And And And‘s No Party is the band’s first studio recorded EP. It provides a cleaner separation of the band’s recipe which involves a little ’60s lo-fi with a dash of garage pop and sprinkles of folk and lounge music. Nathan Baumgartner airs his grievance through whaling vocals abreast the meticulous drumming and stirring of bass, guitar, and the multi-instrumentalist Ryan Wiggans who interchanges cello, clarinet and trumpet. "The Joy of Cooking" concocts bread pudding (or french toast) and insecurity. "Holy Fucking Matrimony" attacks angst with quiet tempo changes, and "Old Folks Home" complains with enough cheer to make you want to say "Fuck it" and just keep moving. I am not sure if these guys have New Year’s resolutions, but the lyrics of "Not Going to The Party" sound right: "…just doing what you do, and I’ll just do that same thing too". – Brandy Crowe
Deli Best of NYC 2012 – Open Submission Results for ALT ROCK
The entire universe often wonders what the difference is between Alt Rock and Indie Rock. Here at The Deli we call "Alt" that kind of Rock music that’s inspired to a more classic concept of Rock’n’Roll or Pop-Rock, or any rock genre that was commercially successful before the aughts – think about bands reminiscent of anything from Led Zeppeling to Aerosmith, Weezer or Nirvana. While Indie Rock tends to be a little more experimental and dark, Alt Rock is (at least in our vocabulary) more traditional and a little more accessible – without being just "pop".
Total submissions in this category: 38
Artists Qualified to the Poll’s Next Stage (starting around 01.15):
1. Apollo Run – 7.66 (out of 10)
2. BLACK TAXI – 7.33
Honorable Mentions (scores above 6.5):
Outernational, Late Cambrian, Viva Mayday, Wyldlife, Only Living Boy, Von Shakes, Raccoon Fighter, The Clox, Noble Hunter.
Jurors: Michelle Turner (Deli Nashville), Brandi Lukas (Deli Contributor), QD Tran (Deli Philly)
The Deli’s Staff
Philly Year End Poll 2012 – Open Submission Results!
We’ve tallied the results for the Open Submissions stage of our Philly Year End Poll. All of the submissions were ranked by Deli Editors from other cities, and the list of acts that have advanced to our Readers’/Fans’ Poll phase are below. We will also be releasing the list of nominees chosen by our local jurors very soon.
Thanks to all the rad folks who submitted their hearts and souls to us. Our open submissions pool was truly a celebration of Philly’s talent and diversity.
Total submissions from Philly: 88
Hey Champ “Cliché”
Hey Champ has released a new single called "Cliché" which can be downloaded for free below. The group also revamped their website and have promised that this, their first release in 2013, will be the first of several new tracks to surface this year.
Top Three Philly Open Submissions 2012: Turning Violet Violet
2012 should standout as a memorable year for the Fishtown indie pop-rock fivesome Turning Violet Violet. Their presence was already getting steadily more well-known in the Philly music scene, and with the release of their debut album, Double Cure, which was produced by Miner Street Recordings/Shaking Through’s Brian McTear, they now have a solid foundation of material that rocks while eluding towards chamber-pop and orchestral melodies to build upon. – Rachel Barrish
NYC Year End Poll – ALT ROCK Submission: Apollo Run are #1
When you listen to Apollo Run, you can easily get the impression that their music just keeps growing and growing to impossible heights, even when their harmonies are already lost in the clouds. In the space of just one song, John McGrew and crew take you up to a furtive hook, then proceed to throw in a trumpet, raise the harmonies up by a couple more octaves, and proceed to play everything again with only cardboard instruments… At least that’s what the video for new single ‘The Inevitable Small Rebellions’ (streaming below) from new album ‘HBDVIII’ would have us believe. See them live on Friday 01.11 when they play The Mercury Lounge and let me know how they do it yourself. – Mike Levine (@Goldnuggets)
We Want You
It’s true. We need you. Desperately.
Ya see, the Head Honcho of Deli Magazine is coming to SXSW.
Yes. You read that right. The Big Man hisself. The Big Guy, the Big Cheese, the Top Dog, the Boss Hogg of The Deli, will be putting in some Face Time here in our fair city, and is putting together some live showcases for the occasion.
We’re talking 3/12 to 3/16. Gird up yer loins.
So here’s where you come in – We need some kick*$$ bands to come in and set fire to the joint. That you and your compadres? If so, go fill out this form here.
No pressure, but last year when we did this, we had like 2000+ folks hanging out. Doing the math, that’s ~4000 ears that’ll hear your music. So Yeah.
Oh, and there’s a deadline – Get ‘er filled in by Friday, 1/18/13 at 11:59PM.
Summing up: We need you, go fill in this form, and play SXSW.
Top Three Philly Open Submissions 2012: Ghost Light
This year, Ghost Light got gritty. Awful Feelings, their Valentine’s Day release that earned a spot as our July Album of the Month, wore a more powerful, roughed-up sound on its sleeve. Between that and the exuberantly stormy performances with their newly filled out lineup, it has certainly been a breakout year for Ghost Light. – Alyssa Greenberg
NYC Year End Poll – ALT ROCK Submission: Black Taxi at #2
If you haven’t seen Black Taxi live yet, then think about all the time you spent watching crappy films last year… for your own good, this band is here to show you a way out of this mess. This group belongs to an oft-ignored genre of music known as ‘Punchy Cinematic Rock,’ and seeing the band live is like watching performance art, a jukebox musical, and every single Nicholas Cage movie at once (so you don’t have to). In other words, this band isn’t afraid to try everything and get caught in the act looking good in tight costumes. Their new record ‘We Don’t Know Any Better‘ covers territories from punk, to 4 on floor dance, to orchestral synth pop jazz… whatever that is. Check out 2nd single ‘Hand’ (streaming below) from new record ‘We Don’t Know Any Better’ to get a feel for what you’ve been missing in their new POV video, and see the band yourself when they play at Public Assembly on Saturday, Jan 26th. – Mike Levine (@Goldnuggets)
Shalloboi “You’re A Vision”
Tyler Ritter (aka Shalloboi) has released a colorful and haunting video for the first single from the upcoming 7" Field of Flowers Vol. 2. This is the second of four singles, and Vol. 1 was released back in October. "The Field of Flowers" series has seven songs in total and Shalloboi raised funds through Kickstarter back in November to release this series on vinyl.
Top Three Philly Open Submissions 2012: The Districts
Youth exuberance with a battled-tested bluesy grit – that’s exactly what The Districts bring to the table. Each song demonstrates raw emotional energy combining straight from the gut vocals with a steam-rolling rhythm section that lights the fuse for raunchy explosive guitar licks one after another. – Michael Colavita
Free Download: “Fire” – Night Panther
Sexy, synth-pop four-piece Night Panther really impressed us with their opening set at Norwegian Arms‘ album release party. The dapper dudes and and charming, young lady don’t have an official release out yet, but a full-length album is in the works. Until then, you can check out and download for free their latest offering called "Fire," which premiered earlier today via My Old Kentucky.