NYC Scene Report – Bunny X, Pageant Girls, & Jake Palumbo

This week’s NYC Scene Report features Bunny X taking us back to the ‘80s with “Back To You,” a Pageant Girls song that will make you “Eat Your Heart Out,” and Jake Palumbo being armed and ready with “Soy Boy With a Gun.”

* NYC-based synthwave / Italo disco duo Bunny X have quickly become one of my favorite time machines in all of music. Whenever I listen to their songs, which are filled with warm synths, and retro vibes, I feel like I’ve been taken back to the ‘80s.

If you’re like me, and you’re into that kind of musical time travel, check out the video for Bunny X’s latest single, “Back To You.” The song is off their Young & In Love LP – which was one of my must-hear albums of 2021 – and it’s a perfect example of the Bunny X vibe.

For more on Bunny X, check out our interview from back in October by clicking here.

* I can’t quite put my finger on what makes Pageant Girls so damned cool, which is probably exactly what makes Pageant Girls so damned cool.

After initially writing about the NYC-based foursome back in December I subscribed to their YouTube channel. When the notification arrived that they had a new video out I immediately clicked play.

The clip is for their song “Eat Your Heart Out,” which is off their recently released album 1st. On the song, vocalist Ivy Jaff harnesses some classic alt-rock vibes mixed with the band’s modern, almost goth rock rock sound.

Click play on the video, and I think you’ll agree that these Pageant Girls have already nailed the talent portion of the competition.

* Emcee and producer Jake Palumbo had been holding a lot inside, and he let it all out on his just-released album, Plant-Based Libtard.

The latest single off the album, which was released via Palumbo’s SpaceLAB Recordings in association with Soulspazm Records, is “Soy Boy With a Gun,” and on it Palumbo takes aim at just about everything that’s been weighing on his mind.

From the passing of his mother, to the current political climate, he opens up, and opens fire, with everything coming straight from the heart.

The emotions runs deep, but you wouldn’t dare call this emo rap … unless you want a smack upside the head, which is the exact intensity of this beat.

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