12.31 A wknd (wait, is it the wknd?) (where am I??) (this isn't where I parked my car!!!)
Another set of highlights from 2021
!TGIF! DO THE DAMN THING (ONE MORE TIME THIS YEAR)
Whether it feels more like a million years or approximately two seconds since we were ringing in 2021 (somehow both?!), we’ve reached its inevitable conclusion, and our whole philosophy towards the simultaneously slow/fast passing of the last 52 weeks could best and most succinctly be summed up via this Bat Kid title: “Q: What Is Time? A: Time Is Nothing.” And THUS begins the final edition of THE SETLIST for this year.
This newsletter was launched both on a whim and as a way to get back to our roots and to the original angle of this project: “a guide to Brooklyn—by bands, for everyone” or, more simply, “a guide to Brooklyn (by) bands.” So with that, we’ve come to the gratitude portion of this post and a big fat juicy shoutout to every artist who has contributed a weekend itinerary since we launched THE SETLIST this summer. It’s been quite a blast (and not just in the email sense), and we’re already looking forward to another ~52 sets of artist-approved shows, adventures and activities in 2022.
BUT FIRST! Because the idea of plans is still ~an illusion~ and we, like every other media outlet in the universe, are spending the short remainder of this year idling in sweet, sweet… semi-self-indulgent… recap mode, this week we’re serving up the second half of BdBK highlights from 2022, featuring rad music we featured on the blog over the last 12 months. And, btw, there was a lot.
We’re not huge fans of the whole this-year-sucked outlook—and not just because John Oliver jinxed us five years ago when he quite literally blew up 2016. While times may be tough, music has never been better, and the passion, talent and goddamn beautiful DIY ethos of NYC artists has never been more evident nor more obvious than in the creation and collaboration we saw go down this (and def last) year.
SO: Huge thanks to everyone who made music in 2021. We say it a lot, but it’s the biggest honor ever to be a part of this community, and we can’t wait to see what 2022 brings. Catch ya out there in the world… uh, whenever. And in the meantime, here’s some v good shit to listen to <3
[EXTRA NOTE ON THE ABSOLUTE LOSS OF A SENSE OF TIME: We sent this out with “1.31” instead of “12.31” in the headline. What a time to be alive!]
“FUCKBOYS” - STEFAN ALEXANDER
While the term itself is likely an internet creation, the “fuckboy” trope is a tale as old as time. We’re in Brooklyn. Look around. They’re real—and they’re all around you. Breathing on you at the bar, loudly buying condoms at the bodega, scoping out fancy hair products at CVS. And, of course, ALL. UP. ON. ALL. OF. THE. APPS. Don’t see a fuckboy? Statistically, YOU ARE THE FUCKBOY! And Stefan Alexander is likely falling for you. Read the post here.
“BRESLIN” - THE RIZZOS
A compilation of footage gathered over the course of nearly half a decade, the video for The Rizzos’ single is what the group describes as a “moving scrapbook” of their life together, documenting not so much time on stage or in the studio, but the behind-the-scenes band bonding and the real life lived in between. Read the post here.
BABY FACED - JESS X
File this write-up under the first (and, we promise, last) time we use the term “charcuterie board of emotions.” In her debut album, Jess X juxtaposes the tough and the tender as she rides the tonal trapeze, swinging between different styles of delivery over the course of 11 tracks that run the emotional gamut, infusing punchy punk with heart-melting ukulele moments as the artist tackles subjects ranging from sibling bonds to queer love and loathing—plus, in perfect punk fashion (“Cuz it’s my fucking life!”), the requisite middle finger to the man. Check out her track-by-track breakdown to score the stories behind the songs. Read the post here.
“EVERYBODY ELSE” - KRISTIN FLAMMIO & THE PRETTY BITCHIN’
The lead single off the debut Kristin Flammio & The Pretty Bitchin’ album If You Want to Leave, “Everybody Else” was described by KF as “an ode to staying on the hunt even when the pickings are slim. This song is sassy and a little bit of heartbreak at the same time… just how I like things.” Don’t miss any opp to catch the band live, where killer music combines with A+ banter and what just might be the best merch in Brooklyn. Read the post here.
