One may not quite be able to discern what Providence’s Daniel Patrick Talbot is saying in his fuzzy guitar tracks but it doesn’t really matter; these messily pretty songs intrigue with their very refusal to be obvious. On “Hollywood” (streaming below), which sounds like a jagged anthem for the deranged, for instance, Talbot mentions that his “body is a lamp/like the factories,” conjuring disturbing yet undeniably compelling imagery. “Accumaliting 2,” which sounds like a mix of Ratatat and Future Punx, similarly obliterates conventional sense yet compels with its jumpy darkness. Daniel Patrick Talbot plays at AS220 in Providence, Rhode Island on 3/4. – Zach Weg 

Our readers may be aware by now that we don’t shy away from seriously dark music, which is in the DNA of anybody who loves the underground rock of the 80’s. Public Memory is the new project of Rober Toher from ERAAS, who released three singles between the end of 2015 and the beginning of 2016, all sharing a desolate electronic soundscape and Toher’s alienated, filtered melodies. Latest single Zig Zag (streaming), sounds a little like Clinic in a David Lynch movie: more nightmarish, and more distant. After playing Alphaville on March 12, Public Memory will head to SXSW to play a show at Barracuda on 03.15.

In 2015, Los Angeles’ Wand have been a force to be reckon with, releasing two LPs in quick succession that sound like a (modernized) museum of psychedelia, and alternatively tackle the genre’s many faces: from garage-psych (Self Hypnosis) to drone rock (The Unexplored Map), from Early Pink Floyd (Reaper Invert) to… later Pink Floyd (Melted Rope). A true encyclopedia of psych! The trio managed to land both records in this critic’s score list of the best 10 psychedelic albums of 2015, preceding acts like Ty Segall and King Gizzard – now, that’s something to tell your grandchildren about!

Young Runner is indeed a young band, but they certainly don’t play like one. The rock quartet been exploring their brand of “garage punk” all over Brooklyn and NYC for the past two years, getting ready for the release of their debut EP, which will be out in the near future. In the meantime, if you haven’t seen them live, their track, “Wet Cement” (from their 2015 selft titled debut EP) is a healthy introduction to the band, incorporating well structured changes filled with attitudinal riffs to support singer Robert Fleming’s harshly muffed vocals. The sound is very 90’s, mixing alternative grunge tones with garage and punk, which is certainly a description in line with plenty of current trends, but where these guys stand out is their level of intensity speed, and precision. You can check Young Runner out at Black Bear Bar on Friday, 2/19, and C’mon Everybody on 3.20, as part of MELTFEST. – JP Basileo

We added this song to The Deli’s playlist of Best punk/garage/90’s rock songs by emerging NYC artists – check it out!

Brainchild of programmer Vivian Moon, who recently relocated from the SF Bay Area to Brooklyn, Pastel Ghost remind us how psychedelia slowly emerged as an important influence in the electronic sound of the ’80s, opening the door to the lush dream pop of Cocteau Twins and to My Bloody Valentine’s shoegazer sound. The band’s electro cover of MBV’s ‘When You Sleep‘ sounds like a declaration of intents: shoegazer music where synths trump guitars. Debut LP ‘Abyss,’ released in early 2015, accomplishes this objective with flair, keeping things interesting with catchy melodies buried in reverb, and showcasing a production that – within a uniform sound – expertly manages sonic variations. If you are heading to SXSW in March, you’ll get a chance to see Pastel Ghost there.

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

The sensual guitar-based songs of Boston singer/songwriter Hana Kahn compel with their emotional nakedness and elegant musicianship. On the January-released “Venus And Mars” (streaming below), for example, the strong-timbered Kahn boldly details solitude and longing with guitar strums that excitingly add up to what can rightfully be called peaceful sonority. Perhaps like the most moving tracks in the singer/songwriter genre, Kahn’s subtly bold tunes seem personal but, impressively, can speak to many. Hana Kahn plays at Middle East in Cambridge, MA on 2/25.- Zach Weg