Under the guise Port St Willow, native New Yorker Nicholas Principe creates spacious, ambient music led by roving guitar lines and the artist’s lingering falsetto, all showcased on his fine debut full-length record Holiday. The record’s conception was inspired by a three year period living in the Pacific Northwest, and the region’s grand, mountainous terrain seeps into the compositions which veer from soaring anthems to crushing ballads, all of which is draped in layers of atmospheric resonance as Principe assembles his arrangements with meticulous care. Met by critics with rapturous approval, the album has recently been re-released by Downtown Records with new 25 minute composition "Soft Light Rush" as a companion piece. – Read Dean Van Nguyen’s interview with Nicholas Principe here.

We added this song to The Deli’s playlist of Best mellow songs by emerging NYC artists – check it out!

Brooklyn’s Vassals released their first full length "In My Dreams I Am A Sailor" this past fall. Stand out tracks like "Informers" utilize sparse bass guitar patterns and tom tom driven beats, allowing for a change to clearly understand the vocals. Singing about "ghosts" by way of their "father," the song builds from quiet levels to a bombastic finish. Another track we like, "Dark Circles" initially moves things into further solemn ground, before (again) rising to a dramatic sonic peak. There are references to "dead little stars" that "used to burn so bright." "Tambourines" presents itself as a start-to-finish rave up rocker, and finding the album title embedded within these lyrics positions it as a signature track. Album closer "The River" makes effective use of bended guitar notes to create a sonic image of water in motion. – Read Dave Cromwell‘s interview with the bands here.