In this modern age, it sometimes seems almost too easy to learn all the pertinent details of a musical act’s biography with a simple click of the mouse.  Such is not the case with Seattle’s Broomsticks.  Very little information can be found about this project, and the facts that are available are somewhat contradictary.  The band may be the project of one Barry Whitehead, it may be a husband/wife duo featuring Ruben Mendez and Lacey Swain, or perhaps, all three are involved.  There is rumor of Broomsticks involvement with the so-called "pizza party scene."  The band may be on a label called Haunted Horse Records, if said label does exist.  What we do know: Mendez and Swain are former members of punk act Charming Snakes, and Broomsticks will be opening for Chicago’s Disappears and Brooklynites Obits tonight at the Crocodile.  If the dirty-garage track posted below, "Ghost," is any indication, this is a band worth investigating, so head down to Beltown tonight and see for yourself what Broomsticks are all about.  

Ghost by broomsticks

NYC’s The Nico Blues may enjoy theblues, but they are in no way an obvious blues band, nor are any of their members named Nico. The quintet’s latest record, “Blame the Boredom, Blame the Basement,” commences with hard hitting percussion, crunching guitars, and vocals that trade-off between melodious and roaring on “Three’s a Crowd.” The record carries on with highlights, an appropriate titled, twangy “Folk Song #2,” which indeed has folksy undertones, psychedelic and seductive “Living Proof” and “Story With a Purpose,” dark and dancy “Unprofessional,” and fast-paced alt-rock closer, “Adjust Accordingly.” The Nico Blues gather up their roots in rock, folk, blues, and punk to formulate widely appealing hooks. – Read Meijin Bruttomesso’s Q&A with the band here.

Here at The Deli we take pride of our "band genre labeling", but with acts like The Budos Band, classification is subject to change. They’ve been making music together since 2005, and they’ve gone from producing classic afrobeat to something closer to Black Sabbath. It’s typical for an artist to evolve subtly as his musical interests change, but with ten heads in the game, it’s no wonder why The Budos Band’s music has turned so many corners. In the writing process, a wide variety of influences is brought in to make a unique sound, which could now be called “a sort of afro rock thing.”  – Read Caitlin Clive’s Q&A with the band here.

Ohnomoon may not seem like they’re in a rush, but trust me… they’re moving plenty fast. While their music’s got the whole slow-motion moodiness thing down pat, this Astoria-based band’s been laying a fast path around town. They played their first show just this past January, and have been playing out almost every weekend since. They recorded a bunch of material last March at Astoria Soundworks, and the one song they released from this record has hit its download limit on the band’s Soundcloud after being available for less than a month. The slowly ambling ‘Sleeping Limbs’ has a hook that pulls inward as singer Kat Lee breathes out ‘Protect me from what I Want’ into the track’s many empty spaces. This somnambulant moodiness gives way to a riotous finish when the band tries their best to disturb Kat’s softly pedaling vocals… but to no avail. Kat knows what she wants and keeps pace to her own rhythm, and I’m excited to see where she takes things next. Hopefully they’ll give us some new recordings soon. For now, they’ve got a couple shows coming up in early September. See them when they play at Don Pedro on September 2, and check out ‘Sleeping Limbs’ here. – Mike Levine (@goldnuggets)

Dolchnakov Brigade will be playing at Fontana’s NYC (Eldridge Street between Broome and Grand) on 08.19, and if what you need is a zany Friday night, look no further. Expect masked backup dancers banging big drums, vegetables thrown at the audience, and hilarious electro-rock songs like “Baltimore on Fire” and “Dating in Space”. Check out what Phyllis Diller had to say about this here.