NYC Scene Report – ALANI, Tōth, & Van Chamberlain

This week’s NYC Scene Report features ALANI not quite being “More Than Friends,” Tōth grabbing some “Ice Cream,” and Van Chamberlain searching for “The Right Line.”

* NYC, by way of London, singer-songwriter ALANI will be releasing her debut EP, titled Somewhere Between Saying It, on August 14th, and it’s going to be quite personal.

Describing the project in a statement, ALANI said, “It’s almost like reading your older sister’s diary, the one you weren’t supposed to open.” (I don’t have any siblings, so can someone tell me if there’s a sister’s diary you are supposed to open)

That diary will include the song “More Than Friends,” which is a beautifully melancholy tune about losing a friend due to romantic feelings growing in one party, that are either unrequited, or unrecognized.

The heartbreak that comes from losing that friend to those feelings can really be felt in ALANI’s vocals, as it’s clear “More Than Friends” is a lived experience.

Click play on the song, because even if it’s never happened to you, ALANI will have you understanding the emotion.

* Tōth, who is one half of the venerable NYC indie duo Rubblebucket, released a solo album earlier this year titled And The Voice Said, the latest single off of which is “Ice Cream.”

Not just a great song, for “Ice Cream” Tōth reached out to filmmaker Noel Paul to create a wildly original, must-see video.

Discussing the video, and Paul’s concept for it, in a statement, Tōth said, “His initial idea was to put a camera inside a cheap nylon guitar that I would eventually smash. It seemed like the video wasn’t going to happen because of how busy we both were, but when he found out I was performing in a giant church in Brooklyn Heights with an 85 person choir we seized the opportunity to turn that performance into our set, so I performed ‘Ice Cream’ as the opening song, and we had one take to get it right!”

Tōth added, “That was the first, and last, guitar I’ll ever smash (probably).”

If you’d like to see Tōth perform live – sans guitar smashing – he’ll be on the road soon with a few tour dates in August, followed by a nearly month-long run from September 30th through October 24th.

For now, check out “Ice Cream,” because it’s summer, and we could all use some!

* Van Chamberlain will be releasing their sophomore album, As Far As the Eye Can See, in September, but in the meantime, they’re searching for “The Right Line.”

“The Right Line” is the latest single from the album, and it’s a gorgeous indie rock song that stems from frontman Van’s desire to ease whatever pain his friends are experiencing.

“There was a point where it seemed like everyone around me was going through it at the same time,” he said in a statement, “I didn’t have any of the answers, but I wanted to be a positive force. This is a song about wanting to give the people around you a reason to smile.”

Van continued, adding, “It’s easy to write a song about what you’re going through. This time I wanted to write a song for everyone else.”

Honestly, how can you not love that? It’s reason enough to click play!

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