NYC

New indie NYC releases round-up: The Qualia, Suzy Sellout, The Lingering Doubts, Greg Garing, The Young Presidents, Stuyvesant, Emily Zuzik

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We sometimes wonder what the average number of records released in NYC per year is… does this city produce 5-10 records per day? We think it does, and it’s The Deli’s duty to cover as many of them as possible. Soooo… to meet this challenge we are using this blog entry to briefly mention a series of up and coming NYC artists who are about to release a new album.

Electronic combo The Qualia (pictured) play catchy pop that sits somewhere between Wall of Voodo, New Order and The New Pornographers. They’ll celebrate the release of their EP "Memorial Gore" on July 8 at Pianos – this is a band to keep an ear on.
Gentle and playful orchestral pop quartet Suzy Sellout (picture below) will release their debut EP, “The Great Why Not?” on June 21 with a show at The Duplex (61 Christopher Street, NY).

The Lingering Doubts is a one man project serving a rather intimate folk-pop sound with occasional dreamy atmospheres that at his best sounds like a less convlouted version of our UK hero Robin Hitchcock. We also hear some delicate Violent Femmes influences in there at times. The CD release party was at Pianos on14th – in conjunction with Greg Garing‘s release, a local blues crooner who sounds like a sane version of Tom Waits.
On the rock-er side of things, sounding like a mix of early Foo Fighters, Husker Du, and Weezer, NJ based Stuyvesant is also celebrating a release: these guys surely know how to induce uncontrollable head-banging with their up tempo guitar pop-rock. Their full length "Fret Sounds" was released on June 14 on Dromedary Records.
The Young Presidents (also on June 14!) released their debut album "Freedom of Speech", a classic Rock’n’Roll affair with influences from the Alt Rock of the 90s.
And finally, NYC veteran pop-rock songwriter Emily Zuzik (who recently also worked on a Moby record) is about to celebrate her 8th release "The Wild Joys of Living" with a show at the Living Room on June 25. She sounds to us like a female version of Tom Petty.

L.A.

Psychedelic Visions in the Night: Incan Abraham at the Central SAPC

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Nestled off the corner of the street in the affluent community of Santa Monica is the intimate playing space of the slightly deceptively named Central Social Aid and Pleasure Club (it’s not a strip club). Boasting a diverse array of acts they present on their stage, it’s a great place to showcase the bands on the verge in the blossoming LA music scene.

This past Tuesday, the dimly lit stage was greeted by the colorful sights and sounds of local four-piece Incan Abraham. Armed with an array of projections of colors, images and patterns flashing across the stage, they brought a visual presence to their already acid-soaked music. The alternating vocal duties of Teddy Cafaro and Giuliano Pizzulo float among the conglomeration of sounds, sometimes threatening to get lost but always emerging from the fog to guide you through.

Nobody there, not even the super hip kids, could resist dancing along to the bright, twinkling synths of “Sunscreen”, or swaying  to the dark pulses of “Third Man.” Everyone was having a grand old time with the audience, audibly vocalizing their excitement and encouragement after every song. The acoustics in the tiny space of the Central provide for an all-over physical experience of the music where you can feel Andrew Clinco’s drum beats and Spencer Mandel’s basslines in your chest. It’s disarming, but the surrender is cathartic.

If you happened to miss out on this blissful psychedelic trip, never fear. Incan Abraham  is in residency at the Central SAPC every Tuesday in June. And better yet, it’s free. So bring a friend, or two, or ten, and soak up the good vibes. 21+. – Taylor Lampela

Chicago

From Our Open Blog: Mutts @ Empty Bottle

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Mutts have released the music video for "Symmetry" which comes from their 3rd self-released EP The Tells of Parallels. The band plays a free show at the Empty Bottle on Thursday, June 16th. Email your name and "6/16" to rsvp@emptybottle.com before Thursday for free admission, or it’s $8 at the door. Also playing – Yeti vs. Yeti and Manic Zamboni. More info and free music at our website. Mutts are also slated to release their first full-length album late this year, and you can follow it’s progress at our Youtube page.

