NYC Scene Report – Activity, Kendra Morris, & The Slim Kings

This week’s NYC Scene Report features Activity with some “Heavy Breathing,” Kendra Morris with a crush she wants to call, and The Slim Kings with a soulful reminder to slow down.

* Brooklyn-based band Activity released their latest album, A Thousand Years In Another Way, earlier this month via Western Vinyl, and the latest single from it may induce some “Heavy Breathing.”

Discussing the ‘80s synth-pop-rock influenced song in a statement, the band’s Travis Johnson said of “Heavy Breathing,” “The song started off as this very quiet somber lullaby type thing until a friend suggested we ‘go Duran Duran’ with it. Not sure we pulled that off whatsoever, but what it turned into felt right. I don’t really want to get into what the song is actually about, so I’ll just say it’s to do with wishing things had been better for someone than they were.”

Check out the stop-motion video for “Heavy Breathing,” which was directed by Yasmeen Night, and is wonderfully creative, and cool.

* Longtime column favorite Kendra Morris has a crush, and she’s wondering what would happen if she picked up the phone and dialed that crush’s number on her latest single, “If I Called You.”

“I am the ultimate daydreamer,” Kendra said while discussing the song in a statement, “Whenever I’ve had a crush on someone, I welcomed the emotions that go with it. To create a world in my head of all the possibilities with a person that doesn’t even know who I am … it can be the most fun.”

The soulful single is from Kendra’s upcoming album, which is due later this fall via Karma Chief Records, but you can answer her call right now by clicking play on the video for “If I Called You,” which includes a breakdancing phone handset!

Operators are standing by!

* Keeping things soulful, closing things out this week is Brooklyn-based trio The Slim Kings, who recently released a new single titled “Keep On.”

“Keep On” took a while to come together, which is apropos, as the song is a reminder to slow down. “It’s about knowing when to step back, and when to show up,” the band said in a statement, “Sometimes the best thing you can do is let the answer come on its own.”

The Slim Kings consists of three kings of the music world – Liberty DeVitto (Billy Joel’s drummer), MSB (who has over 40 sync placements), and Andy Attanasio (bassist who has worked with Black Thought) – so it should come as no surprise that “Keep On” is an absolute winner.

Click play, and get into their groove.

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