Dark Blue‘s John Sharkey III shares his experience of living in the "post-industrial landscape" of Delaware County in the group’s latest single "Delco Runts." From a press release to Stereogum, Sharkey states, "It’s a place that toughens you fast. Far harder to succeed than Philadelphia proper. The peril is real but unassuming to the initiated. It’s crushed your chances of being a real person before you even know it." The latest track is the B-side to the trio’s forthcoming 7" that will be available on January 15, 2016 via Austin indie label 12XU Records. Dark Blue is set to open Nothing’s sold-out show this NYE at Boot & Saddle.
NYC
Posted on:
Sci-fi west coast party with Slime Girls at The Airliner 12.29
With Internet, game, and anime culture hitting critical mass in recent years, the time is nigh for chiptune revival. As one of the forerunners of bitpop experimentation, the bedroom project-turned digital sensation Slime Girls min-maxes sounds from Gameboy trackers with surf, ska, and punk-inspired music with the ingenuity of early-Crystal Castles, Anamanaguchi, The Depreciation Guild, and capsule.
Originally from San Jose, shoujo star Pedro Silva has built a cult-following through the years with his brand of Persocom pop, collaborating with cyber idols like Space Boyfriend, Punimelt, omocat and more. Following the chiptune cover of "Dating Start!" (from the critically acclaimed indie game Undertale), Slime Girls continues to break 8-bit walls the ataraxic "NO SUMMER NO CRY", transporting listeners through nostalgic rainbow roads, pixel beaches, and final boss stages. It’s only a taste of what’s to come in 2016 — quite frankly, the suspense is draining our HP.
Slime Girls performs at The Airliner on December 29th with knife city, Playing Tourist Forever, and Paladin Shield. – Ryan Mo
San Francisco
Posted on:
The 10 Best Bay Area Albums of 2015
Well, another year has gone by. Local music critic, Lindsay Stickney has made my job so much easier by using her discerning and well honed ear to choose her favorite Bay Area albums of 2015. A lot of these bands are friends and I am certainly fans of all of these artists so I was personally pleased with Lindsay’s choices (which I had NO say in whatsoever).
I hope you will enjoy her picks as well. Congrats to every single band who put out music in the Bay Area this year. The Deli SF loves you all and we completely acknowledge that this was an amazing year for well produced albums and truly talented artists.
I love you all.
Happy Holidays and Happy New Year. May 2016 be more musically fruitful and inspiring!
The Deli SF Editor,
Jordannah Elizabeth
1. The Stone Foxes, Twelve Spells
Bursting, bluesy-rock vibes that make you feel less like you’re listening to a record and more like you’re singing along to gospel in a church of rock n’ roll, Twelve Spells delivers an experience. With tracks like “Cold Like a Killer”, we’re reminded of how good it feels to effortlessly sway our hips to a single-note piano and how refreshing a vibrating guitar riff can be for the soul.
2. Monophonics, Sound of Sinning
Kings of dark, slinky soul, The Monophonics’ Sound of Sinning is heavily influenced by the psychedelic rock vibes of San Francisco, providing a funky 60’s-70’s sound that takes you through a colorful ride of epic horns and funky, noir beats. Packed with gut-wrenching vocals, hazy harmonies and hammond organs, it’s easy to get lost in this record and drift away to tracks like “Falling Apart”.
3. Lee Gallagher, Lee Gallagher and The Hallelujah
Lee Gallagher’s typical folky, country roots are uprooted and replaced by a much more soulful sound layered with emotional instrumentation and howling vocals. In Lee Gallagher and The Hallelujah, we’re carried back to a delightful 70’s trippy wave of movement that prove that a simplistic sound is sometimes the most powerful.
4. Lila Rose, We. Animals.
Bass. Power. Killer vocals. Power. We. Animals. is like your sweetest nightmare induced with passion, heartbreak, manic, and complexity. With whimsical beats, haunting vocals, and tribal drums, Lila Rose delivers an intense, sexually-charged album that lays its foundation on raw aggression. Tracks like “Tracking” will abruptly awaken the pissed off, sensual warrior in you.
