Our Year End Poll for Emerging Chicago Artists was – as usual – a painstaking (and somewhat excruciating) process, but we pulled it off with remarkable flair!
Kudos to funk collective Zaramela (pictured and streaming) for winning the poll and – with it – a blurb with picture in The Deli’s upcoming SXSW issue, they’ll actually be going to Austin to play!
Here is how it all went down: first, we let the local bands submit their music (for free), and got our Deli editors to pick the nominees. Then we polled a list of Chicago scene expert (our jury) and asked them to nominate 3 more bands of their choice each. Then we polled our writers, then we polled our readers. We tried to keep things open for each single genre, from Indie Rock to Roots Music to Hip Hop.
If you are a geek interested in all the subtelties related to how this poll works, you can read its rules here (happy reading!). But if all you care about is the awesome new music Chicago produced in the year 2013, this list is all you need. Enjoy!
BEST OF 2014 POLL FOR EMERGING CHICAGO ARTISTS
****** FINAL RESULTS ******
How ’bout a little guitar growlin’ blues for your evening, from local front man Walker Lukens? As Lukens and backing band The Side Arms prepare for a big show with Bright Light Social Hour at Stubb’s on March 27 (Do512 is giving away some tickets here, if yer clicking finger is feeling lucky), these guys have been making the rounds of online music shows and making waves. We’ve recently seen a couple of performances at KUTX, along with the one below recorded for NPR’s Tiny Desk Contest. In said vid we see this band that just crackles with talent putting out a pared down but anything-but-simple version of their tune "Jacket on Your Shoulder," and looking like they’re havin’ a goddamn good time doing it. These guys are really getting their name out there at the moment, and their sound is blues that sometimes invokes a little Spoon and isn’t afraid to put some tech into an oldschool sound (check out Lukens’ looping skills in the vid below). Lukens et al. have been puttin’ in good, hard work over the last few years (we talked about him in 2013, here), and with big shows like the Stubb’s one and not one, but two records set to come out by the man in 2015, this may be the year that takes Lukens and The Side Arms from local staples to a big-time act.
Are you an I Am The Avalanche fan? Well, if you remember, not too long ago, one of the band’s lead guitarists Mike Ireland, as well as their long-time bassist, Kellen Robson, had unfortunately parted ways with the band. What we didn’t know was that they were moving on and joining Crime In Stereo’s drummer Eric Fairchild to form Pass Away, a raw punk rock outfit dedicated to the roots of the genre, through and through. They embrace their love for 90s west coast punk and just fuck around with it and have fun. They’ve just released their debut EP ‘Hey Death,’ as a free download via their Bandcamp page, which will also drop as a 7" on Black Numbers. Listen to the EP’s kick-ass song ‘Currituck Sound’ below. Doesn’t Mikey’s voice sound a little like Face to Face’s Trever Keith? You also have to listen to the EP’s last song ‘Fuck Outta Here,’ which has the hilarious intro of a voicemail recording from an angered neighbor of Mike’s own Bushwick bar The Three Diamond Door, complaining about the band’s loud music. It doesn’t get much more punk rock than that. – Michael Haskoor (@Tweetskoor)
The Deli LA’s Best of 2014 Readers and Fans’ Poll for local emerging artists is over, thanks to all those who cast their vote in support of the emerging local bands and artists in our list of nominees.
Stay tuned for the composite chart, to be released soon, which will include details about the point nominees accumulated from the jurors and Deli writers’ votes, and will crown The Deli’s Best Emerging LA Artist of 2014.
Here is some music by the three bands that made the podium, and – below – the top 5 with links to each band’s music.
1. Little Galaxies (pictured)
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2. Heaps n Heaps
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3. Hearty Har
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Here’s this poll’s top 5 chart, full results can be found here.
