Portland

Best of Portland — 2011 Overall Final Results

Posted on:

Portland, Oregon

It’s been a wild ride to the finish line, but the dust has finally settled and we are excited to announce the overall final results of our "Best Emerging Act of 2011"!  We would like to thank all the bands who were in the running. Together, along with many other talented acts not listed, your efforts make up the vibrant music culture that is increasingly drawing the attention of the national spotlight. Keep fighting the good fight in 2012 and we look forward to hearing all the latest jams! Congratulations to this year’s top three acts!

1. Lost Lander

Lost Lander

Lost Lander has a penchant for building stripped down acoustic arrangements into full-blown dramatic moments of epic pop. Sometimes fast and loud, sometimes slow and soft, it won’t surprise fans of Menomena to find out that former member Brent Knopf (Ramona Falls) produced their debut Drrt. Striking out on two brief tours already, with connections and a polished record that is already gaining national attention, it would seem quite accurate to find this project in our top three of Portland’s "Best Emerging Artist of 2011". 

2. Radiation City

Radiation City

Narrowly trailing Lost Lander by less than 1/20th of a point, it makes sense that these two bands are in very similar positions and have shared the stage a number of times. Upon offering the world The Hands That Take You (Tender Loving Empire), a retro-infused pop gem, 2011 found Radiation City in a debut breakout year that couldn’t be stopped. While the full account of accolades is too long to list here, special highlights include packed showcases at CMJ in the middle of a national tour, a Daytrotter session, a video premiere on IFC and a slew of adoring press from across the country including several nods on notable "Year End" lists including this one.

3. Aan

Aan

"Dynamic" is a word that can be thrown around a little too easily in the blog world, a lot like "love" and "hate" in the real world, but when it comes to the case of Aan it can be said without question that this a band with a truly dynamic sound that is also easy to love. At times reminiscent of the aforementioned Menomena, Aan blends some of the most pleasing guitar tones and technical percussion in recent memory with the fitting, but abrasive cry of frontman Bud Wilson’s vocals, for a combination that can explode and collapse at a moment’s notice. Still trying to find a permanent lineup while recording a new LP, 2012 finds Aan prepping for a tour to SXSW and back again, where it will also play 35 Denton and Treefort Music Fest alongside the varied likes the Jesus and the Mary Chain and of Montreal.

 
 BAND
J
F
OS
TOTAL
 
1
 Lost Lander
8
0.037
0
8.037
2
 Radiation City
8
0.011
0
8.011
icon
3
 Aan
7
0.03
0
7.03
icon
4
 Unknown Mortal Orchestra
7
0.016
0
7.016
icon
5
 The Druthers
3
3
0
6
icon
6
 AgesandAges
5
0.006
0
5.006
icon
7
 Swahili
5
0.004
0
5.004
icon
8
 Youth
3
1
0
4
icon
9
 Yeah Great Fine
0
0.024
3
3.024
icon
10
 Adventures! With Might
3
0.017
0
3.017
icon
11
 Sallie Ford & The Sound…
3
0.013
0
3.013
icon
12
 Psychic Feline
3
0.008
0
3.008
icon
13
 Blouse
3
0.005
0
3.005
icon
14
 The Hugs
3
0.005
 
3.005
icon
15
 Purple n Green
3
0.003
0
3.003
icon
16
 Jobo Shakins
3
0
0
3
icon
17
 Tope
1
2
0
3
icon
18
 Sons of Huns
0
1.5
1
2.5
icon
19
 AU
2
0.033
0
2.033
icon
20
 Hausu
2
0.014
0
2.014
icon
21
 Hosannas
0
0.011
2
2.011
icon
22
 The Ascetic Junkies
2
0.007
0
2.007
icon
23
 Sarah Billings
2
0.002
0
2.002
icon
24
 Glassbones
1
0.5
0
1.5
icon
25
 Eidolons
0
0.092
1
1.092
icon
26
 Morning Teleportation
0
0.049
1
1.049
icon
27
 Natasha Kmeto
1
0.037
0
1.037
icon
28
 Wild Ones
1
0.035
0
1.035
icon
29
 Forest Park
1
0.033
0
1.033
icon
30
 Father Figure
1
0.021
0
1.021
icon
31
 The Greater Midwest
1
0.01
0
1.01
icon
32
 The Sexbots
0
0.004
1
1.004
icon
33
 Lincoln Crockett
1
0.003
0
1.003
icon
34
 BOOM!
1
0.002
0
1.002
icon
35
 Sex Life
1
0.001
0
1.001
icon
36
 Aitch
1
0
0
1
icon
37
 Sam Adams
0
0.039
0.5
0.539
icon
Legend: J = Jury – OS = Open Submissions –
– F = Fans + Readers

