Brooklyn four piece American Darlings latest EP release is entitled “Rubber Tracks” like the Converse sponsored studio in East Williamsburg. Single “You And I” (streaming) comes off as an intentionally perky-pop track that points towards early Elvis Costello and perhaps even The Smithereens as songwriting inspiration. The inclusion of pitch bended guitars hooks between verses, however, suggests something else. Has yet another sub-genre been established – “happy-gaze?” Extended bars of sinewy single note guitar riffs take things into further pleasing directions. “Time For Two” continues this thematic direction, confirming the gaze scene’s increasingly de rigueur Sonic Youth/MBV guitar hybrid. Vocals are delivered blending softer REM-like vibrato on the verses against a big shouted Foo Fighters-style chorus. Third song “Kimchee Princess” is a live track from one of their shows, showing what the band can do outside the controlled studio environment. The band will play next at Pianos on December 9. – By Dave Cromwell

With their sputtering beats and trotting guitars, Northampton, Massachussetts indie funk quartet Mammal Dap powerfully reminds the listener that instruments alone can be deeply affecting. Excluding a human voice, songs like the drum-skipped "Ariel" and the bass-rubbed "Tried Tides" (streaming below) evoke autumnal melancholy while ultimately letting summer joy slide through. A compelling combination of Ratatat’s elasticity and Flying Lotus’s claustrophobia, such subtle yet fierce tracks play along to an intriguingly unpredictable pace. Mammal Dap has many forthcoming shows listed, including one this Thursday (12/10) at Stomping Ground in Putnam, CT. – Zach Weg

This past February, Northampton, Massachussetts avant-pop trio And The Kids did nothing less than impressively filter daily angst through dancey pop. Listening to such songs as the drum-hopped opener "Pangea" and the celestial fourth one, "Glory Glory" (streaming below), one may smile at these deft musicians’ ability to meld the panic of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs and the calm of Beach House with compassionately direct lyrics. While it is, as frontwoman Hannah Mohan sings on the former, "alright to tell a lie," And The Kids is boldly committed to telling the truth about all-too-real pain. And The Kids has several shows coming up, including one at SPACE Gallery in Portland, ME on Thursday 12/10. – Zach Weg

Fever The Ghost are bringing girl glitch and Gundams this Sunday as they perform with a dozen more local bands for the fourth Wake Up, SFV celebration. What started as the bedroom project of singer-guitarist Casper Indrizzo (ex-Seems), who frequeted SFV’s mom-and-pop venues like Guitar Merchant, has grown into a sparkling ’70s bubblegum flavored lovechild of MGMT and Starfucker. The four-piece mixes flutter, funk, and futurism in their debut LP Zirconium Meconium, an album best described as sci-fi pop (Kyary Pamyu Pamyu is a noted inspiration) and self-described as "Easter bunny poop." Fever The Ghost has quickly risen to critical acclaim for their glamorous live sets and unorthodox sounds, backed by talents like The Ghost of a Saber Tooth Tiger, Temples, and The Flaming Lips.

They’ve played outside California for much of the year, so this is probably the last time you’ll get to see their reworked live set. Listen to "Sun Moth" off their debut LP below. – Ryan Mo

When the blues, the goth and the psych meet, the least you can expect is a nightmarish atmosphere. That’s exactly what you get with NYC’s IYEZ (pronounced "eyes"), a Brooklyn band we first highlighted earlier this year. The group has just released a new EP entitled "WOR$HIP," and preview single "Sister" (streaming) is a sonic assult carried out with a wall of distorted guitars, relentless druming, and a tense, psych/blues choral melody. The whole thing sounds as if the ghost of the proto-metal of the ’60s had been awaken and administered modern drugs he didn’t react too well to. You’ll have a chance to experience all this live at Union Pool on 12.16.

We are not sure how punk rock band Lame Drivers (currently based in Brooklyn) managed to avoid any Deli coverage prior to this very blurb, since they have been making music since 2005 (interesting way to phrase this sentence, as if it was their fault, not ours). They play what could be described as punk rock with classick rock influences, which pretty much puts their music in the same sonic territory as that immortal classic that is The Clash’s "London Calling" – if it wasn’t for some ’90s influences creeping up every now and again. Their output is remarkably consistent from the very first record, 2005’s The Captain Amazing EP, to the last one, released in October 2015 and entitled "Chosen Era" – by the way, happy tenth birthday Lame Dravers! Both records, and we assume also the six ones in between, are bound to find fans among the rock’n’roll seekers. Check out single "Throw it to the Moon" – probably the more "’90s" of their tracks.

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