New York rock band Mainland‘s latest single "Not As Cool As Me" (streaming below) off forthcoming debut album ‘Night Trials’ is an unabashed screw-you to a former lover. Excitingly mixing the nerd rock of Weezer and the rebel punk of The Clash, the guitar-fuzzed track refreshingly bats away the remorse or melancholy that attends many songs about broken romances in order to burn a sure, hot anger. Frontman Jordan Topf’s rattling voice itself makes the song distinguishable, perhaps elevating it from a break-up track to a war cry about intimacy. Mainland plays the Music Hall of Williamsburg on 9.29. – Zach Weg – photo by Rachel Cabitt

Here it is folks, the full schedule of The Deli’s CMJ Music Marathon 2015 Showcases!

Bigger version of the poster here.

The Deli NYC’s staff.

No Regular Play is comprised of two musicians that were strongly drawn to the flexibility of electronic music; Greg Paulus (a Manhattan School of Music alumni) and Nick DeBruyn, pulling from their inspirations (which include J Dilla and John Coltrane, among others) have created music that defies categorization. In addition to performing live around the world, the duo released their latest EP, "Too Dramatic," in 2014. Maintaining a quality suitable for both your living room and the dance floor, their music offers hypnotic synth grooves, minimal lyrics, and instrumentation that surprises the ear with every beat change and trumpet croon. The band will be touring Europe in October – Isabel Rolston

On Tuesday Brooklyn-to-LA’s Ghost Pavilion is hosting a show at the La Cita in Downtown Los Angeles. The band’s synth-rich, lo-fi atmospheric sound started as the side project of James Higgs, multi-instrumentalist of Brooklyn’s cozy dreampop foursome Spanish Prisoners. Two previously earmarked bands will start the show off: Grave School and Last Canyon. Both have released new EPs over the summer — the "Grave School" EP hummed ’80s alt-rock cool, while "gold, sight and silver" featured a loftier sound than Last Canyon’s debut. Psych-pop duo Inspired & the Sleep drives up from Oceanside to support at 10:00pm, too.

Grave School is on at 8:30pm — the beer’s cheap and happy hour’s until nine so of course this is going to be a 21+ gig. With free admission. – Ryan Mo

One crisp Sunday evening in September found a crowded music hall moving to the same mystifying jams of two great bands. Dozens of concert-goers crowded into Baltimore Soundstage to hear the dulcet tones of Good Old War and the Irish-inflected rock of Kodaline. The show was an experience to behold, from the lights to the guitar changes. Originally from the City of Brotherly Love, Good Old War’s act heavily featured just that: brotherly love, or, more accurately, bro love. Keith Goodwin, one of the two guitarist-vocalists, and drummer Tim Arnold shared a precious moment of friendship onstage, evoking warm and fuzzy from the audience. Throughout the set, Goodwin displayed dazzling showmanship via his lanky, unconventional dance moves and commitment to interacting with the audience, not to mention his voice, which rang like a better, cleaner version of Bob Dylan. Guitarist-vocalist Dan Schwartz pumped up the audience with his endless energy and dynamic playing, while Arnold’s good vibes were infectious and his drumming premium. It’s a shame their set was only half an hour long. Headlining and hailing from Dublin, Kodaline brought own brand of mind-blowing rock to the stage. Changing guitars with every song and engaging with the audience’s cravings for a good show, this indie quartet played with great versatility within and between songs, rocking hard and fast alternately with slow, romantic melodies. Frontman Steve Garrigan is the epitome of his role, commanding wide range of instrumental skill and a set of pipes that can replace half a church choir. From start to finish, Kodaline grips the audience’s attention and doesn’t disappoint, sharing intimate moments of emotion and musicality.

Back in July, Brooklyn singer/songwriter Alastair Ottesen released the elegantly forlorn songs "Home Movie" (streaming below) and "Saint Anna Street" off his forthcoming new album. While the former is a pop-inflected folk track that recalls the Elliott Smith of ‘Figure 8,’ the latter is a floating blues cut that would play smoothly alongside The Rolling Stones’ ‘Beggars Banquet’ or Houndmouth’s ‘Little Neon Limelight.’ Ottesen’s near coo of a voice, while reminiscent of the late master Smith or John Lennon as heard on such solo gems as "Look at Me," is ultimately singular, skipping through these latest songs of potentially regained innocence. Alastair Ottesen plays at Rockwood Music Hall Stage 1 on Wednesday (9.23). – Zach Weg 

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

Let’s say it, most incarnations of R’n’B are annoyingly and shamelessly commercial. But those forms distort the depth of the genre’s core, which is soul music, whose roots have nothing to do with pleasing everybody in the most superficial way possible. When soul music meets talent interested in digging a little deeper and trying something new, the result is often surprisingly beautiful music – think about the trip hop wave of the 90’s (Massive Attack in particular) or the early TV on the Radio records. Brooklyn based duo Eda Wolf offer a similar musical recipe, and even though their songs would benefit from a tighter production, they have the moving intensity and edge of those classic records. Check out single "Slow Speed below.

Female vocals are rarely associated with the Emo genre, but things seem to be a-changing (maybe that’s one of the reasons why Emo-influenced music is slowly becoming more interesting to our ears). On the footstep of bands like Tigers Jaw and Candy Hearts, Brooklyn’s 5-piece melodic punk outfit Great Woods have recently released their sophomore EP titled ‘Demo,’ which portrays a young band with a lot of potential. Although the band’s dueling co-vocals may be the highlight, the songs’ structure and songwriting is nothing to disregard. Emo is certainly not the only genre referenced: we hear Elvis Costello’s elegant melodies in "Straight as and Arrow," while "The Hammer" is a ballad that indulges in spacious, almost ambient atmopshpeheres. Great Woods will play a show at Muchmore’s on October 12. -Michael Haskoor (@Tweetskoor) 

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