Neu York New York, Neu York: August 2018

Brooklyn’s Navy Gangs make the kind of buzzing indie-rock that manages to feel both familiar and fresh. Their debut album ‘Poach’ is comforting and cosy - the three-way harmonies and contrasting vocal tones on ‘Vampire’ feel like you’re being enveloped in a group hug by the band - in a way we probably shouldn’t take for granted right now.

But ‘Poach’ is also bright and spiky. ‘Just Kidding Not’ is jangly and pretty, even as it offers the opportunity to shout out your romantic indecisions (“I fucking hate you/No, I don’t”). Opener ‘1Alone’ deals with FOMO over an arresting, sharp guitar melody, and ‘Diorama’ is fuzzy, urgent and fun. Listen to the album in full below.

Parrot Dream originally formed in Santiago but, thankfully, they later moved to Brooklyn so New York can claim them as their own. The duo - comprised of Christina Hansen Appel and Gonzalo Guerrero - are set to release their debut album, ‘Light Goes’, next week and its latest teaser marks it as one that could be in heavy rotation. ‘Cloudchaser’ is sublimely dreamy, Christina’s velvet voice gliding through Gonzalo’s intricate hooks, but also possesses shades of ominousness. As the track prepares to enter its final minutes, its synths break into arpeggios that wouldn’t sound out of place on the Stranger Things soundtrack.

‘Light Goes’ is out now.

- Congrats are due to The Muckers, who announced earlier this month they’d inked a deal with Modern Sky Entertainment - home to fellow New Yorkers Navy Gangs and Habibi. Here’s hoping that means lots of new music and shows on the horizon.

- It’s not hard to trace The Velvet Underground’s influence on NY musicians, even to this day. Artists and fans alike will be able to gain a ton more inspiration in October when exhibition The Velvet Underground Experience opens its doors. Featuring photos, films, a VR experience and musical workshops, organiser Christian Fevret has described it as “giving back to New York what New York gave to us.”

If you stumbled across Nation Of Language online, unarmed with anything over than their music, you could be forgiven for thinking you’d unearthed an unfairly forgotten gem from the UK’s ’80s post-punk scene. As their set supporting Mini Mansions proved last month, the Brooklyners are very much from the present day, even if their reference points (OMD, New Order et al) are not. Frontman Ian Devaney and synth player Aidan Noelle acted as yin and yang onstage - him gliding about the space in a shimmery shirt, her unflappably still behind her keyboard - in a way that reflected the push and pull between the taut foundations and floating melodies of their crisp, cool tunes.

During only her second show since returning from Seoul, DUVV noted she’d only recently started learning how to produce, as if she was trying to explain an incongruity between tracks from her 2017 mixtape ‘With You In Mind’ and songs from her upcoming project ‘Acid’. Except there was no glaring contrast in quality - “rager” ‘Kite In The Sky’ sounded as smooth, soulful, and accomplished as the likes of ‘Waters (Blue Screens)’, while DUVV’s rich vocals could elevate even the sparest of beats to gorgeous new heights.

You won’t find any full songs online from this lot yet (try a handful of teaser videos filled with ’80s sounding synthpop), but you might recognise one of their number as The Strokes’ drummer Fab Moretti (who appears, from the below photo at least, to be playing bass). The band is completed by former Skaters members Michael Ian Cummings and Noah Rubin.

Expect things to get very chaotic when Gnarcissists support Dead Boys at Bowery Electric. The garage-punks are set to release their debut EP in October, including relatable and scrappy ‘We All Just Wanna’, about trying to make it in the big city.

Thick’s recent EP ‘Would You Rather?’ is a burst of playful punk rock energy that matches their live shows - full on, fun, and prime for losing your shit to. This show, with an ace line-up including Big Eyes, Hurry Up, and Bad Kiss, is all ages, too.

On her latest album ‘Old Rockhounds Never Die’, Odetta Hartman makes gently warped future-folk that’s both soothing and offbeat. Makes sense, then, she’s supporting Let’s Eat Grandma here, at a show that looks set to be a celebration of music’s limitless worlds.

Palm, formerly of New York, aren’t a band who are easy to pin down, as evidenced on their latest album ‘Rock Island’. When songs feel settled, they suddenly explode, strange motifs appear in pinched tones or discordant notes, and everything veers wildly and excitingly from what you thought was really going down. Watching that be recreated live is hypnotic and engrossing; like a puzzle you can’t solve but still brings you a ton of joy.

Got a New York band you think should feature in New York, Neu York? Wing an email to [email protected].

Tags: Navy Gangs, New York, Neu York, Features, Neu