Singles Spotlight: Anthony Pena – “Grave”

Hello reader,

How are you today?

I’m excited to discuss another artist making some great music: Anthony Pena. While some people do, I caution you not to sleep on the Salt Lake City music scene. The awesome coming-of-age film SLC Punk! should have taught you that. If you haven’t watched that film but love music, take some time to do so after finishing this Spotlight. And always look into your own indie scene in your city or a bigger city near you.

A few weeks ago, Anthony Pena’s music was brought to my attention. He’s an indie soul artist, singer-songwriter, and producer based in SLC. Recently, he returned home after spending time on the East Coast, creating music under the name Toto Peña and also leading June Pastel, a NYC-based “samba shoegaze” band. Pena came home, built a home studio, and fully immersed himself in soul music, specifically the greatness of Prince. And via a press release for his debut album titled 4, which arrived on April 4th, Pena describes his heritage and discovering himself within a new project, saying, “Toto Peña started the record, and Anthony Pena finished it. I began working on the record in 2022, when I moved back to my hometown of Salt Lake City, which forced me to get real about my outlook on life and connect me to my roots. I grew up in West Valley City, UT, to immigrant parents, and creating music has been my compass to the greater world. Music has served as a roadmap in my life, ultimately leading me back home and to embrace my birthname.”

The album has good vibes throughout and is an actualized indie-soul-centered work of art. I believe the song “Grave” is the most spotlight-worthy. So we met here again as part of SWT’s Singles Spotlight series to look more deeply into it. The song kicks off with sweet strumming and vibrating guitar strings, followed by Pena’s breathy lead vocals, synths, and soft drums, as we are swept into it. Bam, introduce a saxophone, and I’m sold. The melody picks up the funk and the pace in the best ways, turning from a crawl into a groovetastic good time. The intensity picks up, and guitars growl in moments that catch your attention as a listener. I think this is the most complete song on the album, especially with the inclusion of strings, brass, and percussive instrumentation, along with a gorgeous melody. Kudos to the crafting and execution on this one. I think for all those reasons and more, “Grave” serves as a fantastic introduction to Pena’s music in general but especially relative to this period in his life, on the album 4.

Hit play and take a listen to “Grave” for yourself and let us know what you think. Do you hear influences of Prince’s music?

The cover art for the album 4:

The track list for 4:

1. FUELT4NK
2. H.T.S
3. Now
4. Queen of Diamonds
5. M4TH
6. Grave
7. New Life
8. Slowing Down

Giving credit where it’s due. 4 album credits:

• Dedicated to Prince
• Written, Performed, Engineered, Produced, and Mixed by Anthony Pena at Kandinsky Western Recording Services in Bluffdale, UT
• Drums on “FUELT4NK” recorded by Andrew Goldring at Crooked Acre in Nashville, TN
• Drums, Resonator Guitar, and additional sound design on “H.T.S.” and “M4TH” recorded by Vishal Nayak at Black Lodge Recording in Brooklyn, NY
• Lap Steel and Harmonica on H.T.S. recorded by June Bennion at home in Austin, TX
• Electric Guitar on Now recorded by Danny Hakim at home in Brooklyn, NY
• Mastered by Chris Gehringer at Sterling Sound in Edgewater, New Jersey
• Album artwork photograph taken by River Stephenson
• Anthony Pena – Vocals, Guitars, Bass, Synths, Drums, Drum Machines, Samples, Percussion, and Piano
• Andres Escobar – Bass on 5. Synths on 1, 3 & 6
• Andrew Goldring – Drums on 1
• Candido Abeyta – Saxophone on 3 & 6
• Danny Hakim – Resonator Guitar on 2 and Electric Guitars on 3
• June Bennion – Lap Steel and Harmonica on 2
• Ken Vallejos – Drums on 4 & 6
• Mason Mario Garcia – Vocal on 6
• Maya Feggo-Judkins – Guitar on 4 & 5
• Nicole Canaan – Vocal on 6
• Vishal Nayak – Drums on 2 & 5

Alex M Theel

Co-Founder, Reviewer, Content Creator, Business side, Editor at Scummy Water Tower Productions | Web

Scummy Water Tower Productions co-founder, reviewer, business manager, and editor. Thank you for visiting this site, scummywatertower.com, and YouTube for Water Tower Sessions and SWT Interviews. And all of our socials.
Questions, feedback, or more? Contact me: alex@scummywatertower.com