The Best of Brooklyn: 2023 So Far

July 8, 2023 by

As Brooklyn Roads looks forward to great musical summer – and beyond — we take a brief look back at some of what we’ve covered over the past six months. Here are some excerpts  from our reviews of  recordings Brooklyn Roads deemed praiseworthy:

Bird Streets: Lagoon – We found it “both uplifting and relatable” and “a source of musical comfort.”

Charming Disaster: Super Natural History – The goth duo “does an excellent job … keeping the magic and mystery of their music alive” with “mystifying melodies, creative lyrics and overall excitement.”

Ivan Julian: Swing Your Lanterns – We noted his “vast range in sound, texture and rhythm” and that “no two tracks sound the same.”

Nicole Yun: Matter – Her “intricate rhyme schemes and clever lyrics” made us love her “90s inspired rock [that] tackles issues of depression, melancholy and … her relationships.”

IVA: Nobody’s Woman – We found that this EP’s “four powerful and inciteful songs” lived up to the opera-trained IVA’s aim to create “thought-provoking” music that “gives people mega feelings.”

Regarding our ongoing Artists on Our Radar series, here are some choice quotes from the three most recent Brooklynite interviewees:

Virginia-born Dawn Drake told Brooklyn Roads that, regarding her decision years ago to make Brooklyn her musical home base, she can always find inspiration for new music here, thanks to the music and musicians constantly around her.

Ronnie Burrage told us that his Brooklyn upbringing provided him with “a very healthy home and community where all genres of African American, Indigenous American, African, European and East Asian music were played, heard and explored.”

Dana “Danger” Athens said about stepping out from her role as front woman for Jane Lee Hooker: “As I get older, I go back to my roots. There’s always a little gospel and soul element in my stuff.”

Topping it all off, we also spoke at length with Diane Eber, Artistic Director and Executive Director of Celebrate Brooklyn!, about her 15-year association with the festival and her appreciation for the sounds of the borough’s streets and the subways. “I love hearing music in every crack — it inspires me every day,” she told us.