“LOST AND LONELY” - SIK OHESO
We’ll let vocalist Shawn Mehrens of Sik Oheso go ahead and sum this one up: “’Lost and Lonely’ is actually about the lostness and loneliness of your demons (cops and piranhas in my case). This song is about how good it feels to ditch those mf’s and just go for a walk in the streetlight at the end of a long day. Kinda like remembering who you are—the unexpected thrill of feeling familiar in an unfamiliar place. In that way it’s a love song from Tokyo to New York City.” BOOM. Def couldn’t have done it better. Read the post here.
“PETER” - FETCH TIGER
The single from Brooklyn/London-based duo Fetch Tiger—purveyors of “curiously indie anecdotes”—was written to “personify the anxiety [they] both struggle with.” However, while tackling the topic of a mental-health struggle, the song feels more like a sonic shot of serotonin—the musical equivalent of swinging in a hammock or swaying comfortably in a friendly, cozy crowd on a 75-and-sunny spring day… perhaps after a glass or two of wine… and then at one point realizing that, ah shit, you’re kind of crying a little bit now, aren’t you? (But, ya know, in a good way.) Read the post here.
“HUNGAHUNGA” - PONS
The video for the final track on Pons’ EP The Pons Estate is a chaotic collage that fuses an NYC night out with Mad Max desert vibes meets maybe The Hangover with a dash of disconcerting dental documentary, some Blair Witch-style cinematography and a few surprisingly scenic splashes of very nice nature. Set to a strobe light. On acid. Plus maybe some meth?! We’ll let you be the judge. Read the post here.
“JOHNNY GOT LOST” - EXTRA SPECIAL
The solo project of Amelia Bushell (of BK faves Grim Streaker + Bell Mare) landed last year in the form of the Lazy About It EP: five tracks exploring—among other ultra-relatable topics—friendship, heartbreak and trying to get your shit together (plus getting too high) with wit, imagery and arresting honesty. Her 2021 follow-up, Johnny Got Lost—a song a decade in the making, with origins in a blissful weed-filled summer and a thrifted synth—hits the same sweet spot as previous Extra Special tracks as it “tells the story of someone losing themselves to addiction.” Read the post here.
“POISON” - BUZZBODY
Let’s talk phobias.You’ve got the classic concerns: heights, clowns, spiders. Social worries: public speaking, a “we need to talk” text, running into an ex at Trader Joe’s. Only-in-New-York horrors: bed bugs, being shoved onto the train tracks, an AC unit falling out a fourth-floor window and crushing you while you’re in line at Nuts 4 Nuts. And then there’s a very particular paranoia: the fear of BEING MURDERED, which just so happens to be the jumping-off point for this track from Buzzbody, which explores the idea of fear while serving as a means of coping with it. (Believe it or not: very good vibez.) Read the post here.
“TWO-SIDED” - GARDENIA
Sure, some good and very important things come in twos: chopsticks, kidneys, twinkies. But when it comes to personalities, two is not realllllly better than one, and this track from Gardenia —“part therapy, part confessional, and part catharsis,” sees the pair calling the perpetrators of this two-faced phenomenon out on their shit. Read the post here.
“DON’T MOVE ON YET” - MARS MOTEL
According to a book written by Gary Chapman, there are five love languages with which people use to express their affection, adoration and commitment: gifts, quality time, physical touch, words of affirmation, acts of service. However, we’d wager there’s a sixth one that our dude Gary missed: music. If you don’t want to share your feelings in words, chore, touch, time or flowers form, you can always express them via song instead, and it’s this communication concept that’s explored in the very rad single from Mars Motel. Read the post here.
“20,000 LEAGUES (UNDER THE SEAT)” - JUPIE
Written and recorded in three cities, the five-track EP from Jupie is a true product of collaboration and a real labor of love. Of the EP, the artist said: “While some of the songs have taken years to get right, and some songs came out of the experience of quarantine and isolation in the past year, they all share a common feeling of hope in loss.” Listen alone, with your friends or, you know, in the company of your cat. Read the post here.
“LAKE SEBAGO” - MARY HOOD
Imagine a world of romance sans risk. One in which, if things didn’t work out, you could both just say “WHOOPS!” then high five, revert to your previous relationship status, forget you ever had any feelings and pretend you never got naked together. Unfortunately that’s typically not the case, but if we do have to live/date/die in this vulnerability-requisite reality, at least we have this track from Mary Hood, “a song about a one foot in, one foot out relationship [that] speaks on the fear of acting on feelings.” (BONUS: Watch the artist liiiive from our living room.) Read the post here.
