When bands come out of nowhere and drop a doozy for their first single, all eyes instantly turn in their direction (the 86k+ plays on Soundloud in ten days speak for themselves). We’re no exception. Mother has released one of the catchiest songs of this short year yet for their debut synth jam, ‘Easy.’ It’s a fog-fueled, intricately percussive, and harmonically-spiraling package of goodness. Industrial at times, beachy at others… it’s impossible not to want to hear more from these guys, but unfortunately there are no other tracks available, nor info about the band. Check it out below and we’ll keep you posted on there whereabouts of their live shows (if any). – Mike Levine (@Goldnuggets)

Psychedelia is often associated with big guitar parts, lots of reverb, and a sound that’s at once surreal and epic – I guess that’s the heritage left by bands like The Doors and Pink Floyd. But there’s a less grandiose, more playful and varied current of psychedelia, more interested in the bizarrely kaleidoscopic side of dreaming. Forged and explored in depth by The Beatles, it was rehashed most famously by Olivia Tremor Control at the turn of the millennium, and less famously (but brilliantly) by XTC with their side project The Dukes of Stratosphear in the mid 80s. This is the sonic ground were Brooklyn’s Cloud Becomes Your Hand draws inspiration, adding to the mix their penchant for crooked, almost jazzy melodies, which place them on similar songwriting terrain as other heavily experimental but gentle sounding NYC bands like Dirty Projectors and Celestial Shore (both past Deli Records of the Month). These elements make of "Rock of Cakes" a psych-pop album without pop melodies (therefore not really pop music) but nonetheless extremely imaginative and enjoyable. Stream the full album here and see the band live at Roulette on Sunday 03.02.

LINKS: John McGovern Interview with Cloud Becomes your Hand. 

NYC’s local quartet and hazy noise rockers Honduras have really been stepping it up lately, especially with their latest single “Borders” (streaming below). The 2012-founded band can be compared to a faster punk version of the Arctic Monkeys or a Deerhunter/Sex Pistols fusion. The Brit-sounding muffled vocals of Pat Phillips combined with the band’s knack for clean, well-tempered guitar work and percussion makes for a wild listen that will keep you looping their tracks. The band will be celebrating the release of EP ‘Morality Cuts’ tomorrow (03.01) with a show at Radio Bushwick, and then will travel south for a few SXSW showcases. – LINKS: Michael Haskoor’s interview with Honduras.

GEMS expoloded onto the DC scene last year, winning the Deli’s DC Area Emerging Artist of the Year in 2013 with almost all of the juror votes. Their chill sounds, the beautiful voice of Lindsay Pitts and solid production combine to give the local listener a band they can cheer for as GEMS speeds along towards national recognition. In this interview, we tried to find out how GEMS was able to do so much in such a short time, and how they developed their thoughtful style and professional work-ethic. You can catch GEMS tomorrow, March 1st (7pm, the early show), at U Street Music Hall as they head out on tour towards SXSW and beyond. Tour dates below: 

03.01.14 – U Street Music Hall – Washington, DC
03.06.14 – Majestic – Madison, WI
03.07.14 – Double Door – Chicago, IL
03.09.14 – The Orange Peel – Asheville, NC
03.11.14-03.16.14 – SXSW – Austin, TX
03.17.14 – Bronze Peacock Room – Houston, TX
03.19.14 – The Parish – Austin, TX
03.20.14 – House Of Blues – Dallas, TX
03.22.14 – Terminal West – Atlanta, GA
03.23.14 – Music Farm – Charleston, SC
03.25.14 – Music Hall of Williamsburg – Brooklyn, NY
03.27.14 – Sinclair – Boston, MA
03.29.14 – SAT – Montreal, QC
05.10.14 – Sweetlife Festival – Columbia, MD