NYC Scene Report – PRONOUN, Janet Noh, & Razor Braids

This week’s NYC Scene Report features PRONOUN not feeling like herself, Janet Noh with a song for her inner child, and Razor Braids dealing with a unique form of heartbreak.

* Brooklyn-based one woman band PRONOUN has a new EP coming out this summer, and with the latest single from it she’s admitting “i haven’t felt like me.”

‘90s adult-contemporary pop mixed with more than a hint of pop punk songwriting – think Donna Lewis meets Blink-182 – “i haven’t felt like me” is the kind of song that if it were on mainstream radio it would stay in rotation for at least half a year.

Describing the song in a statement, PRONOUN said, “I wrote this on a drive back to Brooklyn from the holiday break in winter 2023/2024. It’s about messing something up before it even started, and feeling in limbo.”

There’s no limbo for “i haven’t felt like me,” as it’s a song you’ll click play on repeatedly. Put this one in your summer playlist.

* NYC-based classical pianist and pop/R&B singer, songwriter, and producer Janet Noh has a message for her younger self with her latest single, “Oh Child.”

“‘Oh Child’ wrote itself,” she said in a statement, “It poured out of me at a time when I was parsing through my own childhood trauma, and trying to let my inner child know that she was safe, that she could accept love from others, and from herself.”

Noh continued, adding, “In working to bring this song to life I’ve gotten to collaborate with so many beautiful souls, and in collaborating with them I’ve found the exact healing that I was looking for when I first sat at that piano. I’ve started to open up my heart, and accept my scars.”

“Oh Child” was released in conjunction with Mental Health Awareness Month, and AAPI Heritage Month, and all the proceeds from the first year of its release will be donated to the Korean American Family Service Center.

Give “Oh Child” a listen. It’s as powerful as it is gorgeous.

* Indie rock trio Razor Braids will be releasing their next album, Big Wave, on June 7th, and the title track is about one of the difficult realities of adulthood – sometimes we have break ups with close friends.

Discussing the song in a statement, the band said, “‘Big Wave’ is about processing the loss of non-romantic love – friendship, family fights – and how devastating that kind of heartbreak is. It’s destabilizing, and can feel as if you’ll be carried away by it. IT’S A BIG WAVE!”

The video features the band, and a friend, comforting band member Hollye Bynum with some Coney Island fun.

It’s a beautiful video for a fantastic, deeply emotional song. My lone critique would be – for the love of God, keep your eyes on the road! (Yeah I know, when did I become everyone’s dad?)

Seriously, though, you should definitely click play on “Big Wave,” as it’s another winner from Razor Braids.

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