Long Island City, once a gritty industrial enclave in Queens, NYC, has succumbed to the steamroller of gentrification. High-rises sprout like weeds where factories once stood. The charm of the old neighbourhood, with its dusty warehouses and smoky bars, is swiftly being swallowed by a sea of sleek condos and chic cafés. The blue-collar backbone of the area has been bent, broken, and replaced by polished professionals and pricey boutiques. It’s a cityscape in flux, where the echoes of hard labour are drowned out by the hum of new money and newer pop-ups.
New York City artist Joe Geni drops his new single, City Where The Sky Subsides, a high-energy track with sharp lyrics and cinematic flair. Bursting with operatic grandeur, Geni’s vocals soar over a vivid picture, blending poignant themes with powerful melodies. It’s a journey through the urban jungle, where every note is a step deeper into his lyrical labyrinth.
Photo: Alice Teeple
Originally from Evanston, Illinois, Joe Geni has spent most of his adult life in the Big Apple, with Long Island City being his primary haunt. By day, he worked various gigs around the United Nations, but by night, he crafted soundtracks for the Anthropocene. Geni’s music aims to capture the elusive feeling of searching for home in a world that’s always on the move.
His voice is both distinctive and unforgettable—a blistering high tenor with a 3.5-octave range. Joe Geni has a knack for translating complex ideas into compelling lyrics. He delves into the tangled relationship between humanity and the environment, channeling these reflections into his sound. His songs explore international affairs, climate change, demography, transportation, and urban infrastructure. Yet, Geni doesn’t stop there; he also touches on the broader human experience, singing about love, regret, modern art, and even dinosaurs.
City Where The Sky Subsides gives a glimpse into Joe Geni’s third album, Cities Built Upon Cities. Geni’s tracks reveal a neighbourhood haunted by its industrial past, and the occupants who have faded away. Exploring themes of change, impermanence, and feeling lost in the city’s constant evolution, Geni’s music paints a poignant picture of progress and its price.
“‘City Where The Sky Subsides is a move away from the more electronic sound of many of my other tunes in favor of a straight floor-it-on-the-highway anthemic rock song (amusing since I was quarantined during the recording and the guitar was recorded on a 1/10w amp that fits on a bookshelf),” says Geni. “This single’s premise is simple: a man disappointed that a promising date got rained out, leaving him “gazing out a double pane stained by exploding rain until the sky subsides.” If you’ve ever ended up stuck inside waiting for the weather to change, this one’s for you.”
Listen to City Where The Sky Subsides below, and order here.
Cities Built Upon Cities by Joe Geni
Since emerging on the scene with his 2019 debut album After Wandering Empire, Geni released his Doggerland album in 2021. This album was produced, mixed and mastered in Brooklyn by Charlie Nieland (Debbie Harry, Rufus Wainwright, Blondie, Scissor Sisters).
Earlier this year, Joe Geni released City of Energy, which will also appear on the new album. This pop-meets-dancehall-inspired track is an ode to New Yorkers, who exert enormous efforts to pursue their dreams with no guarantee of reaching them. He explains, “This song is about searching for love in a city that feeds on energy, both from its humans and its electrical grid. The city is hungry. The infrastructure is changing. The people are too. Does it all lead to a happy place? This is the question.”
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