All rules and regulations can be found here.

Philadelphia

Best of The Deli Philly Poll – Top Performers: The Extraordinaires

Posted on:

The Extraordinaires are arguably Philadelphia’s most exciting nostalgia-core, acousto-pop Jamboree band. While their year may have been relatively slow in terms of musical output (one 3-song EP The Postcard), the band was anything but quiet. As we have come to expect from The Extraordinaires, if there was a holiday approaching, the boys made sure to stop at nothing to perform outlandish and wholly invested theme shows. This included their Mr. Roger’s-esque Holiday Revue, fully equipped with hung stockings, fake fires and many a special guest. Their Halloween extravaganza with The Deli was no less an affair, with our favorite new DIY venue PhilaMOCA being transformed into a ghoulish, and rather sloppy, spooktacular that obviously included a rousing rendition of both the Ghostbusters Theme song and the A-Team Theme song, which was the costume choice of The Extraordinaires that evening, with not one, but TWO Mr. Ts. The band has been independently and relentlessly touring since 2005, and this year was no different as they set out on multiple jaunts to spread the word of their narrative, jubilant Americana. The gang’s lineup saw a few notable changes this year, as bassist and founding Extraordinaire Matt Gibson got called up to the Bigs to to join and tour with Philly’s most acclaimed freak-pop ensemble Man Man. It was obviously sad to see him go, but everyone is proud of him, and it gave The Extraordinaires an opportunity to tweak it’s lineup a bit by officially adding Koofreh Umoren and welcoming Adam Ravitz as their new bassist. The Postcard EP, released in March of 2011 shows a familiar, if not a bit more refined, sound which makes us even more excited to see what The Extraordinaires have planned for 2012 as they work on new material with Fancy Time Studio’s Kyle “Slick” Johnson. – Adam G.

NYC

The Stepkids listed by Radiohead as “band they are listening to”

Posted on:

Most musicians dream to to be recognized and praised by their own musical heros, and that very admiration often triggered their ill advised decision to try the rockstar route. This dream suddenly came true for Brooklyn and CT based The Stepkids when, on January 28, none other than Radiohead’s Thom Yorke posted this blog on the band’s site. Since we picked these guys for our cover in our Fall 2011 issue of The Deli, we also feel like a little dream has materialized… MAYBE THOM YORKE READS THE DELI!?! Here’s the song mentioned in the Radiohead blog – it’s called "La La".

NYC

Jones Street Station previews “The Understanding EP” + plays Public Assembly on 02.12

Posted on:

Brooklyn-based folk rock band Jones Street Station will be previewing their new EP, “The Understanding,” this Tuesday (February 14) on Spotify.com for 2 weeks and then will be releasing it officially on February 28th. Several tracks from the EP are accompanied by CJ Camerieri (Bon Iver, The National and Sufjan Stevens) on the horn and the music video for the title track (streaming below, directed by Adam Reid) features Danny Pudi from NBC’s “Community.” The band will also play a gig on February 12th at Public Assembly in Brooklyn with Ben Lovett’s (Mumford & Sons) Communion, David Wax Museum, Trixie Whitley, Julie Easterlin and Aoife O’Donovan. Do not miss! – Chelsea Eriksen