NYC

Mirror Mirror announces new album in August, play at Ramiken Crucible exhibit on June 24

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MIRROR MIRROR, the New York based duo of twisted sound-smiths David Riley and Ryan Lucero, is about to release "Interiors", the ten-song follow up to their debut album, "The Society for the Advancement of Inflammatory Consciousness". These Brooklynites offer some sonically adventurous avant-psych-pop that blurs the lines between epic and grotesque, while referencing a myriad of genres and influences (mostly situated between the 70s and the 80s). Amongst these we detect Brian Eno’s cerebral pop tunes from the "Taking Tiger Mountain" era, Peter Gabriel’s audacious avant-pop of the "So" period, King Crimson’s and Pink Floyd’s trippy and insane early 70s prog- and psych-rock, and the occasional reference to disco music. The 10 tracks, glued together by prominent buzzy synth lines, atmospheric keyboard pads, and guitars and vocals drenched in various effects (but mostly reverb), are filtered through a psychedelic lens that distorts the material in a way similar to what a curved mirror does to an image – or David Lynch to a story. Recorded in two parts, Interiors features the production work of Chris Coady (Beach House, Gang Gang Dance, Zola Jesus), who helped realize an expansive sound from Mirror Mirror’s home-studio recordings. The other album half, aided by Joshua da Costa’s live drumming, was produced by Thomas Asenault and Zeljko McMullen. Check out the album video teaser here. MIRROR MIRROR will perform live at the Ramiken Crucible exhibit on June 24.

Portland

PDX Pop Now! Lineup!

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PDX Pop Now 2011 Lineup from pdxpopnow! on Vimeo.

One of the best things about Portland summer: PDX Pop Now! in July. The freest, localest, all-agesest, Portlandest festival this side of the summer solstice. And the lineup is finally here. See you there, kiddos! And for those of you who don’t want to sit through the video, here’s the lineup:

And And And, Archers, Blood Beach, Blouse, Brainstorm, Classical Revolution PDX, Cloaks, Diesto, Dusu Mali, E*Rock, EXTRALONE (formerly Pinata), Ezza Rose, Golden Retriever, Guidance Counselor, Hausu, Holy Sons, Jared Mees & the Grown Children, Karen, Kelli Schaefer, Living Proof, Loch Lomond, Lost Lander, Lovers, Monarques, Musee Mechanique, Nasalrod, Nurses, Onuinu, Palo Verde, Port St. Willow, Purple & Green, Purple Rhinestone Eagle, Radiation CIty, Reservations, Rollerball, SLIMKID3 (of the Pharcyde), STLS, The Minders, Water Tower Bucket Boys, Weinland, Wild Ones, Wizard Rifle, The Woolen Men, Yeah Great Fine

NYC

NYC artists on the rise: The Denzels, live at K & M Bar on June 17

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The Denzels is a Brooklyn based band I heard about a couple weeks back and I caught their show at Glasslands last night. The quartet plays New York style garage pop-rock with a bit of a west coast undertone. The 2 songs they have available on their bandcamp have been on repeat on my ipod since I downloaded them. "Slow Death" is full of chiming guitars, reverb, and catchy harmonies. Upbeat yet cynical, it encourages the youthful enjoyment of life – with a (not too) eerie reminder that we’re all gonna die in the end. Perfect for the walk to the Bushwick L stop, "Montrose Next Door" is a song about a failed attempt at love, with lyrics accompanying transitional guitar riffs and pulsating drums pounding on the heart. The new material I saw live was very promising, so keep your ears open because The Denzels might soon start to break hearts all over Brooklyn. Their next show is at K & M Bar in Williamsburg this Friday! – Jenna Putnam (ex Deli LA editor whom we welcome to NYC!)

New England

Boston Phoenix 2011 BMP Awards Show @ Brighton Music Hall — Tonight!

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Tonight is the Boston Phoenix 2011 Best Music Poll awards show at Brighton Music Hall, hosted by Paul Foley (Wasted Talent). Featuring music by the house band, Bodega Girls (with special guests), and live performances by Mean Creek, Freezepop, and Moe Pope & Rain. The event is sponsored by Budweiser, DonQ Rum, and vitaminwater.

