NYC Scene Report – Atomic Life, Cakes da Killa, & Blake Ian

This week’s NYC Scene Report features Atomic Life seeing the worst with “All in Bad Taste,” Cakes da Killa embracing being a “Black Sheep,” and Blake Ian showing what happens when “Desire” supersedes values.

* Long Island-based hard rock band Atomic Life have quickly become a favorite around here. In just the past six weeks I’ve seen them live twice, and interviewed frontwoman Adea (if you missed that, click here).

I’ve described their sound “as if Florence + The Machine fronted Velvet Revolver,” and while their previous single, “Incense & Aries” leaned heavier on the latter, their new single, “All in Bad Taste” leans heavier on the former … for the first three minutes, then it turns into a big, bold rock song.

Discussing their latest release in a statement, Adea said, “‘All in Bad Taste’ plunges into the depths of darkness. I guess it’s my twisted homage to Nietzsche’s philosophical abyss. It delves into the grotesque realm of aging, plastic beauty, and the haunting absence of divinity, painting a harrowing portrait of humanity’s darkest desires.”

Click play on “All in Bad Taste,” and show your good taste in music.

* Sometimes a song is just straight up cool, and that’s the case with the latest from Cakes da Killa, “Black Sheep.”

Melodically rapping over a track that’s part jazz, part dance, part hip-hop, the vibe is as if Digable Planets decided to they wanted to make music for 2am club goers. Alternating between smooth, and speedy, at times melding the two into something wholly unique, it’s as infectious, as it is body moving.

“Black Sheep” is off Cakes da Killa’s recently released Black Sheep + album, which is the deluxe version of his Black Sheep LP, featuring five new tracks, and new album artwork.

Click play on “Black Sheep,” and dig the effortless cool of Cakes da Killa.

* Blake Ian is at quite the party in the video for his latest single, “Desire,” but he’s the only one not having a good time. This is because both the song, and video, are about the pitfalls of following desires at the expense of one’s own values.

Sung from the perspective of a partner trying to deal with the consequences of their significant other’s actions, “Desire” isn’t an anti-fame anthem, it’s an anti-fame at any cost anthem. This seems incredibly poignant in this time of Instagram, and TikTok “celebrities,” whose main currency is “likes,” and only goal is notoriety.

Give the fantastic video for “Desire” a play. In addition to the numerous party goers, it also features quite a few dogs, and at least one cat, so you already know who I consider to be the true stars of the clip (sorry Blake. You’re cool, too.).

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