Callers is one of those bands we’ve been following for friggin’ ages (well, let’s not exaggerate, 3-4 years maybe…) and often wondered how long their status of "Best Kept NYC Secret" would last. It’s probably time for it to end – surely their upcoming European tour with Dirty Projectors will help in this regard.

Featuring one of the most beautiful female voices in Brooklyn, the band, originally a duo, has now ventured into a quartet format with the addition of drums and keyboards. The preview single Heroes (streaming below) features a fuller sound, but mostly… a faster one. Indeed, the track represents a steep increase in terms of BPM if compared to the band’s material we are familiar with, but the songwriting quality is there, together with the top notch delivery. Sara Lucas’ blue soprano here almost sounds like Joni Mitchell from the Hejira period, when the Canadian songwriter’s youthful enthusiasm started to be contaminated by the understanding that adult life is full of sadness, which conjured up one of the most beautifully melancholic records ever made. These contradicting forces are also at work in this song, where the dancey rhythm section lifts our mood, while Sara’s blue notes and lyrics keep our thoughts wondering about the mysteries of life. See Callers at Music Hall of Williamsburg on 09.20 with Wye Oak. – Read a 2011 Deli interview with Callers here.

Mp3: Callers – "Heroes"

From a debut EP six years ago to a first album released at the end of July, Viva Mayday may have broadened its palette, but help onto the politically conscious spirit that gives their music a pleasant taste of peaceful protest.. A long road takes us from 100 Years to Consuela, to meet at the end a band that opened its arms wider to its beloved reggae beats, funk or blues, delivering a refreshing cocktail of influences set to tickle the roots of its indie rock. Currently pulling together some new material, the band will be playing its next show during the CMJ marathon, on October 17th at Brooklyn’s Bar Matchless. Read Tracy Mamoun’s Q&A with the band here. 

Vanessa Bley, who at the start of the year released her own solo debut EP, has now officially teamed up with the two friends who’ve been playing with her since the start of this venture. Under the name Beast Patrol, the three of them are on the way towards a first output as a band, Fierce & Grateful EP, which they introduced about a month ago with vaporous post-punk jam ‘Plaster‘. Streaming below is ‘Disbeliever‘, the latest preview, a glimpse of the fierce side we didn’t get to meet yet coming through ferocious vocals and angry drums; nothing like Plaster, no smothered dance beats, this track’s got a message to deliver and is going for it. Available September 25th (via their own label Space Camp Radio), the EP will be welcomed on October 3rd with a show at the Bowery Electric.

NYC’s Corporal, who are fronted by actor Michael Shannon, will join Less the Band, who are unconventionally frontman-less, for a show at Le Poisson Rouge on September 30th.  The frantic punk-folk of Shannon’s band will create an intriguing contrast with Less the Band’s melodic brand of indie rock. Shannon, who will play General freaking Zod in the upcoming Superman reboot “Man of Steel,” will likely intertwine Corporal’s songs with support for another four years of Barack Obama, especially with the election right around the corner. Listen to one of Corporal’s Obama supporting songs, logically titled “Obama 1,” streaming below. – Josh Johnson