NYC

Deathrow Tull, Futurist and Turkuaz play The Studio on 02.10

Posted on:

A cohesive theme can be a determining factor of whether a live show is actually a show or just a bunch of performances by different artists thrown together by time and space. So, at first blush, the lineup at Webster Hall on the 10th seems like a mishmash put together by a clueless intern. Funky pop (Turkuaz) with hip-hop (Deathrow Tull – pictured) commencing with folk-pop (Futurist)? That would probably leave those unversed in the actual sounds and energies of each band scratching their heads. But, if we’re assigning physical movements, let’s give whoever put this show together a pat on the back instead, because all three artists work at the fringe of their generic bounds. Turkuaz‘s funk and gospel backing vocals leak over inspirations that pull from the past 5 decades. Deathrow Tull offers spitfire rhymes from a three-headed Cerberus of emcees with a backing band tight enough to do battle with the beast, and Futurist harkens to the past with the sounds of strings and colonial drumbeats, but the underlying darkness meshed with sunny demeanor proves they offer enough light to burn. But what really pulls these bands together is that they’ll make you move. Some shows you go to to be seen, this one you should go to to sweat. If you have no plans this Friday or even if you do, check it out. Webster Hall. $10. 7pm doors. P.S. All these bands were featured in the past two editions of The Deli’s Best of NYC Poll for Emerging Artists – allison levin

Philadelphia

Far-Out Fangtooth Opening for Royal Baths at KFN Feb. 8

Posted on:

I just wanted to give everyone a heads up about a last minute show tonight at Kung Fu Necktie with Far-Out Fangtooth and Brooklyn’s Royal Baths. Originally, it was scheduled at Little Bar before the split with Phonograph Arts. Luckily, you’ll get a great deal to see both acts in one of my favorite Philly venues. Far-Out Fangtooth are fine tuning their material as they prepare to make the trek down to SXSW once again. (Hopefully there will be less drama this year – they were on tour with The Spooks when the band broke up.) Far-Out Fangtooth will be releasing a new 7” EP after they come back from Austin in late April/early May via HoZac Records. Royal Baths just released their new album nicely titled Better Luck Next Life yesterday, and will also have a split EP with Ty Segall coming out mid-year via HoZac as well. Lantern’s Zach Fairbrother and Emily Robb will be spinning rockin’ tunes throughout the evening too. Do this! Kung Fu Necktie, 1250 N. Front St., 8pm, $5, 21+ (Video by Joe Burns) – Alexis V.

Philadelphia

A Night of Psych Rock & Locals Only w/True Gold, Harsh Vibes & More at Silk City Feb. 8

Posted on:

Your senses will be treated to a sonic kaleidoscope tonight at Silk City. South Philly’s True Gold can carry you into the ether with angelic vocals and soaring guitar riffs. I’m really looking forward to hearing from the somewhat mysterious four-piece once their official release comes out via Phonographic Arts. True Gold will be sharing the stage with Harsh Vibes, another fledgling act that are seriously on my radar. The instrumental demos from the noisy, shoegaze-y psych rockers are simply nasty and intense. They’ll also be joined by fellow locals Store Cats and The Sea Around Us which should make for a hometown show that deserves your support. Silk City, 435 Spring Garden St., 9pm, $7, 21+ – H.M. Kauffman

NYC

February Album of the Month: HVZEL “MIXTVPE”

Posted on:

MIXTVPE, the second EP from electronica/post-hyphy artist HVZEL is hands down astonishing. DC has itself a contender in the witch house race with HVZEL leading the way. MIXTVPE brings forth 5 booming tracks that ooze eerie keys amongst a haze of intense bass and warbly voices.

"Executioner" nods to the theme of The Exorcist while adding a flair of morbid hip hop beats and speaker blowing keys. "Transfiguration" is the long lost sister of a Salem B-side, haunting and beautiful. "Medium" is a digital explosion, with keys screeching in full on anarchy mode before breaking down into a smooth shoulder swayer.

Crank this EP all the way up- it’s fucking awesome! -Dawn