B-Side Guys

Exclusion leaves fingerprints. On sidewalks outside venues, in text messages left unread, in the peculiar silence that follows performing to a room of strangers. TheFleok’s latest slowcore meditation, “i’m not invited,” released February 1st, traces these imprints with delicate precision.

Leo Jergovic, the New York transplant behind TheFleok, crafts a deceptively minimal composition that belies its emotional depth. Originally from California before a creative stint in Milan where he purchased a €50 guitar and began his songwriting journey, Jergovic brings the sensibility of someone perpetually adjusting to new environments. This outsider perspective permeates “i’m not invited,” a track that examines social exclusion through repetitive phrases that gain meaning with each iteration.

The opening lines establish immediate tension: “I played a whole show/And I’m not invited.” This juxtaposition—being simultaneously the performer and the excluded—creates the song’s central paradox. The performance space becomes both platform and barrier, highlighting the peculiar alienation artists often experience while publicly vulnerable yet personally isolated.

When Jergovic asks “Can you feel me now?/Do you know me yet?” his delivery carries both longing and resignation. These questions, posed twice throughout the track, serve as emotional anchors amid the dreamlike shoegaze production. Their repetition underscores how desperate connection becomes when consistently denied.

The song’s final section, where “I don’t seem to know/Why I’m not invited” repeats five consecutive times, employs minimalism to maximum effect. Rather than feeling redundant, each repetition peels back another layer of confusion, hurt, and eventual acceptance. This technique mirrors the circular thought patterns that often accompany rejection—the endless mental replay searching for explanation.

Production-wise, TheFleok balances the slowcore’s characteristic restraint with dream pop’s atmospheric textures. The sound captures New York City’s contradictory nature: densely populated yet deeply isolating, full of opportunity yet riddled with invisible barriers. This duality extends to Jergovic’s vocals, which float above the instrumentation while remaining emotionally grounded.

“i’m not invited” belongs to an upcoming album titled Pennies, which explores heartbreak and displacement across multiple cities. The track functions as both standalone meditation and puzzle piece within this larger exploration of how location shapes emotional experience.

TheFleok transforms universal social anxiety into something ritualistic through calculated repetition. The track’s power lies in its paradoxical achievement: a song about rejection that welcomes listeners into a shared emotional space. This musical exploration of exclusion ultimately offers what its narrator seeks but cannot find—genuine connection amid urban isolation.