A little under a month ago, Burlington-based, self-described “fox folk” artist Abbie Morin shared a slowly involving live version of “Better Half” (streaming below), the wistful opener on her 2015 debut album ‘Shadowproof.’ Over ambling guitars and soaring violins, Morin vividly depicts a distance-bruised relationship while showing pure appreciation for our lovers, wherever they may have gone. Reminiscent of both Angel Olsen and perhaps Lucinda Williams, Morin quietly yet strongly shines with her moving country-folk. Abbie Morin plays at Nectar’s in Burlington, Vermont on Saturday (2/20). – Zach Weg

Listening to The Teen Age is like running into old high school acquaintances – the ones that walked the line between fun, rebellion and recklessness – and realizing that they have grown up. The Brooklyn band has managed to retain the wonder of adolescent fervor within their matured sound, polished but with an edge. And their new EP Bad Seeds is a testimony to that; its youthful energy coursing through the verve of sprightly guitar riffs – and sagacity attained only through time.
Having cut their teeth performing for bands such as Twin Peaks, Diarrhea Planet, and Palma Violets, you know that this is a band that can pack a punch and blow you away in a live performance. They release their new EP on March 4 and are celebrating with a party on 3.3 at Mercury Lounge. Can’t wait two weeks to see them, then don’t worry. They’re playing Union Pool 2.19 and Pianos 2.23. – Adriana S. Ballester

It’s time to focus our attention on the bands that did well in our recent Best of NYC 2015 Readers/Fans Poll for Emerging Artists (we wish there was a shorter way to say that… what about BoNYCRFPfEA 2015?). Let’s start with the Sould category, since it features that poll’s overall winner and third place artists. 

With her powerful voice and a solid production team behind her, Pam Steebler qualified to our Best of NYC poll through the Open Submissions. Her "Give In" EP, paired with a full band churning out confident, top notch live performances, are a great asset for a young artist whose soul-rock has the potential to appeal to almost every music lover out there. Check out her single "Me and You" below, and see her at Webster Hall’s Studio on March 1st.

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With a slightly poppier approach to soul music, Lawrence boasts classic songwriting forged by sibling duo Clyde and Gracie Lawrence. Gifted with both superior piano skills and incredibly powerful vocals, Clyde leads the band with the confidence of a veteran. The band just wrapped up a east coast tour and will celebrate the end of it with a show at Webster Hall’s Marlin Room tonight (02.18)

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Merging electro, hip hop and soul, Tangina Stone offers a less classic interpretation of soul music Her 2015 EP ‘The Fall‘ surprises with a sound that develops in various directions, highlighting the singer’s range and its production team’s ability to work with dirrent genres and sounds.

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The other three artists in this category are Cory Henry, Connell Cruise and Justin Baron.

Deli Readers,

Our Best of 2015 Poll for Emerging Philly Artists has been – as usual – a lengthy and painstaking journey which took us through prairies of numbers, horizons filled with band names, and a dense, (mostly) joyous rain of music, but we have finally arrived at our desired destination. We can now announce the final results!

And the winner is…

1. Alex G

Alex Giannascoli gives hope to nice, normal, loner dudes everywhere who waste inordinate amounts of time recording solo jams in their bedroom. He unassumingly seeped into the Philly music community’s subconscious with a slew of honest, lo-fi recordings. After winning The Deli Philly’s Readers’/Fans’ 2013 Poll for Best Emerging Artists, Alex G eventually went on to sign to Domino Recording Co., and released Beach Music, which was also our November 2015 Record of the Month. So this victory might not be such a surprise to some of our Deli faithfuls.

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2. Kississippi

We discovered Kississippi after being intrigued by Shari Heck’s cover of "Dogmas," which appeared on the original track list of Cyberbully Mom Club‘s Amy Locust Whatever. We were instantly smittened by Zoë Reynolds’s endearingly candid lyrics and wispy lilt, highlighted by the stripped-down, acoustic version found on I Can Feel You in My Hair Still. On the group’s label debut We Have No Future, We’re All Doomed (Soft Speak Records), the band hooked up with Modern Baseball‘s Jake Ewald, who produced the album. 2015 is definitely only the begining for Kississippi.

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3. Queen of Jeans

The ladies of Queen of Jeans challenged you to "get off your ass" and make them dance with their debut single, but we think that it might’ve been pulling a little reverse psychology. Featuring former members of The Interest Group and Work Drugs, the group enchants like sirens on its self-titled debut EP, which can found via Third Uncle Records and the UK’s Super Fan 99. Queen of Jeans are certainly already drawing crowds.  

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Honorable Mention: The Spirit of the Beehive

The Spirit of the Beehive definitely won the nod from our Deli writers for their work in 2015. With a new full-length album coming out later this year via Jade Tree, it’ll be interesting to see if they’ll win over the rest of our panel of jurors next year. 

Take a gander at the rest of our Best Emerging Philly Artists list below, and we hope that you find some rad new artists that you weren’t aware of!

