When someone sends me a song described as pop-punk, it feels like I’m subconsciously preconditioned to think it will sound like every other pop-punk record I have been listening to these past few months. And admittedly that’s the feeling I had going into NYC based musician James Ivy’s new EP Good Grief!, but I will gladly say that my assumption was way off and especially standout track “Snakes” takes pop-punk to a different level.
It’s the originality that stood out to me on my first listen, and it was the sonic elegance that kept bringing me back for more. Ivy’s “Snakes” blends passion-filled, distorted vocals with a densely layered beat behind him. The uniqueness in melody is a sound that every artist hopes to create with their music. And I would be remiss not to mention the vocal chops in the second verse that tease a flash of hyperpop soundly without drowning out the grunge of his vocals or the previously stated layered sounds
Ivy is 22 years old and his debut EP, Good Grief! is tenacious, complicated and artistic in the best way possible. His creativity and drive for the process of creation shines through after one listen. Lastly, Ivy is a New York artist who beautifully encapsulates the sound of New York right now.
Trust me when I tell you, he will be heard way beyond the Big Apple.