NYC Scene Report – Anamanaguchi, Maiya Blaney, & Jess Yaffa

This week’s NYC Scene Report features Anamanaguchi with a song of thanks, Maiya Blaney writing something for her younger self, and Jess Yaffa singing about the suburbs.

* Anamanaguchi will be releasing their third album, titled Anyway, on August 8th via Polyvinyl, and someone named “Darcie” is going to really be into it.

Who’s Darcie? Good question! Darcie is the inspiration for the band’s recently released power pop single of the same name.

“It’s a thank you song,” Anamanaguchi’s Peter Berkman said of “Darcie.” “You might have somebody in your life that makes it their business to make things better for you, and a lot of times those people go unnoticed because they’re not doing it to be noticed. It’s easy to pay attention to people that make you mad, but it’s more rewarding to hype up the people that make you happy.”

I am 100% behind hyping up those who make us happy, so click play, crank up the volume, and dedicate this one to the “Darcie” in your life.

* Maiya Blaney will be releasing her new album, A Room With A Door That Closes next Friday, June 13th, via Lex Records, and the latest single from it is the personal growth themed “Recognize Me.”

Discussing the song in a statement, Blaney said, “‘Recognize Me’ is the bedroom hairbrush anthem my 16-year-old self needed more than anything. I felt it in the moment the song came out of me, cuz that’s who it felt like was talking. (I) was very reactive in that moment, and pubescent, and allowing myself to be, allowing myself to expel myself not just from my situation, but from myself, in order to make room for the new.”

With its mixture of rock, shoegaze, and a handful of other genres, “Recognize Me” has moments where it’s beautifully melodic, but also packs a powerful punch.

Personal growth never sounded so good.

* The burbs. Not just a Tom Hanks movie from the ‘80s, or a town outside of a major city, the burbs are also a bit of a world of their own. They’re a world NYC-based Jess Yaffa wrestles with on her latest single, “Suburban Dystopia.”

An indie soul jam, Yaffa explained the inspiration for it in a statement, saying, “‘Suburban Dystopia’ is a reflection on the love-hate relationship that I have with the suburbs. There are so many things that I love about it, but sometimes you need to spread your wings.”

“Suburban Dystopia” is off Yaffa’s just released debut album, Thoughts That Keep Me Up at Night, and with her spreading her wings with this release, it’s clear she’s about to fly high.

Give the song a spin. Whether you’re on your front porch, or your front stoop, it’s a great tune.

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