Reclusive soul rocker Buggy Jive set to release new album Icarus Ascending; singer-songwriter inspired by recent 'emergence' from basement studio
PRE-SAVE on Spotify and Apple Music
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.
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 new 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 a certain Joni’s birthday.
TRACKLIST
This Will Never Be on the Radio - 3:28
When the Thang Ain't Enough - 4:07
Whatchyugondo? - 4:57
This Can Not Be That - 4:18
What Do Y'all Know About Shakespeare? - 4:15
Great Googly Moogly - 2:46
Doing the Dumb Thing - 3:44
At the Violet Hour - 4:51
Now I Pray You - 4:16
We Colonize the Skies - 3:14
Staying Out of Her Way - 4:18
Something Something America - (4:04)
Icarus Ascending - 4:43
CREDITS
Guitars and keys and vox and stuff performed by Buggy Jive. All songs copyright 2025 by Bryan Paul Thomas. Drums produced by Yurt Rock. Mastered by Troy Pohl.
This album borrows its title from "Amelia" by Joni Mitchell. “Now I Pray You” is based on Canto 26 of the Purgatory by Dante Alighieri. "At the Violet Hour" is inspired by "The Waste Land" by T.S. Eliot. Interior art is a remix of "Landscape with the Fall of Icarus” by Pieter Breugel the Elder, from a photograph by Sailko of the original framed painting.
Icarus Ascending copyright 2025 WT3 Records and Radical Plastical Music. All Rights Reserved.
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.
Recent accomplishments include:
opening slots for Macy Gray’s “Reset” tour and Ben Folds' New Year's Eve show;
a feature as a “Top Shelf” entry for NPR’s Tiny Desk Contest;
Songwriter of the Year, Album of the Year and Music Video of the Year wins for Upstate New York’s “Eddie” Awards;
official and curated showcases at Folk Alliance International northeast and midwest regional conferences (NERFA and FARM); and
a recent selection for an official showcase at Folk Alliance International 2026 in New Orleans.
The artist is a graduate of Niskayuna High School in Schenectady, New York and Middlebury College in Middlebury, Vermont. Despite the title of his recent semi-viral hit “Don’t Quit Your Day Job,” the artist may have quit his most recent 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.
-30-
