Some artists make music that sounds like a place. THROES NYC make music that feels like being inside one.The Queens duo of multi-instrumentalist and producer Michael Bozzo and vocalist Courtney Leo have spent years building a sound that carries the fingerprints of New York without becoming trapped by nostalgia. Their self-described “altriphop” sits somewhere between alternative pop, trip-hop, indie electronics and cinematic production, but the genre descriptions only tell part of the story. What really defines THROES NYC is atmosphere.
That atmosphere is everywhere on “The Wires Out,” a two-track EP featuring “Always, Baby” and “Something Chemical.” The project may be brief, but its emotional range is surprisingly wide, moving from soft romantic intimacy to darker, more obsessive territory while maintaining the duo’s distinctive sonic identity.
The connection between Bozzo and Leo goes back to childhood, and that long history seems to have given their collaboration a natural chemistry. Growing up in Queens, they were surrounded by the city’s legendary music culture, spending their teenage years around venues such as CBGB’s, Roseland Ballroom and Irving Plaza. The influence of New York’s ’90s and early 2000s underground scene can still be felt in their work, particularly in the willingness to let different sounds collide.
But “The Wires Out” is not an exercise in looking backwards. If anything, the EP demonstrates how those formative influences have evolved into something contemporary.
“Always, Baby” opens the project from its softer side. Courtney Leo’s delicate vocal delivery immediately creates an intimate atmosphere, while gentle piano, restrained percussion and subtle guitar textures gradually fill out the arrangement. There is warmth here, but it is not completely free of shadow. Even at its most romantic, THROES NYC maintain a slight sense of mystery.
That tension is important. “Always, Baby” does not feel like conventional pop dressed up with electronic production. Its melodies are accessible, but the arrangement remains textured and slightly unpredictable. The low-end presence adds weight beneath the softness, while the guitar work gives the track an organic quality that balances the electronic elements.
Then comes “Something Chemical,” and the mood changes.
Where “Always, Baby” explores intimacy from a tender perspective, “Something Chemical” moves into the darker side of attraction. It captures that strange pull toward someone or something you know may not be entirely good for you. The song’s title says plenty about its emotional centre. This is attraction as an almost physical force, something difficult to reason with.
The production reflects that feeling beautifully. Airy piano notes and emotive vocals establish the song before the bass and percussion begin to create tension underneath. As the track develops, heavier drums and layers of synths push it forward, giving the song a restless energy that mirrors the obsessive quality of its subject.
It is this contrast that makes the EP work so well. “Always, Baby” and “Something Chemical” could easily have existed as two unrelated songs, but placed together they feel like different sides of the same emotional experience. One looks toward connection, while the other questions what happens when desire becomes complicated.
That emotional ambiguity has always been part of what makes THROES NYC interesting. Their songs are not simply about romance. They explore the uncomfortable spaces around it: attraction, obsession, intimacy, distance, uncertainty and the desperate attempt to understand another person.
Production is equally important to the duo’s identity. Warm analogue textures sit alongside modern electronic sound design, creating a sonic world that can feel both nostalgic and futuristic. There is enough detail in the arrangements to reward headphones, yet the songs retain the kind of physical pulse that would make sense in a dark room with a live audience.
Leo’s vocals provide the human centre. Her delivery is intimate rather than oversized, allowing the production to surround her without swallowing the emotion. That balance is particularly effective on “Always, Baby,” where her voice seems to float through the arrangement, and on “Something Chemical,” where the increasing intensity of the instrumental gives her performance a sense of urgency.
The title “The Wires Out” feels fitting in that context. These are songs about communication, connection and the things that interfere with both. People want to reach one another, but emotions, obsession and uncertainty can turn that connection into something tangled. THROES NYC seem fascinated by that space.
And perhaps that is what makes this small EP feel larger than its two-track format suggests. “The Wires Out” is compact, but it contains a surprisingly complete emotional arc. It introduces the listener to two different shades of desire while demonstrating how much range exists within THROES NYC’s evolving sound.
There is no sense that the duo are trying to fit neatly into one category, and that is exactly the point. They have taken the sounds and attitudes that shaped them in New York and built something personal from them. “The Wires Out” feels urban without relying on clichés, experimental without becoming inaccessible, and melodic without sacrificing its darker edge.
THROES NYC are making music about people trying to find one another through all the noise. On “The Wires Out,” the wires may be crossed, the signals may be distorted and the connection may be complicated, but somehow, beautifully, the message still gets through.