“SIZE UP” - CAREER BOY
In March, the job rockers of Career Boy offered sound (and rad-sounding) advice in their video for “Scam Jam,” offering listeners a step-by-step guide for the nightmare that is applying for unemployment and health insurance in the state of New York. Instead of taking aim at the man, “Size Up”—the band’s more recent release—pokes fun at the bois and is, according to Jake of Career Boy, ”about trying to keep up with all my super cool looking Bushwick homies… on a more general level, it’s an observation about fitting in by standing out.” Read the post here.
“INTROSPECTRE” - A VERY SPECIAL EPISODE
Before the band released FIX YOUR HEARTS OR DIE in October, we were stoked to share this video from A Very Special Episode back in April. Perfectly timed for our collective reemergence into the world (the first time), this track tackles the difficulties and anxieties of transitioning from private to public life and leaving the safety and certainty of our homes for the unknown and uncontrollable elements of what’s beyond our walls. Plus, it’s set in space, which we can all unanimously agree is pretty fucking cool. Read the post here.
VANDALISM - DUKE OF VANDALS
GET READY TO KICK A GODDAMN DOOR DOWN! For this premiere, Gino Gianoli of Duke of Vandals offered a track-by-track breakdown of the trio’s debut EP and talked fear, constant change and a bar that never closes where the party never ends. (We can dream, right?) Of the EP, Gino said, “Vandalism is not merely our latest musical output, but rather it is our starting point.” Turn it up + stay tuned for what’s next. Read the post here.
“MY BOYFRIEND’S IN A BAND” - SCOTT MAKING CENTS
NYC musician Scott Greenberg (Scott Making Cents) convinced an unnamed university (cough-NYU-cough) to let him write a master’s thesis “investigating the aesthetic biases against comedy.” Or, to put it simply, to argue “why Tenacious D are the greatest band in the world and why They Might Be Giants deserve to be in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.” The Apparent Bias Against Comedic Popular Music is the album accompaniment to his academic work, and this track offers a sample of the magical merging of two of our fave things: music and comedy. Read the post here.
“PEACH” - BAD STATIC
“Don’t fuck with me // I’ll bruise you like a peach // Skull bound // Hell hound // Body never found //Don’t fuck with me // I’ll bruise you like a peach.“The debut single from BK grunge/punk band Bad Static is “a song about fighting against catcalling [and] a fuck you to all men who have disrespected women on the streets.” What more do you need to know? Read the post here.
“MODERN MIND” - ATLAS ENGINE
The second track of the first EP of two EPs that will eventually make one album (we think we got that right… it’s a real Russian Doll thang), “’Modern Mind”—one of our favorite songs from Atlas Engine—is “about how technology is outpacing our biological evolution and has forced us all into a constant state of anxiety [and how] with so much information happening non-stop, we’re no longer able to be truly present without having to make a conscious effort.”
We don’t trust Alexa, we still don’t understand bitcoin and we def don’t know WTF an NFT is, but we *do* know very good music when we hear it. TEN THUMBS UP. Read the post here.
“LIVING IN IT NOW” - MONSTER FURNITURE
The single from Monster Furniture tells the story of intense emotional excavation by way of physical stuff, with songwriter Gabe Smoller’s childhood home serving as a metaphor for memories as he revisits his old life through his old room, reckoning with his past and then purging it, evolving from initial bitterness to a newfound feeling of freedom as he unburdens himself of the old and the ugly on his mission to “clean the inside shit out.” Read the post here.
“PIECE OF MIND” - OTRA VEZ
Via google translate (or third-grade Spanish class), otra vez means “again”—which is quite fitting, because that’s exactly what we found ourselves screaming at the end of Vexation, the very rad debut record from the BK band of that very name (otra vez), before looping it back to listen another time (and another and another…). But that was 2020, and it’s time to stop livin’ in the past, man! In 2021, the band gave us “Piece of Mind,” a song about “giving up control and finding inner peace”—and GOD KNOWS WE’RE TRYING. Anyway, we can’t wait to see what we get in 2022. Read the post here.
NOTE: The last two weeks of roundups don’t collectively include *every* release we’ve featured this year but 2(sets)0(f)21 seemed fitting. Also, this email is already very long and we are already very tired. But DON’T MISS OUT! Find EVERYTHING your hearts/eyes/ears desire on the SPOTLIGHTS + PREMIERES PAGE on bandsdobk.com.
No announcements today! Happy NYE! See you next year (aka tomorrow) (ah!) at bandsdobk.com and @bandsdobk. <3