New Music, Emerging from your Local Scene
For the holidays we thought you might enjoy some rad articles we published in our magazine in these 9 years of existence.
Here’s a piece about the Brooklyn DIY Scene we printed back in in 2008 (The Deli NYC’s issue #17). In the image, a section of that issue’s cover depicting Crystal Stilts live at now defunct (but hopefully on its way back) DIY venue Market Hotel.
We published this interview with Matt and Kim back in 2007, and about one year later, when the band surged in popularity, the page started getting a serious amount of traffic. A little bit of digging in our Google Analytics account revealed that the world had suddenly developed a curiosity about the marital status of the two Brooklyn musicians – were they a couple, were they not? Our interview had the answer, although kind of outdated by then. The magic word that created all this traffic was – yes, you guessed it – "dating," used in the band’s 4th answer.
That widespread curiosity lasted about 3 years (the band’s "golden years" 2008-2011), with an extra, smaller bump in 2012 after the release of their latest record.
It’s pretty hilarious to read through the queries Googled by Matt and Kim’s fans (see picture on the left, this is just a fraction of hundreds of different ones). I think the winner here is "is kim the drummer in matt and kim dating matt" – which should have actually been "is kim the drummer in matt and kim dating matt the guitarist/singer in matt and kim?" – you know, you’ve gotta be as specific as possible when you Google something… or "is matt and kim are not dating" which is at once a question and an answer (wishful thinking, huh?).
Full disclosure: This astonoshing discovery prompted our marketing staff to embed – as a playful experiment – a hidden "dating" word in all The Deli’s feature pages. Sadly, this ethically dubious trick produced pathetic results: While Matt and Kim’s page got more than 20k hits because of the legitimate info it contained, the second most popular artist with a "dating query" was Rachel Platten, at – ahem – 12 hits.
"World’s Strongest Maniac" is the b-side to the latest single, "Kneegrass Blues" from House of Normandie, but at 1:38 it is a strong shot of indie rock bliss!
Red Cent has a new album, Strange Machine, and they recently funded the release via kickstarter. The campaign still has a week left and the band is looking to reach a stretch goal and fund a new video. The album itself is energetic and fantastic.
The band released video this week for a track, "Hard to Say", from Strange Machine.
You can catch Red Cent at Township tonight, December 20th, with Too Close To Perfect, Sticky Valentines, and Northheart.
Delicate and detailed, ‘Bite Fresh Air’ by one year old Brooklyn band Icewater (streaming) is a song of understated dexterity, all meandering melodies exploring the soundscape, waves of color and visions of yearning. Not a folk song, it is though earnest and entrancing, with shifting strains of elegant guitars and a hazy spirit that lays over droney synths and hypnotic, gentle beats. Although housing a bittersweet sound that surely must be imposed by the listener (given that it was recorded before the tragic and sudden death of founder member Grant Martin in July this year), there’s a gentle warming feel to it that endures and endears throughout its wandering. The song is taken from the band debut album "Collectors Edition" whose release will be celebrated with a show at Baby’s All Right on February 1st. – Francesca Baker
We added this song to The Deli’s playlist of Best songs by emerging NYC artists – check it out!
On Barnswallow’s “Josephine” EP, charming melodies peek their way through a wall of distorted guitars. The title track shifts between a radio-ready chorus and radiant chords and drums big enough to fill a stadium. On “Exhale,” the band again moves from sing-song melodies to guitar solos with just the right amount of almost-too-much overdrive, before dropping everything but a treble-boosted guitar for its two-minute outro. With the inclusion of an acoustic version of “Exhale,” the “Josephine” EP is the closest that Rhode Island’s Atomic Action! Records gets to easy listening, so if you’re on the lookout for more local hardcore tunes, head on over to the label’s Bandcamp page. – Jake Reed
When one thinks of Nina Simone, immediate visions of strikingly beautiful, heart wrenching messages accompanied by somber jazz melodies are called to the forefront of one’s mind, and when one thinks of San Jose-based experimental group Xiu Xiu, their radically innovative style isn’t one that is necessarily pegged in the same category. Nevertheless, the band’s album Nina offers a mind-blowing interpretation of the late songstress’ classic tunes. Xiu Xiu’s cover of Don’t Smoke In Bed maintains the same somber, melancholy theme it was originally created with, but with an added eerie twist of Jamie Stewert’s dramatic, breathy, stark and masculine vocals . Pirate Jenny bursts in with leading jazz lines (thanks to saxophonists Tim Berne and Tony Malaby) and a seemingly endless supply of hypnotic experimental sounds, only to wind back down as Stewart delicately whispers Nina’s masterfully crafted tale down the listener’s necks. Every component of this cover album fits together beautifully like a bluesy, emotion- laden puzzle of a homage. Nina offers a portal to a world of new possibilities for a revival of classics. -Kat Collins
Natick-based Novation may be fresh out of high school, but their sound belies their age with a maturity well beyond their years. Their latest “Good Stuff Cheap” EP encapsulates the rabid energy of their live sets – which in the past have featured inflatable animals careening around the room, the entire audience getting on stage, and much more – into three songs recorded at The Center for Arts in Natick earlier this year. With influences from the Foo Fighters to local acts such as Dinosaur Jr. and George McGann, these guys are a fun listen and even better live show. The set’s final track, “Release,” has an anthemic quality about it, aided by group vocals, the solid rhythm work of guitarist Anthony Santoro and Brian Cumming’s rougher-than-gravel vocals. If you’d rather hear what they sound like in a studio setting, check out their previous studio EPs, “Release” and “We Come In Pieces.” – Ben Bosco
If you like garage rock done right, the all-female luminaries known as Desert Sharks are your first Christmas gift of the season. Their semi-polished garage rock with heavy surf/punk influences and (for the genre) clean female vocals is an intriguing addition to the expansive Brooklyn garage scene. Taking a little after late 80’s punk bands like X and The Misfits, Desert Sharks take you back to a more graceful time for punk music. Check out their latest EP titled ‘Sister Cousins‘ below via Bandcamp! – Michael Haskoor (@Tweetskoor)
