Here’s another round of bands that proceed to the next phase of our Best of NYC poll for emerging artists, from the normally crowded "Indie Rock" category (everybody wants to be "indie" these days, we had to re-categorize a couple of folk artists and blues rock bands before we got this this list)! This category was a heart breaker, LOTS of really talented artists that should have gone through, but we can’t possibly promote more than four of them – sorry!

Total submissions in this category: 19

Jurors: Jonathan Goodwin (The Deli DC), Ryan Mo (The Deli LA), PDG (The Deli NYC).

1. The New Tarot 8.16 – (out of 10)

We stumbled upon the Walker sister-driven group The New Tarot in the summer of 2014 and saw a lot of potential in it. One and a half years later, we are happy to report that at least part of that potential has been developed in the right direction in their 2015 "Stella" EP, and through a live show that’s growing in confidence – not to mention the awesomely spooky video for the title-track, streaming below. These ladies have the talent and enough time on their side to take things even further. Don’t miss their upcoming show at The Bowery Electric on February 13.

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2. Regret The Hour – 7.83

Currently gracing the top of this very blog as 50% of our Artist of the Month, like this very category’s winners, Regret the Hour are fueled by sibilinghood: brothers Nate McCarthy (lead vox/guitar) and Ben McCarthy (lead guitar) lead this group through their second EP "The Far and the Near," which confidently blends indie, alt and roots elements to deliver an intensely emotional and enjoyable record.

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2. The Heavy Howl – 7.83

Brand new NYC/Boston trio The Heavy Howl released their debut EP "New Mistake" in the summer of 2015 – great title by the way. It’s an interesting record that manages to be sober production-wise but also catchy in a very peculiar way. The power trio instrumentation is what you would expect from a grunge revival band, and even if the sound is partly reminiscent of the less polished records from that musical wave, The Howl’s songs and their interest for textural details are entirely their own. You can see them live at never-heard-before venue Idio Gallery on January 15.

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

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4. Battle Ave – 7.66

Split geographically between Woodstock and Brooklyn, Battle Ave is a band that also suffer from split personality disorder, as you can easily realize from the opening track of their sophomore 2015 LP "Year of Nod," whose eery video we premiered not long ago. here at The Deli, of course, we dig that, because most great rock’n’roll records aren’t normal, and most talented people desperately need a shrink.

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HONORABLE MENTIONS – (Score above 7):

Vaureen, Gillian, HUFF THIS!, The Stewart Dolly, Dear Comrade, The Deafening Colors, Teeth People, The Motor Tom

See you soon with another category!

The Deli Folks

Another band with big plans for 2016 is Brooklyn’s Spirit Animal, who recently shared with PureVolume a new track "Front Seat Feelin" from the band’s forthcoming ‘World War IV’ EP, scheduled for a February 19th release. We can’t embed that song here, but we do have access to the EP’s opening song "Regular World," streaming below, which manages to be anthemic, punch, and cheeky at once. The quartet will be celebrating the release of the EP with a show at Mercury Lounge on February 11.

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

As you may have noticed, we just started dealing with the 2015 Best of NYC Poll for Emerging Artists, so it’s kind of appropriate to dedicate a little blurb to the band that won last year’s edition: Porches. Aaron Maine’s collective of rotating musicians just came out with this new video for single "Be Apart." It’s been a year of change for Porches, a band that – up until early 2015 – featured a mostly guitar driven sound, whether acoustic or electric.  Their upcoming album "Pool" is set to change that in a way more synthy direction. The band also announced a spring tour with Alex G that will end with a show at Bowery Ballroom on April 15.

Last month, Boston duo LOVESWORDS shared its roughly pretty second release, ‘LOVESWORDS TWO.’ Featuring such punk-inflected blues songs as "Ode to the Strong" and "Tired Bull" (streaming below), the five-track effort pleasantly recalls such celebrated acts as The Black Keys and Sublime while humbly exhilerating with its passionate musicianship. The second half of the latter song, for example, has singer Kyle Henrickson calling out a lover’s "lies" as drummer Skye Mazuroski’s hard taps mount ferociously towards the roof. Henrickson and Mazuroski are reportedly childhood friends and, in these raw tracks, one hears the unadulterated joys of youth. LOVESWORDS plays at Middle East in Cambridge, MA on Wednesday, 1/13.-  Zach Weg