Something interesting is going on in Latest York’s music scene. A non-stop carousel of shows and parties are fusing together indie rock and nightlife over again, respiration life right into a recent era of what, within the last couple of years, has change into often known as “indie sleaze”. Often considered the last true IRL subculture, existing before the complete force of social media, indie sleaze/bloghouse was characterised as spontaneous, hedonistic and horny, reflected in an equally chaotic and in-your-face soundtrack. The look was distinctly unrefined. Think: ripped American Apparel tights, intentionally mismatched outfits, messed-up eyeliner, and thin jeans galore, all captured by invasive flash photography. Hyperactive and escapist tracks from artists just like the Yeah Yeah Yeahs and Crystal Castles have now change into cult anthems for today’s disaffected urbanites.

While millennials might look back and cringe, these same visual and sonic cues are being replicated in Latest York, with a nightlife resurgence in full swing post-lockdown. These nights are being chronically documented, harkening back to the legacy of the early Myspace days, and the earliest moments of social networking. Early 00s party photographer Mark Hunter (aka Cobra Snake) is more present than ever, as is the infamous Instagram account @indiesleaze, who has been digging through the archives of party photography, in addition to chronicling the revival by interviewing recent artists on their Patreon. We’re also seeing a return to the newsletter format, with popular mailouts comparable to Perfectly Imperfect and You Missed It sending out scenester-curated recommendations and keeping tabs on what’s happening, when and where. 

What could easily be misinterpreted as a nostalgia ridden circle jerk is definitely something much more interesting. The present music scene offers an actual semblance of community, tying together a mesh of on and offline personalities and providing a possibility to attach with people over recent music. A socially driven music scene is little doubt refreshing in a post-pandemic landscape, and particularly to a generation that has been long devoid of IRL connection. These are among the most enjoyable artists that come from across the country but are contributing to this pivotal moment in time in NYC.

Brooklyn-based musician Harrison Patrick Smith aka The Dare is all in on the indie sleaze revival, narrowing in on an brisk, electroclash sound. His single “Girls” is the right two-minute in-your-face dance track that captures the mood of last summer perfectly. The provocative and playful lyrics, “I like the ladies who do drugs/Girls with cigarettes, behind the club/ Girls that hate cops and buy guns,” are as contagious because it gets, and have become immediately iconic after its release. Harrison’s staple shirt and tie look was even captured by Hedi Slimane before he DJ’ed the Celine fashion show in LA last December. He’s undoubtedly change into a staple figure in live performance, playing at a few of the most effective parties of the last yr with an intoxicating stage presence. His weekly sets attract mixed-bag crowds of scene girls, skaters, frat bros, club kids and almost-in-the-know 20-somethings whose friends texted them the Instagram flyer.

Blake Ortiz-Goldberg, also often known as the ‘Downtown Dimes Square Diamond’ rapper Blaketheman1000’s charm comes from the proven fact that he doesn’t take himself too seriously. Fuelled by humour and the need to have an excellent time, the catchy instrumentals and energetic performances work in tandem to create pop brilliance. Blake describes himself as having grown up on the web and drawing from a big selection of visual and sonic influences, almost as emblematic of his online presence as his tongue-in-cheek lyrical irony, “I’m an npc/ Making mp3s/ Next week I’m fixin’ to play Babys” he raps in his latest single “Traffic”. Blake may be very physically present, hosting and playing a slew of live shows and parties, a lot in order that he tells me he’s “getting really exhausted from going out on a regular basis”. The constant revelry is crucial, nonetheless, as he attributes the success of the indie revival scene to an audience that’s less self-serving and more social. Blaketheman1000 will likely be releasing a recent single in March and playing some West Coast shows alongside Frost Children, who he co-manages.

Snow Strippers are an electro-pop duo made up of Tatiana Schwaninger and Graham Perez. After meeting in Florida in 2018, they formed the group towards the top of 2021, with Perez having years of experience producing, and Tati never having made music before. They handle all of their creative direction, visuals and merch independently, alongside running their label Nice Bass Bro. They are saying they make the form of music that they wish to hear, a confrontational and clashy sound paired with seductive vocals. There are thematic nods towards hyperpop and techno dispersed throughout which might be entirely thrilling and sure to maintain you up all night.

Outsider artist Cooper B. Handy has been writing, producing and performing as Lucy for nearly a decade, cementing a cult following throughout Massachusetts and Latest York. His experimental and bizarro-pop style includes refreshingly earnest lyrics set against playful and youthful synths. His brand recent track “Strange as Can Be” is packed filled with idioms and surreal contemplations, “I wanna succeed/ I don’t wanna fail/ I feel like a dog again after I chase my very own tail,” exemplifying the ephemeral nature of success and the exhausting grind that it entails. Handy is definitely no stranger to that journey, having his role as a supporting act for King Krule abruptly pulled in 2020 resulting from Covid-19 lockdowns. A nod to his frustration, the yr after he released his debut label-backed studio album titled The Music Industry is Poisonous. As of 2023, it was just announced he will likely be joining Show Me the Body on their European tour this spring, showing he’s seemingly right where he desires to be.

Electro-pop duo The Hellp describe themselves as “easy, small-town guys making American music”.  Group members Noah Dillon and Chander Ransom Lucy’s tense and chaotic sound is exceptionally fun, and they carry equal momentum to their live performances. After releasing an extended string of singles and EP’s, they put together a compilation album titled Vol. 1 under Terrible Records. The experimental tracks are bursting with energy, featuring hypnotic loops and samples. Their sound is exclusive in the best way that it’s by some means nostalgic and novel at the identical time. They tell me their inspiration for his or her sound and aesthetic are “days spent working construction, teen suicide, and blink 182’s backyard bar-b-qs”. The Hellp announced that they signed with Atlantic records last month, and have a recent EP coming later this yr.