that’s for, as the opening line of the song states, “A generation of rebels with too many causes,” the “too many causes” being a reference to how many messed up things are going on in the world that need to be addressed.

Lenii is a force to be reckoned with, and I have a feeling she’s just getting started.

* O.I.S.D. emcee JMNOP was first featured on this site way back in 2009. At the time, he was ripping up stages throughout NYC, always being one of the artists you’d go home talking about as one of the most memorable acts of the night, no matter how many other people performed (if you know indie hip-hop shows, you know that could be a lot of artists).

At the very end of 2020 JMNOP finally released his full-length solo debut, The Longing. Perhaps he was longing to release this project, or perhaps he knew fans were longing to hear it, whatever the case may be, The Longing was worth the wait.

You can tell JMNOP put his heart and soul into this effort, and I can’t wait until venues are open again, so he can crush some live performances of these songs.

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