NYC Scene Report – Tōth, Ringing, & Sanford:

This week’s NYC Scene Report features Tōth declaring he’s “Easy,” Ringing readying another cycle in the cosmic wash, and Sanford: (the colon is in his name) being “Hooked on a Dream.”

* You have to love when a song has an interesting story behind it, and that’s the case with the latest from Tōth, which is titled “Easy,” the recording of which generated genuine concern.

“When I was recording this in my apartment,” Tōth says, “and screaming, ‘I’m easy’ at the top of my lungs, my neighbor knocked on the door to make sure I was OK.”

“Easy,” which is about overcoming self-hatred, is from Tōth's upcoming album, And The Voice Said, which is due out February 27th via Egghunt, and Northern Spy Records. The song, however, nearly ended up left off the track listing. Tōth explains, “It almost didn’t make the record, but (the album’s co-producer) Caroline (Rose) was like, ‘Are you kidding me, this HAS to be on the album!’”

It was a nice save by Rose, because “Easy” is a top notch tune.

* Brooklyn band Ringing will be releasing their debut album, another cycle in the cosmic wash, on March 20th via Julia’s War Recordings, and Signal//Noise Records, and it’s led by the very heavy single “incandescent.”

The band’s frontman Colton Walker explained the inspiration for the song in a statement, saying, “This song is about admitting that you aren’t happy with the way you’re living your life,” adding “It’s not an easy thing to confront, but it’s a necessary first step.”

Whether or not you’re happy with your current path in life, if you’re looking for some rock that has grunge influences, and can potentially blow your speakers out, you’ll be happy with “incandescent.”

* Brooklyn, by way of South Carolina, singer-songwriter Sanford: is “Hooked on a Dream,” and part of that dream has to do with the city.

Off his upcoming third album, Big Tent Revival, due out this Friday, Sanford: describes “Hooked on a Dream” saying, “It takes the mid-late 2000’s East Village, where I spent a lot of time after moving into the city, and uses it as a setting, or person, or time, nostalgia, all up for interpretation to the listener.”

Ultimately, he says it’s “about a past that is no longer there.”

With how quickly the city changes, and our lives change, it’s a timeless sentiment, and we are always allowed to think about the past, and be reminded of a time we were “Hooked on a Dream.”

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