We all know that most New Yorkers don’t really like cowboys that much (a little too rough around the edges, and mostly global warming deniers), but put a young girl with a guitar under that hat and suddenly you’ve got a total charmer – not sure if that’s enough to say that sexism has some "better" sides to it, cowboys might not like that. But age and wide-brimmed hat are not the only strenghts Nashville via Brooklyn songstress Michaela Anne has to offer. Her country songs ring genuine, like this video for single "Ease of Mind;" her unaffected voice and simple guitar chords forge sincere songs about love and the uncertain future facing a young cowgirl, in a cow-less city. Which begs the question: would NYC be a better place if it had cows? 

Michaela Anne will bring a ray of Nashville sun on February 19 at Rockwood Music Hall.

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Deli Nation,

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

Heavy and earthy, Dark Rodeo applies a punk attitude and and song format to country lyrical themes and guitar tones. Congrats, guys!

Gym Shorts are threw some high-energy surf punk in our laps with last years record No Backsies. Check out their tune "Viberator" and take it to the slopes while we’re waiting for the snow to melt. 

Nathan Ventura‘s back with a band, and released Pucker Up in February 2014. It’s definitely a weird one. Check out Nathan’s wild vocals and the band’s experimental garage feel. Definitely some novel sounds on every track of Pucker Up. 

Honorable mention to Kid Mountain, for their killer free New Years Eve show in Brighton!

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 15+ New England scene experts (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 New England produced in the year 2013, this list is all you need. Enjoy!