Brighton Music Hall
Wednesday, June 15, 7pm
Free, 21+, RSVP for entry

–Chrissy Prisco

Philadelphia

Free Download: “Same Mistake” – Clap Your Hands Say Yeah

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Clap Your Hands Say Yeah just made their first track “Same Mistake” from their upcoming third album Hysterical available for free download (in exchange for your name and email address). You can stream it and grab your copy below. Hysterical will be self-released on September 20 in the U.S. and September 12 in the UK, Europe, and Japan. It’s their first album in four years. Enjoy! – The Deli Staff

NYC

Ars Nova’s all NYC “Music Marathon” fest this week at 54/10 with Ethan Lipton, The Tillers, Unicornicopia + more

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One of the things we keep hearing these days is that with the death of the record industry as we knew it nobody is doing artist development anymore. Although this is generally true, there still are some organizations out there committed to developing musical artists in the early stages of their professional careers. Ars Nova is one of them, and it’s currently showcasing the all NYC based "products" of the last few months of hard work through their "54/10 Music Marathon" fest, happening entirely at the 54 10th ave venue in Manhattan.
Ars Nova – also active in the development of comedy and theater acts – seems to have a keener eye for singer songwriters and artists with a theatrical attitude. The fest started yesterday (Tuesday June 14) with bold old time folksters The Tillers, eclectic rootsy quartet Roosvelt Dim, and delicate singer songwriter Rags Parkland. Today, June 15, Toys and Tiny Instruments (pictured) will showcase their peculiarly festive rootsy pop that’s perfectly described by their name, sharing the stage with singer songwriters Nick Blaemire and The Eclectic. The day after singer "rockwriter" Rebecca Hart will be joined by hilariously witty and masterfully jazzy Ethan Lipton & His Orchestra and delicate pop combo Blue Bottle Collection.
On Friday June 16 it’s male singer songwriter night with Rueben Chess, Freddy Hall and  Julian Peterson.
The gran finale on Saturday features artists more adventurous in the sonics department, including Unicornicopia (which could be described like a mix of Laurie Anderson and Fiona Apple), Clydesdale Erotic (an exercise in "electronica with soul") and conceptual artist/musician Omar Zublair

Chicago

Van Ghost Live at Summer Camp

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Van Ghost has a new single called "Domino Effect" that will be released at some point this summer, but it has been pushed back while they head west for a few days. However, the band did released a bootleg of their set at this years Summer Camp Festival yesterday. The set includes a version of "Domino Effect", and it can be downloaded for free below.

Philadelphia

Recap and Photos: Dock Street Brewery’s 3rd Annual Philly Beer Week Music Festival

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Dock Street Brewery hosted its third annual Philly Beer Week Music Festival this past Sunday. Sponsored by yours truly (The Deli Magazine), Subaru, Drink Philly, two.one.five Magazine, Mariposa Food Co-Op, and more, the free festival had three very simple ingredients that make for a good time: tasty beers, pizzas and live music. There was no better way for me to end Philly Beer Week and enjoy the summer weather than relaxing outside with Dock Street’s Summer Session brew and a slice of vegan pizza while taking in several talented local acts. West Philly natives, Citywide Specials, kicked off the afternoon – short three members – with some sweet bluegrass tunes. You can catch their made-for-drinking-and-hanging-out sound every Thursday night at Fiume. Cranking up the blues dial and adding some good ole’ rock to wake up the lazy Sunday crowd, TJ Kong and the Atomic Bomb took over the stage performing some of their favorite little ditties which included a cover of Tom Waits’ “Way Down in the Hole” – despite minor technical difficulties. Respect was given to legendary psych rockers Bardo Pond who easily drew the biggest audience of the day (which I later found out contributed to be the largest attendance ever for the short-lived yearly event). And as always, Da Comrade! shocked innocent bystanders with their frenetic sound while delighting their faithful fans and friends. You can check out my pics from the event HERE.