NYC Scene Report – Grace Annabella Anderson, Laveda, & Victoryland

This week’s NYC Scene Report features Grace Annabella Anderson dealing with a “Transgressor,” Laveda having a “Highway Meditation,” and Victoryland dealing with matters of the heart.

* Grace Annabella Anderson has been dealing with “Transgressor,” but she’s turned her heartbreak into a heck of a song.

Discussing the single in a statement, Anderson said, “‘Transgressor’ is winter to me. I wrote this one February, when the city was consumed by bitter, unshakable cold, and someone who had blanketed my heart had abruptly pulled away – only then did I realize the extent to which I had become attached to him. In the subsequent weeks, he became a ghost to me, haunting dimly lit street corners, dive bar windows, taxicabs, and half-conscious dreams. I mourned who I thought he was, I lamented who I wished he was, and I sought out any sort of cosmic guidance I could.”

There’s a wonderful haunting quality to “Transgressor,” the lyrics for which almost feel like they’re part of a novel, making the song a must-hear, and Grace Annabella Anderson an artist to keep an ear out for in the coming year.

* NYC-based rockers Laveda released one of the best album of the year with Love, Darla, the latest single off of which is “Highway Meditation.”

“Highway Meditation” plays with the concept of pace, starting off as slower fare before briefly exploding, then returning to its original pace, before exploding once again.

The video for “Highway Meditation” was inspired by a classic ‘90s film.

Vocalist/bassist Ali Genevich explains that when the band was finishing the song, “I was kinda obsessed with (Oliver Stone’s) Natural Born Killers – constantly envisioning scenes from the movie while we’d play through the song. It ended up becoming my analysis of the film.”

The only analysis you need of Laveda is they’re f*cking great. Click play on “Highway Meditation,” and hear for yourself.

* Victoryland, which is the avant-pop project of Brooklyn-based artist Julian McCamman, just signed to Good English Records, and is readying the release of their label debut, My Heart Is A Room With No Cameras In It.

Due out in January of 2026, the album is led by the single “No Cameras.”

McCamman describes “No Cameras” as, “A pop song about the plight of the heart to be seen and to hide at the same time. Zoom out on the house, you’re in your own mouth. Zoom out enough on the heart, and it’s in a house.”

An indie pop-rock gem with hints of ‘90s influences, “No Cameras” will make you want to focus on Victoryland.

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