By implicitly stating not only that originality trumps instrumental technique, but also that it’s more easily achievable by non formally trained musicians, the Post Punk bands of the late 70’s re-affirmed the concept of creative DIY in rock music – a trend the Velvet Underground had anticipated about a decade earlier. It’s only natural then that many bands in today’s DIY scene look back at that wave of groundbreaking music for inspiration. Brooklyn’s Pill, who’ve recently received praise from Pitchfork and made The L Mag’s list of the 8 NYC bands you need to hear, fully recreate the edgier and darker atmospheres of that music, always caught between repetitive droney elements and out of the box madness. In this circumstance, the saxophone functions as a wild sonic card, while Veronica Torres’ vocals reject any pop inclination with atonal rants in part reminiscent of Sonic Youth’s Kim Gordon. Check out below single "Misty Eyed Porn Reader" from their self titled debut EP, and see them live at Cameo on June 14 with Deli favorites Future Punx. – Image courtresy of The L Mag

We added this song to The Deli’s playlist of Best punk/garage songs by emerging NYC artists – check it out!

Earlier this month, Brooklyn-by-way-of-Texas singer/songwriter Buck Meek released his Heart Was Beat EP. An understatedly beautiful collection of five country-folk tracks, the album has the smooth-voiced guitarist telling stories of drifters and loners over a calming blend of trailing strings and soft drums. Listening to tumbling songs such as “Misty” (streaming below) and “Fog Rolls,” one may recall Phosphorescent or Iron & Wine, but Buck Meek’s sheer musicianship and vivid writing prove his own promising, exciting talent. – Zach Weg

We added this song to The Deli’s playlist of Best rootsy songs by emerging NYC artists – check it out!

DC’s indie rockers Shark Week released their debut album on NYC’s Paper Cup Records on May 19. The band is about to depart on a East Coast tour that will see them play the Northside Festival in Brooklyn and Toronto’s NXNE. Check out single "Why Did I Let you Go" streaming below.

Active since 2012, NYC’s collective Motion Studies produce what they call "Weird Disco," which sounds to us like post punk inspired electronic music with a beat. Funky bass lines, bizarre sounding distorted guitars and samples flirting with industrial music are reoccurring elements in their music. Their latest single "In Our Days" (streaming) represent the peak of their reportoire so far, and it’s a driven tune full of sonic surprises that work within the context of the song. Definitely a band to keep an eye and two ears on, check them out at Mochmore’s on June 13 within their label’s Godmode’s three year anniversary party.

We added this song to The Deli’s playlist of Best songs by emerging NYC artists – check it out!

Let’s admit it, most true rockers feel a little uncomfortable whenever they read the words "Christian" and "Rock" next to each other – we do too. It’s probably time to get over this impulse, forget the past struggles with the church (and the permanent divergencies with the rising tide of bigotry in the US), and just enjoy the music. Besides, if we can tolerate lyrics like The Sex Pistols’ "I wanna destroy passerby," we can probably also deal with "Great is Our God," the title of one of Young Oceans‘ most popular songs. This band is a worship project that evolved from hymns penned and arranged within the Trinity Grace Church community in New York City. We are really enjoying the band’s single from 2014 entitled "Only You" (streaming below) which falls entirely in the dream pop category – dream and religion are themes that feed each other in a big way. And if you really can’t take the religious content in the lyrics, you have no excuse anyway: the band’s latest album "Steady the Stars" is entirely instrumental.
Young Ocean was recently included in New Music Seminar’s list of "Artist on the Verge 2015."