Reclusive soul rocker Buggy Jive set to release new album Icarus Ascending

Singer-songwriter inspired by recent ’emergence’ from basement studio

DELMAR, NY – Tuesday, Oct. 14 – Acoustic soul rock singer-songwriter Buggy Jive will release his latest album Icarus Ascending to music streaming services Friday, Nov. 7, 2025.

The endgame of a series of singles and B-sides released since August, the full album offers 13 acoustic soul rock songs contemplating songwriting and storytelling, love and literature, and the festering fears of a divided nation.

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The new songs arrive in the aftermath of the somewhat reclusive artist’s emergence from his basement studio for several high-profile solo-acoustic shows – including opening slots for Macy Gray and Ben Folds, official showcases at Folk Alliance International conferences, a Los Angeles tribute to Joni Mitchell produced by Michael Paz on the eve of Mitchell’s Hollywood Bowl shows, and a tribute to Tracy Chapman curated by Joy Clark for the Evanston Folk Festival.

Beyond the streak of live shows, the songwriter also emerged for collaborations with fellow 518 artists, contributing vocals to hip-hop wunderkind J.B.! a.k.a. Dirty Moses’ “Great Day” single, and to two songs produced by traditional songwriting stylists Lecco Morris & Justin Rivers for their upcoming album Spirits.

Leaving the basement bunker has directly inspired not only the new songs, but the creative process, too.

“It’s the first time that I’ve had a chance to audition works-in-progress in front of an audience before I start recording,” says Buggy. “Crowd response is a hell of an editor.”

The solo shows have also had an influence on the sonics of Icarus Ascending, resulting in a more organic version of the one-dude-in-a-home-studio sound of earlier albums. It’s still not what one would call a traditionally acoustic album, but there was a conscious effort to get closer to the essence of the songs. Acoustic guitars front and center. Electric guitars barely there. Occasional synth stabs replaced by the gospel-inflected piano and organ of his Baptist church roots.

But yeah, it still sounds like Buggy Jive: from the acoustic punk funk folk tongue-in-cheek opening track “This Will Never Be on the Radio” to the album’s closing, anthemic title track “Icarus Ascending,” it’s still his signature literary soul rock crafted with heart and humor.

Upcoming

The semi-reclusive acoustic rocker will again work up the courage to leave the house in the coming weeks for the Ooky Spooky Musical Showcase at the Troy Listening Room hosted by Zan and the Winterfolk (Oct. 25); showcases at this year’s Northeast Regional Folk Alliance (NERFA) conference in Albany (Nov 6-9); and back-to-back Beatles tribute shows at historic Caffe Lena in Saratoga Springs (Nov. 16).

Please note that Buggy Jive’s four NERFA showcases all take place on the album release date – Friday, Nov. 7 – making the late evening and early morning performances de facto album release parties.

PS: November 7 is also Joni Mitchell’s birthday. A coincidence, we’re sure.

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ABOUT BUGGY JIVE

BUGGY JIVE is a soul rock singer-songwriter quietly uploading music from a basement somewhere in Upstate New York. Equal parts Zeppelin and D’Angelo and Prince and Joni in sound and sensibility, his lyrics often mine the literature of the past to make sense of the present – from Ellison to Morrison to Eliot to Didion – delicately balancing the heaviness with humor.

Set for a Fall 2025 release, his forthcoming album Icarus Ascending promises 13 new acoustic soul rock songs contemplating songwriting and storytelling, love and literature, and the festering fears of a divided nation.

The artist is a graduate of Niskayuna High School in Schenectady, New York and Middlebury College in Middlebury, Vermont. The songwriter behind the Tiny Desk Contest fave “Don’t Quit Your Day Job” may or may not have quit his long time day job in digital communications at an educational non-profit headquartered in New York’s Capital Region. He lives in Delmar, NY, with his wife and two daughters.