Having already opened for Smith Westerns, Chairlift, and Surfer Blood, the country and 90s-influenced Grand Rapids (the band, not the city in west Michigan) is doing quite well for a bunch of early 20-somethings. The group formed when childhood friends Dan Lardner and Peter Baumann, both on guitar, moved from New Jersey to the East Village, soon meeting up with the band’s female halves of Alex Niemetz and Clara Balzary, bass and drums, respectively. The quartet released a self-titled EP in 2011, combining Stephen Malkmus vocal hooks with garage rock guitars. The group has 3 upcoming shows in NYC, (see here), we recommend the show at Mercury Lounge on June 24 with NYC punk rockers Dirty Fences.

Austin based retro-pop combo Major Major Major will be entertaining the local crowds on June 9 at the 29th St. Ballroom, in occasion of the vinyl release of their latest self-titled EP. At times noisy and at times nostalgic, this is group’s songs are influenced by a wide range of genres, going from the early 60s pop music to the lo-fi wave of the early 00s.

Austin based rock trio Megafauna offer an interesting melange of rock’n’roll (drums, guitar solos), pop (Dani Nelf’s beautiful melodies and voice, at times reminiscent of Bjork) and psych rock (production and overall musical approach). It must be ssaid that Dani – originally from Brooklyn – also plays guitar with impressive dexterity. The band is prepping their full-length follow up to their 2010 debut album "Larger Than Human." and in the meantime they are releasing a digital 3 track "Love Project" EP (streaming below), which sounds very promising indeed, showcasing the diverse range of styles and influences that drive the band’s sound. Don’t miss these guys live!

Probably because they only recently relocated to NYC (they originally hail from Florida), we somehow missed BLONDS‘ rise to semi-notoriety. The duo, comprised of dating, non-blonde couple Cari Rae and Jordy Asher, is partial to slow tempos and intense, almost Lynchian dreamy atmoshperes. A rather sexy video of the Portishead-ish single "206" raised their profile in the past winter, and to take things to the next level the band is now releasing this single "RUN" from the upcoming full length album "The Bad Ones". We can’t help but notice spaghetti Western references both in the record’s title and in the single, which sounds very much like a revisitation of Morricone’s dramatic approach to Country’n’Western music. This band seems to have a rather big music vocabulary at their disposal, and this is a very good sign – looking forward to the summer release.

Mike Higbee is the ghost of Roy Orbison riding on Hank Williams’ horse over to the saloon for a cold, hard drink. A man who most likely grew up listening to the King from his hometown of Paris, and dreaming of the ‘Donna’ of Ritche Valens’ genius, Higbee has resurrected the spirit of Nashville for New York in his latest LP ‘Secret Life.’

From accordion-backed love songs (Love of My Life) to raucous barnburners like the eponymous ‘Secret Life,’ and even covering a song by Parisian singer Manu Chao (‘La Primavera’), Higbee proves he’s up to the task of carving out a complete statement by re-shaping the forgotten ghosts of rustic Americana to his liking.

Perhaps it took someone born in Paris to reinvent our own history for us. – Mike Levine (@Goldnuggets) – This music was submitted digitally to The Deli here.