Deli readers in bands,

Every year, The Deli’s Year End Polls highlight hundreds of the best emerging artists in the 11 local US scenes we cover – and reward them with prizes from our sponsors.

As you may know, the winner of the NYC poll will grace the cover of the spring issue of The Deli.

Now established artists like Local Natives, Yeasayer, Twin Shadow, Vampire Weekends, Vivian Girls, Ra Ra Riot, Girls, Kurt Vile, Baths, Pains of Being Pure at Heart, Blank Dogs, Buke and Gass and many others won or did well in our polls months if not years before getting international recognition.

The end of the 2011 is quickly approaching and we are ready to go through the painstaking 2 month process involved in selecting the artists and processing the various votes. We are already asking our local jurors (mostly venue promoters, bloggers, record store and radio personnel) to cast their vote for their favorite local emerging artists. But of course, our polls are open to all bands who want to be considered: free submissions are open from now until December 4th HERE – after that date we’ll have $5 submissions through SonicBids for another couple of weeks. All these submissions will be grouped by genre and filtered by The Deli’s local editors and some Deli writers.

To submit for consideration and for more info about our year end polls please go HERE.

Good Luck
The Deli’s Staff

Chill dronologists Crinkles have chosen to release their EP Italian Ice in the dead of winter 9one year ago).  Strangely enough, the EP channels neither summer nor winter, but rather the crisp air of early fall… where, if there were actually trees in my neighborhood, there would be crunchy (crinkly!) leaves upon which to tread. Influenced by Brian Jonestown Massacre and contemporary of Ducktails, Crinkles have a smooth, albeit unpolished approach to this mellow, lo-fi psych-pop genre commonly referred to as "chill wave". Their take on it is characterized by more complexity in the arrangement department and a (way) above the average attention to guitar sonics – this record features a rather impressive "vocabulary" of great sounding guitar tones. Vocals are raw with feeling, layered, but still thin, as if stretched to the breaking point by thought and emotion. See the band live on December first at Shea Stadium. Check their bandcamp for more details, and for digital download of the EP. -allison levin

New Jersey based group Only Living Boy bring back that sound bred in the 90s when some grunge artists rediscovered the power of blues (think early Pearl Jam, Soundgarden and Temple of the Dog). The band just ended a 30 date nationwide tour supporting its sophomore album “Hide Nothing”. The band’s songs, filled with bluesy guitar riffs, heavy driving bass lines and raw vocals, have also been in rotation at more than 200 radio stations, while their latest video for “I Hear Music” has been popping up in several blogs across the nation. Only Living Boy will be playing at The Mercury Lounge on Nov. 29th and Feb. 8th at Bowery Electric in NYC. – Christine Cauthen

Schizophrenic Queens, NY quintet Fall of the Albatross serve up a soulful smorgasbord of eclectic heaviness as heard on their six-track 26-minute excursion ENTANGLEMENT. Fusing mind-blowing funk, smooth jazz, headstrong progressive rock and blistering technical metal into a surprisingly tidy package, this troupe of versatile musicians exhibit an adept ability to seamlessly shift styles despite their ADD-riddled nuances (“Mace”) to comprise cohesive songs that captivate the senses (“Enjoy Yo’Self”). Not just another band that mixes a few elements of different music together to form their own sound, Fall of the Albatross intertwines an arsenal of wise beyond their years musical knowledge and prowess together to form a jawdropping listening experience custom made for the adventurous ear.  Mike SOS