Brooklyn based musician Jonathan Graves is the brainfather of Corbu, a musical and visual project that produces intensely dreamy pop music (and visuals), and which received a fair amount of attention in 2014 with single ‘We Are Sound,’ a foggy number that sounds to us like a sonic concoction of glorious UK band Doves and the Smashing Pumpkins’ unforgettable single ‘1979.’ Fans will have the opportunity to see Corbu live next week during the CMJ Music Marathon, at The Wick on October 16.

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

There’s no deception with Richmond’s Hoax Hunters: they just rock. The trio makes enough noise to pass as a bigger band, couching 80s and 90s influences into a modern sound. Heavy, brash, loud – quintessential garage rock with just the right amount of lo-fi crunch. Blast your sense with Hoax Hunters and avoid disappointment. They’re putting out a new LP on 10/16 entitled Clickbait, available through Cherub Records, so justify the album’s name and click here to get yourself a copy. -Jonathan Goodwin

This past Friday, New York anti-folk artist Mal Blum unveiled not just her fifth studio album ‘You Look A Lot Like Me’ but the unabashedly playful music video (streaming below) for album track "Robert Frost." Featuring the artist passing the time with her own dog (and periodically imitating it) while hanging out with friends on a sunny day, the co-directed visuals read as a thinker’s day off, Blum acknowledging the titular poet’s existential questions while enjoying some downtime. As revealed in a moving blog post, her latest release "came from a bad place, and an incessant desire to be understood and connect with people," and this bright clip is perhaps the fruit of that struggle. Mal Blum plays at The Mercury Lounge on 11.8. – Zach Weg 

The experimental pop act Liphemra just dropped the title track to their upcoming EP "did u cry", and it is so lit. Gradients of fuzz drone, sliced loops, synth pads, and bass licks kick up the turbulence as singer/percussionist Liv Marsico lets loose a torrent of reverb between the verses. Guitarist Trey Findley conjures abrasive wails and honeyed cries as bassist Miles Gray and drummer Chris Parise play off the groove with dead accuracy. This interplay of hip hop and noise builds into a massive sonic whirlwind, receding as Marsico brazenly asks the question: "Did you even cry? / Did you even try?"

The simple verse recalls the sheer emotional weight of post-breakup feels, as crushing as the instrumental monument built and razed before it.

"You break up… Never talk again. You just want to know if they cried," says Marsico of the song.

The team has been holed up in their Mid City rehearsal space for the better part of the year, painstakingly recording and producing the EP after a brilliant string of performances with Algiers, Young Fathers, HOLY CHILD, and appearances at Lolipalooza and Echo Park Rising. Liphemra is at the final stretch, honing their live sound to reflect the EP’s brilliance — there likely won’t be any further shows until early next year, says Marsico.

Expect the drop of "did u cry" next March through LA-based Future Gods. – Ryan Mo, photo credit Arvida Bystrom