NYC Scene Report – Half Dizzy, We Are Scientists, & Tomás Doncker

This week’s NYC Scene Report features Half Dizzy requesting you “Turn This Up,” We Are Scientists looking back on their 20s with a laugh, and Tomás Doncker putting a blues spin on a heavy metal classic.

* Sometimes you just need some boisterous punk rock in your life. Thankfully, in the midst of the summer heat, Long Island-based Half Dizzy is serving up that sound with their latest single, “Turn This Up.”

Discussing the song in a statement, Half Dizzy’s guitarist/vocalist Daniel Marchelewski said, “It’s an infectious anthem about living in the moment, letting go of worries, and soaking up every bit of joy life has to offer. It’s the perfect soundtrack for sun-soaked days, late-night drives, and carefree vibes all season long.”

Released via Punkerton Records, “Turn This Up” is a nearly three minute good time, and once you click play you’ll want to fully embrace the title, and turn it all the way up.

* As we grow up we have the distinct pleasure of looking back at previous versions of ourself, and thinking – oof, what a knucklehead.

That’s part of the inspiration behind indie rock veterans We Are Scientists’ latest single “What You Want Is Gone,” which is off their upcoming album, Qualifying Miles, due out this Friday via Groenland Records.

The band’s Keith Murray says of the song, “I spent a lot of my early songwriting career celebrating the benefits of total passivity. A bunch of songs off of our first album, like ‘Nobody Move, Nobody Get Hurt,’ ‘The Great Escape,’ and ‘Inaction,’ are essentially manifestos on my overarching emotional philosophy back then, which was basically that, in life, it wasn’t really the destination, or the journey, but rather the tension just before the journey begins that was most delicious. Well, it only took me like 20 years to realize that young Keith was kind of an idiot. I mean, I guess I did know that then, too, but I was simply more willing to indulge that idiocy. Plus, I was drinking with (bassist) Chris Cain at Lit Lounge in Manhattan like six nights a week, so my decision-making skills were low. I’m still a coward, yes, and I’m still fairly risk-averse, but I now at least believe that shooting your shot while you’ve still got the chance is a laudatory move. I probably should’ve been listening to more self-help podcasts all this time.”

First off, a million points for referencing Lit Lounge, because if you’re a veteran of the scene, you’ve definitely got drunk there.

Second, click play on “What You Want Is Gone.” It’s a song that proves maturity and indie rock can be a great mix in wonderfully unexpected ways.

* Speaking of the unexpected, closing things out this week is Tomás Doncker’s blues infused take on the Motörhead classic “Ace of Spades.”

From his recently released EP Hard Is Hard, he discussed his choice in covering the song, saying, “Motörhead … Lemmy … Ace of Spades – who doesn’t love this song? I have since I first heard it many lifetimes ago. A few years back, I was in a car, and it came on the radio, and it spoke to me in a very different way than it ever had before. This was the moment when the idea of covering it popped into my head. When I read the lyrics it became clear to me what it was that was tugging at me – The Blues. I realized that Motörhead had changed the spirit of Son House, Robert Johnson, Muddy Waters, and the Delta Blues storytelling tradition, and sped it up to create one of the quintessential rock and roll anthems of all time. It became obvious that I had to sing this song. I saw myself in it.”

Click play on Doncker’s take on “Ace of Spades,” it will be one of the coolest things you hear all week.

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