One of the most serious problems of the music industry, today, is that it’s incredibly hard for musicians to cultivate their compositional skills for long enough to reach their full potential: since the mp3 induced collapse of record sales, funds for artist development have vanished, and artists have no choice but to develop themselves, with little funds and – often – time. It really takes a lot of mental strength and self discipline to grow as an artist, in particular in a city as merciless as the Big Apple. Brooklyn Davey Jones and his indie rock project Lost Boy ?, with that name that perfectly sums up the challanges of being an "indie" musician, has been keeping at it for quite some time (at least since 2010, when we booked them at Pianos with Quilty, which then moved back to Boston and became Speedy Ortiz). In the last few weeks Lost Boy ? has been unveiling two new songs from their upcoming album (due in April), which reveal a growing songwriting confidence and an improved sound. The album, entitled "Canned" is the first release recorded as a band. Judging from these first two singles, dwelling in a sea of influences ranging from The Pixies to The Flaming Lips, it’s likely to propell the band to the next level in their musical career – they would deserve it.

Deli Nation,

Our Year End Poll for Emerging Portland Artists was – as usual – a painstaking (and somewhat excruciating) process, but we pulled it off with remarkable flair!

A huge congratulations to The Domestics for becoming The Deli Portland’s Artist of 2014. For a group who seemed to materialize out of nowhere in early 2014, they recorded easily one of the best albums in recent Portland history. And it hasn’t gone unnoticed. Through and through, these guys are pure musicians and true song writers. Here’s looking forward to more soul-crushingly beautiful folk-friendly indy rock from them to come in the near future.

Sama Dams were not far behind, securing the Number 2 seat. Their 2014 sophomore release, Comfort in Doubt, underscores Adams ability to craft unique and heartfelt avant indie rock that both gently draws the listener in and challenges them with intelligent rhythms and out-there guitar solos.

It’s also no surprise to see Talkative at the top of this list. Their 2014 debut studio lp, Hot Fruit Barbeque, was the culmination of four years of relentless high-energy gigging and self-recorded demos, and is one of the strongest recent contributions to the realm of Pacific NW psych rock. 

Here is how it all went down: first we let the local bands submit their music, and had various Deli editors to pick their favorites as nominees. Then we polled a list of 15+ Portland music scene experts (our jury) asking them each to nominate 3 more bands of their choice. Then we polled our writers. And finally we polled our readers. We tried our damdest to keep things open and inclusive across all genres, from Indie to folk to Hip Hop.

If you care to geek out on all the subtelties of how this poll works, you can check out the rules in depth here (happy reading!). But if all you care about is the awesome new music that Portland produced in 2014, then the following list is all you need. Enjoy!