5. Growwler, Even Tenor
Easing in with delicate acoustics and finishing with an aggressive bluesy piano sequence, the opening song “Long Hair, Short Wits” is a true ode to the San Francisco rock n’ roll scene and is a testament to the effectiveness of brilliant, simplistic instrumentation. Even Tenor is like a nostalgic storytelling that makes us miss the moments that we never lived for.
6. Ice Cream, Ice Cream
Sweet, sweet, classic garage rock. Ice Cream’s self-titled album forces us to remember the reasons we fell in love with rock in the first place. Dirty, honest guitar riffs, quick, aggressive drum patterns, weaved into gritty barely-there vocals, Ice Cream is the perfect combination of garage sound and punk attitude that will pour gasoline on that flickering fire inside.
7. Al Lover, Cave Ritual
The great Al Lover does it again. Cave Ritual is in fact exactly how it sounds: eerie, tribal, smoky, and sensual to the extreme. Textured beats layered with staccato samples give the album an imaginative sound that catapults us into a contemporary, psychedelic rock trance. Every track will take you to the sun, the moon, and then back again. Twice.
8. The Union Trade, A Place of Long Years
The Union Trade are masters of melancholy and it couldn’t be more gorgeously displayed than in their album A Place of Long Years. The subtle, aching cello atop the fluid, chilling piano make songs like “Svalbard” an escape from reality into the ethereal landscapes of your most tragic, stunning daydreams.
9. Guy Fox, Night Owl
Guy Fox are a musical enigma: elements of funk, old-school jazz, indie, pop, and rock can all be traced at different peaks in their most recent album Night Owl. Whether it be the use of timely instrumentation or charming lyricism, Guy Fox delivers an indecisive yet addicting sound. Tracks like “The City Line” create a steamy, devious tone portraying San Francisco as a playground designed for the mischievous.
10.Toro y Moi, What For?
Light, energetic beats coupled with smooth, romantic vocals make What For? the soundtrack to your hazy, yellow summer nights. Toro y Moi is known for his synthy-pop sounds, but the release of his fourth album slayed all former musical confinement. Tracks like “Lilly” walk the perfect, delicate line of modern synth and 60’s psychedelic rock, transporting you to a blurry wonderland that you’ll want to lay in for a while.
NYC
Posted on:
Brooklyn pop-gazers Syvia unveil ‘Anxious Animal’ from upcoming EP + play Pianos on 01.16
One of the hardest thing to find in today’s record "industry" is artists who are able to keep improving. We’ve been following Ruth Mirsk’s Syvia since 2011, and their musical output has been showing constant progress. The band’s latest release is synth-pop/shoegazer track "Anxious Animal" (streaming), which is a taste of their upcoming EP scheduled for a February 2016 release. Echoes of the droney late ’80s/early ’90s reverberate through the layers of distorted guitars and synth pads, evocative of British acts ranging from the Psychedelic Furs to Echo and the Bunnymen. Ruth’s vocals are appropriately semi-lost in a fog of reverb, and accentuate the moodiness of a single that’s enjoyably pop notwithstanding its many noisy and tense elements. Which is sonething only good songwriting and production can pull off. Syvia will be performing at Pianos on January 16th.
We added this song to The Deli’s playlist of Best Psych songs by emerging NYC artists – check it out!
Chicago
Posted on:
What Will Happen to Santa Claus
Back in 2008 The Giving Tree Band released a great Christmas EP that contained mostly covers of classic Christmas songs, but one original "What Will Happen to Santa Claus". The band has now released a fun and festive animated video for the track that contemplates the impact global warming will have on the North Pole and in turn Santa’s Workshop. Merry Christmas!
L.A.
