NYC Scene Report – Me Not You, Dropper, & Charles Ellsworth

This week’s NYC Scene Report features Me Not You asking do you feel the same?, Dropper singing their “Memoirs of Working in a Bowling Alley,” and Charles Ellsworth dealing with some “Trouble” on his mind.

* NYC-based indie pop duo Me Not You released an album in December of last year, and when I realized I was a solid two weeks late finding out, I kicked myself (I’m really flexible, and talented in that way). Here’s the good news – albums don’t have expiration dates.

Me Not You’s recently released full-length effort is titled do you feel the same? For the album the duo dialed back on some of the electronic elements of their previous work – although it’s still evident, and even prevalent on a few tracks – and moved in a breezier direction, with many of the songs having a lighter feel, accentuated by frontwoman Nikki Taylor, at times, embracing breathier vocals.

Check out “Creature of Habit,” which is the first song on do you feel the same? I can’t say how you’ll answer the question the album title poses after listening, but I do know you’ll feel the song, and the rest of the album, if you choose to dive into it.

* NYC-based indie rock band Dropper’s latest single is a memoir – “Memoirs of Working in a Bowling Alley.”

Off the band’s upcoming album, Don’t Talk To Me, due out February 11th, the band’s founder and frontwoman, Andrea Scanniello, explained the inspiration for the song in a statement, saying, “I’ve spent my entire adult life working in various service industry jobs, some more soul-sucking than others. One of these jobs was spraying bowling shoes at the local lanes. ‘Memoirs’ is about working these types of jobs, and how, at times, it makes you question humanity, and never want to speak to a soul ever again; that emotional drain that can only be experienced when you’re dealing with shitty drunk people night after night.”

Anyone who’s worked a job that’s involved dealing with customers will be able to relate to this one (and that should be damned near everybody). In fact, I wish this song had been out back when I was a teenager working at a local drug store, because I’d have been quietly singing the chorus on a daily basis.

* The musical journey of singer-songwriter Charles Ellsworth is a radically unique one.

Originally hailing from the White Mountains of Arizona, where he was raised on a mixture of Mormon hymns, and popular country tunes, he didn’t experience rock music until his teens. Once he heard classic, and alternative, rock he began taking guitar lessons … in the back of a local furniture store.

Moving from loading docks, to songs that document life, Ellsworth’s latest single is “Trouble,” which is off his 2021 album Honeysuckle Summer. The song starts with Ellsworth dealing with some of life’s pitfalls, and feeling a bit helpless, but the final verse comes with revelations regarding happiness, and being present.

Check out “Trouble,” and let Charles Ellsworth ease any troubles you may have.

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