BEST OF 2014 POLL FOR EMERGING NEW ENGLAND ARTISTS ****** FINAL RESULTS ******

ARTIST J OS W R TOT   1 Dark Rodeo 5.5     0.005 5.505 2 Gymshorts 4.5   1 0.003 5.503 3 Nathan Ventura & The Buttercups 5.5     0.001 5.501 4 Kid Mountain 3   2 0.003 5.003 5 Suitcase Junket 2     1.5 3.5   Smooth Antics 3     0.5 3.5 7 Derive 3     0.096 3.096 8 Particulars 3     0.041 3.041 9 Jake McKelvie & the Countertops   3   0.034 3.034 10 Hayley Sabella 3     0.025 3.025 11 Guerilla Toss 2   1 0.017 3.017 12 Elison Jackson 3     0.011 3.011 13 Alpenglow 3     0.008 3.008   As the Sparrow   3   0.008 3.008   Violent Mae 3     0.008 3.008 16 Butcher Boy 3     0.006 3.006 17 Mal Devisa 3     0.005 3.005 18 Biscuits & Gravy 3     0.004 3.004 19 Anchors Away 3     0.003 3.003 20 Paper Castles 3     0.001 3.001   Rye Pines 3     0.001 3.001   samuel james 3     0.001 3.001 23 Grundlefunk 1     2 3   Miss Geo   1 1 1 3   Ben Knight 3     0 3   Michelle Chamuel 3     0 3   Sirens 3     0 3 28 Clara Berry 2     0.085 2.085 29 And The Kids 1   1 0.064 2.064 30 BLKBX 2     0.061 2.061 31 Abbie Barrett and The Last Date 2     0.044 2.044 32 Daphne Lee Martin 2     0.031 2.031 33 Mosey Greams 2     0.017 2.017 34 Ports of Spain 2     0.009 2.009 35 Elephant 2     0.006 2.006   Neon Fauna 2     0.006 2.006 37 Pile 2     0.005 2.005 38 Moron 2     0.004 2.004   Notches 2     0.004 2.004 40 Dinnersss 2     0.003 2.003   Fire in the Field 2     0.003 2.003   Mini Dresses 2     0.003 2.003   The Hotelier 2     0.003 2.003   Tredici Bacci 2     0.003 2.003 45 Downtown Boys 2     0.002 2.002 46 Andy California 2     0.001 2.001   Bell and the Bees 2     0.001 2.001   Eric George 2     0.001 2.001   Humanbeast 2     0.001 2.001   Mendition Of The Quay 2     0.001 2.001   My Fictions 2     0.001 2.001   Somos 2     0.001 2.001 53 Annie Brobst 2     0 2   Eljebel 2     0 2   Life on The Sideline 2     0 2   Pours 2     0 2   Rabbit Rabbit 2     0 2 NYC “Desperate Anarchists” Surfbort headline Baby’s All Right on 02.04 Posted on: February 2, 2015 If you wonder how on earth a band with a name like Surfbort and recordings like these can headline a bill at Brooklyn’s venue-of-the-moment Baby’s All Right (on Wednesday 02.03), the answer is: a fun live show, songs that resonate beyond their grittiness, and lots of  friends as young as they are. The band describes their music like "a union of anarchy and despair," displaying a remarkable level of self awareness. Channeling the nihilism of the Sex Pistols, the intentional sloppyness of the slacker bands of the 90s, and at times even some noise rock madness, Surfbort’s music has the power to transform the negatives of teenage frustration into fun – which is precisely the reason why Greek God Dionysus sent to earth his son Chuck Berry to spread the sound of Rock’n’Roll to the masses. Don’t miss out on the catharsis opportunity! New England Midriffs’ new surf punk record Subtle Luxuries Posted on: February 2, 2015 Here’s another October 2014 release that we just dug up. A refreshingly energetic band, Midriffs’ debut album Subtle Luxuries is a punk record that calls back to the nostalgia we have for the lighter Buzzcocks era of punk, with some surf and fuzz guitar tones added for good measure. There’s definitely some Agent Orange and Night Birds flavor in their sound, as any good surf punk band needs. The opening track “Taboo Tattoo” is a retro-sounding punk song, absolutely infectious and raucous. The guitar work is extremely clean and precise for a punk record, emphasizing those energetic surf riffs. Listen for the crazy guitar work on “Sunday Morning Cigarretes and Orange Juice,” my personal favorite track. Definitely keep this record in mind for Summer 2015, or take just it to the slopes! God knows we got the snow for it. Listen or download the album here.  They’re playing Club Bohemia (or the Basement of the Cantab Lounge) in Cambridge, this Friday 2/6/15. Here’s the event page for more info.   – Paul Jordan Talbot San Francisco Fine Points and Color War Support Morgan Delt at The Chapel – 2/4 Posted on: February 2, 2015 Bay Area based bands, Fine Points and Color War will support Sup Pop Records artist, Morgan Delt at the Chapel in San Francisco on Wednesday, February 4th. Fine Points and Color War are new underground bands who quietly feature veteran (kind of a big deal) local musicians. Fine Points has been known to include members of the San Francisco based psych soul band, Sleepy Sun and Tim Cohen of The Fresh & Onlys plays in Color War. This is one of those shows that you can totally miss if you’re not in the know. Luckily you have us here at the Deli to tell you that attending this show means you’ll be walking into an underground rock gold mine. Newly signed Sub Pop Records artist, Morgan Delt will be headlining the show. His experimental rock music will softly melt your face and lead you down a rabbit hole of tightly composed art nouveau alternative sounscapes. This is going be a cool show. Don’t miss it! NYC The Modular Mantras of