BEST OF 2014 POLL FOR EMERGING PORTLAND ARTISTS ****** FINAL RESULTS ******

ARTIST J OS W R TOT   1 The Domestics 11   1 0.036 12.036 2 Sama Dams 9   1 0.017 10.017 3 Talkative 7   1 0.027 8.027 4 The Tamed West 6     0.013 6.013 5 Psychomagic 3   3 0.008 6.008 6 Summer Cannibals 6     0.006 6.006 7 The Ghost Ease 4   1 0.033 5.033 8 Grandparents 2   3 0.021 5.021 9 Like A Villain 4   1 0.014 5.014 10 Aan 3   2 0.011 5.011 11 The Lower 48   3 1 0.004 4.004 12 Big Haunt 4     0.002 4.002   Thanks 3   1 0.002 4.002 14 Mermaid in China   1 1 2 4 15 Bubble Cats 3     0.023 3.023 16 Lunch 2   1 0.013 3.013 17 Fanno Creek 2   1 0.006 3.006 18 Swansea 3     0.003 3.003 19 The Shivas 3     0.002 3.002 20 Blesst Chest 3     0.001 3.001   Chanterelles 3     0.001 3.001   Musee Mechanique 3     0.001 3.001 23 And And And 3     0 3   The Woolen Men 3     0 3 25 Kool Stuff Katie   1   1.5 2.5   Jackson Boone   2   0.5 2.5   Just Lions   2   0.5 2.5 28 Fringe Class 2     0.018 2.018 29 Minden 2     0.016 2.016 30 Eidolons 1   1 0.013 2.013 31 Golden Hour 2     0.009 2.009 32 Comm 2     0.007 2.007 33 Bed. 2     0.004 2.004 34 Lost Lander 2     0.001 2.001   Mothertapes   1 1 0.001 2.001   Sons of Huns 2     0.001 2.001 37 Dirty Revival   1   1 2 38 The Fourth Wall 1     0.027 1.027 39 Arlo Indigo 1     0.019 1.019 40 Jeffrey Martin   1   0.004 1.004   Landlines 1     0.004 1.004 42 Anna Tivel   1   0.001 1.001   Renaissance Coalition 1  < NYC Best of Portland Readers and Fans’ Choice: 1. Mermaid in China, 2. Kool Stuff Katie 3.Dirty Revival Posted on: February 10, 2015 Deli Readers, The Deli Portland’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.  We happily announce our top three local emerging artists Mermaid in China, Kool Stuff Katie and Dirty Revival! 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 Portland Artist of 2014. 1. Mermaid in China — 2. Kool Stuff Katie — 3. Dirty Revival — Here’s this poll’s top 10 chart, full results can be found here.  BEST OF PORTLAND 2014 – READERS’ POLL RESULTS   Artists Votes   1 Mermaid in China 683 2 Kool Stuff Katie 623 3 Dirty Revival 274 4 Jackson Boone 98 5 Just Lions 73 6 The Domestics 36 7 The Ghost Ease 33 8 Talkative 27 9 The Fourth Wall 27 10 Bubble Cats 23   The Deli’s Staff Austin COSMS Posted on: February 10, 2015 COSMS is an Austin post-rock act that first cracked into my consciousness at Psych Fest last year, but not because they were playing. It was actually, somewhat oddly, not music but clothes that got me into this two-piece instrumental band. To be specific, it was drummer and synth player Damen’s unmissable shirt which had me going up to take her shot for my friend ATX Streestyle’s blog (I was filling in for a day). It wasn’t much of a question the lady was making it on the blog: girl was rocking a shirt that was covered hem-to-hem with Steve Buscemi faces. Like, weird ones, if one Steve Buscemi face could be said to be weirder than another, and they were all goddamn over her shirt. ATXSS records peoples’ gigs along with what they’re wearing, and Damen told me she was the drummer for a band named COSMS out of here, which I later looked up. It was a hell of a journalistic win- not only did I get to shoot a wild Steve Buscemi shirt, but the stylish lady wearin’ it was also in a damn good band that I’ve been keeping tabs on since. Now is an excellent time to get into COSMS, as they’re prepping a new album for release, which should be happening during one of a series of SX shows that these guys will play. In support of said sparklin’ new album, COSMS recently recorded a new and neat live version of track “PAGODA” for KOOP radio, and it has The Deli rather pumped for the full release. The song’s first few dreamy minutes invoke visions of its namesake- one could see it soundtracking cherry blossoms flowing down from the sky in lazy schools around a still Japanese pagoda- and then it gets raw as fuck. It’s also an excellent representation of what COSMS does, which is firmly in the instrumental-only, crescendos-sometimes-included realm of post-rock, but which keeps its own sound and isn’t a clone of the genre’s big acts like GY!BE or Explosions in the Sky or Mogwai clone like much of post-rock can be. It’s good shit from a group with style and substance to spare, and it portends an excellent full release. Head to their FB page to keep an eye on info on that release and the SXSW shows, and listen to “PAGODA” below. Chicago Taken By The Sun Posted on: February 10, 2015 Doom rockers Taken By The Sun are self-releasing a new skull crushing self-titled album on Feb. 24th. The first single is called "Ornaflux". You can pre-order the album today. Portland Introducing: Year of the Coyote Posted on: February 9, 2015 In a city shrouded by indie rock cred, having been home to artists such as the late Elliott Smith, Decemberists, The Shins, Modest Mouse, and Portugal. The Man to name a few in just the last couple decades, musical genres that fall outside of that category can easily go un-noticed. Not to say that hip hop, funk/soul, country, hardcore, or various other genres don’t exist in Portland. They most definitely do, and in fact they’re thriving, but only in their own niche underground scenes and rarely catching the ear of press. To help fight that trend, today we celebrate Portland hardcore. In particular, Year of the Coyote. Representing the local hardcore music scene with a vengeance, YOTC boasts a stacked lineup of well-seasoned musicians that have been active in the scene for well over a decade. Featuring Matt Hagen (previously of Brutal Fight, Rapid Fire Process, Two Hands) on guitar/vocals, Travis Wisner (Born Losers, Burning Room, Two Hands) on drums, and Matt Thornton on bass/vocals (Inked in Blood, Rapid Fire Process, Burning Room, TADA, Two Hands), these guys play a brutally sludgy blend of death and doom metal. Back in December, YOTC released their first demo recordings, and it’s the perfect soundtrack to all my mass-apocalyptic-war dreams. From start to finish the demo showcases impeccable instrumentation. Explosive percussion, heavily fuzzed-out low-register and dissonant chord progressions juxtaposed by frenetic high-register fretwork, all bear the weight of guttural and morbid vocal growls. Blast this in your headphones and the next thing you know you’ll be the only one left in the room standing. But at barely eleven minutes in length, the three tracks leave you needing more fuel for your fire of hatred. Word on the street is that Year of the Coyote recently lost Matt Thornton who just moved up to Alaska, and while AK is perhaps the most metal place in all of the US of A, here’s to hoping that YOTC will be able to carry on and grace us with a longer follow-up recording before too long. Because Satan knows, Portland needs more bands like this one to help fight the overwhelming current of mainstream indie pop that is constantly being spoon fed to us.  – Travis Leipzig San Francisco Cathedrals Release “OOO AAA” (Tunji Ige Remix) From Blush EP Due Out 2/14 Posted on: February 9, 2015 San Francisco based experimental pop band, Cathedrals have released a dark and sexy remix of OOO AAA. This song is a super sexy downtempo track that sounds like Lana Del Rey packing a punch of both soul and elegant confidence. So good! This track is from their upcoming remix ep, Blush EP. The new release is due out on February 24th through Neon Gold Records. Sadly the duo’s two shows on February 27th and 28th at the Independent are completely sold out. Better luck next time! Keep an eye out for more of Cathedral’s new music!