Great Peacock announced the May 12th release of their full-length debut album "Making Ghosts" a few days ago, and accompanied the news with a fresh single, "Broken-Hearted Fool." The track has been a standby in their live sets, and carries such a classic edge to it that a casual listener might wonder what Wilco song the crew is covering. "Making Ghosts" will be releases via This is American Music, putting Great Peacock in the company of other Southern greats like Caleb Caudle, Fire Mountain, and The District Attorneys. We’ve been longtime fans to this bro-folk outfit and their ability to make us misty by way of one pefectly placed slide on the lap steel. You can see if they grab you by the same sort of feels by checking them out at The 5-Spot on February 27th. Commence the countown to May 12th! -Terra James-Jura
The opening hook to the track "Jesus", by duo Drug Cabin, instantly brings to mind the "hip to be square" sounds of yacht rock. With a funky bass line and supple guitar work taken straight out of Steely Dan, Nathan Thelen and Marcus Congleton’s blue-eyed soul affectation goes down as smooth as a shot of Kahlua on a bright Sunday afternoon. These two come to party and "pray to Jesus", as they effusively state, righteous activites for a chill weekend after a grueling 9 to 5 lifestyle. The track can be found on their upcoming debut full-length Yard Work, which releases on February 24.
Caught between shoegazer and 80s indie pop influences, Brooklyn trio Lazyeyes just released a new EP entitled "New Year" that offers a perfect balance of the two. Opening single "Islip" (streaming) blends vocal melodies reminiscent of The Smiths with a more expansive guitar sound (and use of reverb). References to the most jangly of bands are immediately confirmed with the following track, " New Year," which squarely belongs in the dream pop realm (and quite appropriately so, since new years inspire dreams of an improved life). The punchy tendencies of the earlier singles comes out in the two remaining tracks on the EP. Check out also "Windowsill" a mid tempo that will intrigue fans of the British sound of the late 80s / early 90s (think anything from Stone Roses to Ride). Lazyeyes will be playing at the Acheron tomorrow (02.13) with Haybabies and Warcries.
Below is the latest track from garage-pop four-piece Cousin Brian called "Green." It will appear on the band’s forthcoming record Closer to Dog, the long-awaited follow-up to First. You can also preview two more tunes, "Emoting" and "Breaking the Stone," HERE. Enjoy!
“Jesus Christ of the City,” the first single from local quartet Lightninging‘s upcoming LP The God of Sun & Tuesdays is a song that intoxicatingly embraces. As the guitar sets a wandering path, Greg O’Neill’s vocals offer an insiders eye-in-the-sky perspective. Then, the walls inside the room begin to shake as the vocals reach back and the instrumentation truly gear up and reach out screaming in unison and demonstrating internal strength and emotion while flexing in a controlled torrent of sound. Comprised of O’Neill, Mark Cruttenden (whom both perform in Baroque-pop outfit Tutlie) and the backend combo of Matt Williams and Greg Foran (who also team up in Static Mountain), the group’s heavy melodic brand of psychedelic rock makes their resurgence a welcomed return. Tonight’s Boot & Saddle lineup also features the heart-pounding four-piece of A Brood of Vipers and the grease-slicked, stick-to-your-skin bluesy trio of Reverend Mantis. Boot & Saddle, 1131 S. Broad St., 8pm, $10, 21+ – Michael Colavita
The Districts made their live performance television debut last night on Late Night with Seth Meyers. The show aired "4th and Roebling" with "Peaches" being available as a web exclusive. You can check out both of the videos below. Their new LP A Flourish And A Spoil (Fat Possum) just dropped earlier this week. The band will be performing this Valentine’s Day to a sold out crowd at Union Transfer.
These days it really seems like synths are taking over the world, or at least Brooklyn. And this time around, for some obscure reason, women are leading the charge. Skyes is yet another female fronted Brooklyn band that makes heavy use of synthezisers. Please don’t get that "yet" wrong: we love this new electro "wave," and all these artists sound nothing like each other; we are just amazed at the sheer number of submissions of this kind we’ve been getting. Skyes’ music could be described as synth-pop because of its melodic focus, but it trades that genre’s upbeat thoughtlessness with a dark-ish, experimental, non linear edge in the arrangement department, reminiscent at times of Kate Bush’s avant-pop. Their most popular single "A Girl Named Jake" (streaming) highlights the lead singer’s beautiful pipes and noteworthy production values for what we assume are home made recordings. Skyes will be playing Mercury Lounge on February 18 with The Bowery Riots, Everest Cale, American Darlings.