Patternmaster Posted on: February 2, 2015 In school teachers try and cram as much info into our heads as possible through monotony. However, a lot of this never really seems to stick because we never understand the context, reason or passion behind it. Dance music acts in a similar way instructing us to move with a repetitive onslaught of rhythm, except where school lacks passion, dance music indulges in it, and we soon are overcome with knowledge (sometimes carnal) and succumb to the movement. Patternmaster takes us on a forward thinking quest for knowledge, using modular squelches and incessant kick drums to guide the way -we learn the value of just being in the moment. And just as the last moment passes a new one begins and thus is the cyclical pattern of Patternmaster. For a those on a constant quest for knowledge check out Patternmaster at Kremwerk on February, 5th for the 21st edition of MOTOR, Seattle’s monthly experimental electronics revue. NYC The dark sound of Second Still tomorrow (02.03) at The Flat. Posted on: February 2, 2015 Those who like us were teens in the 80s, and into alternative music, will always have a soft spot for the dark genres ranging from New Wave, Post Punk and Goth Rock. Brooklyn trio Second Still offers the menacing sound of bands like Wire or early Cure, modernized through a guitar tone that occasionally borrows from shoegazer, and sweetened by Suki’s Siouxie-sque airy vocals. The band will be playing tomottow night (02.03) at The Flat in Brooklyn. The show will also be featuring – among others – Wigourney Seaver and a DJ appearence by Food Stamps. Superstitious types will be able to get a glance at their future, thanks to Tarot readings, and art lovers will enjoy live paintings by Lulu Chiper. Philadelphia The Deli Philly’s February Record of the Month: Suburban Living – Suburban Living Posted on: February 2, 2015 Suburban Living’s self-titled debut LP (PaperCup Music) is a memorable showcase of moody dream pop and lush emotives. The anticipated follow-up to the well-received Cooper’s Dream EP and 2013’s “Always Eyes” 7” single, Suburban Living enhances a sound familiar to fans of Beach Fossils, while channeling the percussive pulse and melancholy of post-punk legends like Joy Division.  Opening with “Faded Lover,” the album’s first track unfolds with guttural riffs and an unrelenting backbeat that perfectly frames frontman Wesley Bunch’s emotionally wrought yet controlled vocals. The song falls somewhere between the driving tempo of Echo & The Bunnymen’s “Stars Are Stars” and The Cure’s “Primary,” making it a suitable metaphor for willing romantics. A crystallization of everything quintessential about the dissonance of post-punk and the catchy melodics of shoegaze, “Faded Lover” lingers like a ghost with its listener, dissipating into a silence that begs for subsequent returns.   “New Strings” impresses with cinematic reverb and percussion that gradually swells into a melodic narrative that proves to be just as upbeat as it is brooding. Bunch’s knack for crafting duality and juxtaposition keeps tracks like it from becoming merely sentimental. The sincerity of Bunch’s diction is one equally fostered by disenchantment and passion alike. As if tapping into the emotional core of what made fellow shoegazers The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart so relatable, Suburban Living’s “New Strings” manages to tug at the heartstrings without playing puppeteer.    “Wasted” kick-starts with beach-y chords and mellow diction that intensifies midway through the song’s duration via shouts that seem to beckon a sense of urgency in Bunch’s audience. With ease, it signals a shift in the album’s tone preparing listeners for the more subdued yet earnest “Dazed,” whose instrumentation embodies the state evoked by its namesake. As if it were a millennial epilogue to the sentiments of Psychocandy, the song proves to be just as pensive in its own rite. With jangly hooks and introspective vocals, it feels synonymous with early cuts by Real Estate or a kindred spirit with the unabashed sincerity of the Stone Roses. Here, Bunch is anything but withholding.   The dance-y synth and cadence of “No Fall” perfectly compliments the track’s energy. Suburban Living’s sixth track is a probable favorite for fans. “Hotel Unizo” serves as an instrumental prelude to the album’s closer, “Different Coast,” which is similarly orchestrated in the sense that it captivates. Fashioned by straightforward feelings that confess of vulnerability and modes of coping, “Different Coast” is deliberately constructed to mesmerize its listener towards catharsis.    In the end, it is clear that Suburban Living’s latest release is the beginning of something monumental. – Dianca Potts Philadelphia Krust Toons: “First Album” by Teddy Hazard Posted on: February 2, 2015 Krust Toons: "First Album" by Teddy Hazard – please feel free to drop him a line at teddandthehazards@gmail.com if you dig or have any funny ideas. You can also check out more of his illustrations HERE.