BEST OF 2015 POLL FOR EMERGING PHILLY ARTISTS ****** FINAL RESULTS ******

ARTIST J OS W R TOT   1 Alex G 11.5   2 0.03 13.53 2 Kissisippi 10.5   3 0.009 13.509 3 Queen of Jeans 9.5     0.006 9.506 4 The Spirit of the Beehive 2   6 0.01 8.01 5 Palmas 6.5   1 0.004 7.504   Lithuania 5.5   2 0.004 7.504 7 Thin Lips 6.5   1 0.003 7.503 8 YJY   3 2 1.5 6.5 9 Girlpool 5.5     0.006 5.506 10 The Writhing Squares 5.5     0.005 5.505 11 The City & I 2   3 0.012 5.012 12  Suburban Living 2   3 0.001 5.001 13 Howlish 3     2 5   Hurrican Hoss 3   1 1 5 15  Abi Reimold 4.5     0.021 4.521 16 Shannen Moser 4.5     0.017 4.517 17 Air is Human 4.5     0.005 4.505 18 Tunji Ige 4.5     0.002 4.502 19  Blood Sound 3   1 0.005 4.005 20 Hello Shark 3   1 0.004 4.004 21 Cheerleader 3   1 0.003 4.003 22 Petal 3   1 0 4 23 The Up Up Ups! 3     0.017 3.017 24 Palm 3     0.012 3.012 25 Nik Greeley 3     0.011 3.011 26 Friendship 3     0.006 3.006 27 Shelf Life 3     0.005 3.005   Year Of Glad 2   1 0.005 3.005 29 Ecstatic Vision 2   1 0.004 3.004 30 The Stammer   2 1 0.002 3.002 31 The Bul Bey 3     0.001 3.001 32 Silverton 2     0.5 2.5   I Think Like Midnight 2     0.5 2.5   Man About A Horse 2     0.5 2.5 35 VoirVoir   1 1 0.015 2.015 36 Weekender 2     0.003 2.003 37 Aunt Dracula 2     0.002 2.002   God Root 2     0.002 2.002 39 Joie Kathos 2     0.001 2.001 40 GrandeMarshall 1   1 0 2 41 Museyroom   1.5   0.001 1.501 42 Josh Miller 1     0.029 1.029 43 Motherwhore 1     0.021 1.021 44 Scantron 1     0.016 1.016 45 Dogs on Acid 1     0.01 1.01 46 R.R. Perkins 1     0.009 1.009 47 Mercury Girls 1     0.007 1.007 48 Madalean Gauze 1   Philadelphia New Lushlife + CSLSX LP Available for Streaming Posted on: February 18, 2016 The day is almost here. We heard about the collaboration between emcee/producer Lushlife and production trio CSLSX a few years ago during a session with Lush for our Choice/Cuts series. That feels like a lifetime ago. However, we are happy to finally get to share with you – Ritualize. Hopefully this record will bring Lushlife and CSLSX all the recognition that they so deserve. The LP also features rad contributions from Killer Mike, Ariel Pink, RJD2, Nightlands, Yikes The Zero, and many others. You need this album for your collection, and you will be able to find it tomorrow at Western Vinyl, or grab it next Saturday, February 27 at their record release show at JB’s. (Photo by Ebru Yildiz) NYC Music Video for VUM’s “New Girls”, streaming on Soundcloud and single release party Posted on: February 18, 2016 When the trio VUM first got together, they had an idea to get music out—in a recent interview with Impose Magazine, Jennifer Pearl thought to "throw everything on the wall to see what sticks." Perhaps to their surprise (definitely to ours), "New Girls" stuck, and stuck around for nearly eight years. While it didn’t make the cut for VUM’s debut album, we’re glad they dusted it off and (after laying new vocals) set it out as the third single to their upcoming LP Cryptocrystalline. "New Girls" carmine pop-noir casts a familiar umbral shadow that long-time listeners can trace back to Strange Attractor, complementing the hypnotic oscillations of "Katrine" and stellar frequencies of "This is the Witch", both released in 2015.  Watch the music video to "New Girls", the latest track from VUM’s upcoming album Cryptocrystalline, out digitally on 3/25 and physically on 5/3 through their own Secret Lodge Recordings, and catch a special (FREE) single release show with them and Intimatchine on the 25th at LA MOTHER. – Ryan Mo Toronto THE LAD CLASSIC – HARD ROCK AT THE RIVOLI! Posted on: February 17, 2016 The Lad Classic are a solid rock n roll band based right here in Toronto. Their sound brings ya back to the days of the real rockstar. They fit right in with Aerosmith, Kiss or Guns n Roses. In fact I think guitarist Ben Healey could probably teach Slash a few things. He can really shred. Josiah on drums holds a beat down like no other while Paul rips the vocals all the way up to the high notes. They have one EP currently available and all of the tracks were recorded plugged and unplugged. The highlight is definitely "Cadillac Jack" which they made a music video for too. They have a new release on the way in the coming months but you can see them LIVE this Saturday at the Rivoli. – Kris Gies NYC Ohene Cornelius releases ‘Flight Risk’ LP at Secret Loft on 02.27 Posted on: February 17, 2016 Actor, artist, and musician Ohene Cornelius brandishes his wings in the face of an subjugating establishment. With releases spanning back to 2011, he’s come a long way as an artist. His new album reads like Kanye West mixed with a little Saul Williams. It’s a party album with political leanings, kind of like having a bunch of dancers dressed like black panthers backing him during a super bowl halftime show. He is sensational in his imagery to the point of parody, but it’s a conscious juxtaposition; the fool who whispers in the ear of the king, the bravado of mainstream hip hop exploited as a vessel for something more invective. In his own words, "We call it #FlightRisk cuz this sh*t might take off." Join him and his BKWildlife brethren on 2/27 for the release party at Secret Loft BK. – BrokeMC