NYC Scene Report – George Steel, Carley Ridersleeve, & Sean Henry

This week’s NYC Scene Report features George Steel announcing he’s “Not a Cowboy,” Carley Ridersleeve up to some “Bad Things,” and Sean Henry pondering the “Room in the Hall.”

* It’s remarkably difficult to pull off weird, avant-garde sh*t, and do it well, but when it happens, it’s truly mind-blowing. With that having been said, prepare to have your mind blown by the very weird, and avant-garde George Steel, and his recently released single “Not a Cowboy.”

“Not a Cowboy” is part of the story behind George Steel, which is a character created by Brooklyn-based artist Michael Quint.

“‘Not a Cowboy’ investigates how we choose to wear certain myths,” he explained in a statement, “It is also – and primarily – a song to dance to. The chorus came from the voice that became George Steel’s voice, before I really knew who he was, and so it makes sense that lyrically in ‘Not a Cowboy’ George choses to define himself by what he is not. The song spends most of its time in repetition, because it is good to dance in the negative space of who George is not, leaving room for the possibility of who we can be.”

Off the upcoming George Steel album, Desire on the Range, which is due out next Friday, “Not a Cowboy” is as addictive as it is strange, and it’s the good kind of strange. It’s the kind of strange that gave us the Eurythmics, Talking Heads, and The B-52’s.

So click play, and get to know George Steel … or at least get to know who he isn’t.

* Carley Ridersleeve has released music under a handful of different monikers over the years, and I’ve been a fan of every version of her, having featured her music here going all the way back to 2018.

Her latest endeavor is a headfirst dive into country-pop with her recently released single “Bad Things.”

On the song, Ridersleeve’s voice is superb. It’s soft, and warm, but also clearly knowledgable, and she uses just the right amount of force for what she wants to get across.

Written, produced, and engineered by Ridersleeve, and her wife, fellow artist Morgan Saint, the duo also directed the standout music video for the song.

“Bad Things” is a Top 40 radio-ready tune, so if you aren’t already on the Carley Ridersleeve bandwagon, click play, and get on board!

* Sean Henry just released a new album titled HEAD last month, the most recent single off of which is the late ‘90s alt-pop-rock feeling gem “Room in the Hall.

 Explaining the inspiration for “Room in the Hall” in a statement, Sean Henry said, “This song was written in my room in Brooklyn, which later burned down. It had a door to the hallway of the building. I move a lot, and stay in different rooms. To me, it feels like rooms have minds of their own, with their own feelings and memories. Like, is my room lonely when nobody is there?”

Musically, there’s a nice Sugar Ray vibe to “Room in the Hall.” Click play on the video, and check it out!

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