Posted on:
Swahili Blonde finds newfound autonomy on upcoming full-length And Only the Melody Was Real
Despite featuring an impressive cast of musicians, Swahili Blonde has always been, at its heart, the project of Nicole Turley. Turley is no stranger to the local scene, having been part of bands like Kimono Kult and WEAVE!, though now she’s retracing her steps and beginning anew by taking full command with her upcoming full-length, entitled And Only the Melody Was Real. Featuring the entrancing, dub-tinged first reveal "Rose My Emperor", Turley is exorcising herself from the pain of a failed marriage in the best way she can – implementing sonically adventurous bits and bobs that appear to be simple, though are carefully layered, with arrangements that only reveal themselves in an impromptu way.
And Only the Melody Was Real is out on January 22nd via Neurotic Yell Records.
NYC
Posted on:
Coastgaard shares single ‘A Well Adjusted Man’ from upcoming LP ‘Devil on the Balcony’
If – like us – you like your pop a little dirty, a little retro, and maybe even enriched by noir or quirky elements, you should check out Brooklyn band Coastgaard, one of our Artists of the Month earlier in 2015. After their rather mellow, melancholic 2013 self-titled debut LP, the quartet in 2014 focused on picking up the tempo with singles ‘Rose‘ and ‘Black White Fuzz,’ their most popular single to date. Coastgaard is now announcing the February release of their sophomore album ‘Devil on the Balcony’ by unveiling single ‘A Well Adjusted Man,’ an elegant pop song that delivers their signature melancholic and cinematic vibes, but takes songwriting and production to new levels, flirting at once with Otis Redding’s timeless melodies and a darker post-punk aesthetic. This is a very promising single. You can see the band live at Pianos on January 28.
We added this song to The Deli’s playlist of Best songs by emerging NYC artists – check it out!
Philadelphia
Posted on:
New Track: “Murder Art” – King Shampz
King Shampz is at it again on his latest latest single “Murder Art.” The track, which is available via his own imprint Dead Wrong Records that he co-founded with producer Azzan, raises the thermostat bringing a lyrical delivery that flows like fire. Stepping into a down & dirty soul beat, Shampz spits with a determination to paint mental images that leave a lasting impression showing the grim force of the streets as “paint brushes turn to hammers.”
Philadelphia
Posted on:
Hot Tears Warm the Heart at Boot & Saddle Dec. 23
Hot Tears, the ambient rock duo of Molly Fischer and Erica Freas, mesmerizes with contemplative lyrics and the tantalizing use of the underappreciated cello. Finding spaces that inhabit the sonic regions of such artists as Beach House and Best Coast, their minimalist approach to songwriting still manages to sound lush and inviting. Unfortunately, headliners The Shondes had to drop off the bill due to illness. However, Hot Tears will still be joined by Callowhill, which features members from Trophy Wife and Make A Rising, and Moor Mother Goddess has also hopped on in the eleventh hour. Boot & Saddle, 1131 S. Broad St., 8pm, $10, 21+ – Bill McThrill
Chicago
Posted on:
Ember Oceans @ Subt
Ember Oceans released their self-titled debut EP in 2015 and prior to that began playing an array of venue around the city. Through out this process, that hundreds of bands embark on annually, Ember Oceans began to question what it means to be a "Chicago" band. Is there a "scene" or better yet, is there a community or support network for young band’s like themselves? Not finding what they were looking for the band decided to create a "local scene" and began connecting with other bands. According to Peter Simonaitis of Ember Oceans, they "searched to find what we believe are other young, hard working bands who embody the ambitious spirit of our scene".
You can help Ember Oceans begin to solidify the scene with like-minded bands Freaks for Geeks, The Mile, and As Is on January 9th at Subterranean at 8 PM.
Chicago
Posted on:
Headphone Intercourse
Headphone Intercourse is the instrumental rock of Jason Oppman. Earlier this year he released his debut full-length, Structure, and now has released a beautifully animated video for his song "The Crush".
Chicago
Posted on:
Will Mackie-Jenkins
Will Mackie-Jenkins released his debut EP Cherries In Bloom, early this month. The former dweller of the Appalachian mountains kicks off the EP with a harmonica drenched love ballad to Chicago in the Winter. Despite it being in the 50’s today it still hits home every time.
You can catch Will Mackie-Jenkins at The Store (2002 N. Halsted) on January 16th with All The Wine and Elk Walking.