While New York mourned the end of much celebrated DIY rock quartet LVL UP late last year, the months following the group’s dissolution have been marked by an uptick of activity among the solo projects of the band’s former members. Nick Corbo’s Spirit Was is one of those projects, one that carries the doom-laden distortion and wandering, esoteric lyricism that characterized some of LVL UP’s best work. And while split single “Golden Soul” feels as though it could be B-Sides from albums like Space Brothers or Hoodwink’d, Corbo’s added instrumental and vocal experimentation on “Olive Branch & Brown Dove” is a welcome addition to the city’s alt-rock tapestry, an expansion upon the oeuvre of his former group that continually becomes weirder, grittier, and more enigmatic in the best way.

Spirit Was will play Alphaville on February 8th, supported by Yours Are the Only Ears and IR Moody. Until then, stream “Golden Soul” below. –Connor Beckett McInerney (@b_ck_tt)

Branding oneself as a “psychedelic dub interpretation of Joy Division” is a move certain to raise eyebrows, but Brooklyn noise quartet Jäh Division’s take on the music of Ian Curtis is executed with a remarkable amount of confident experimentation and self-assuredness. While it’s not surprising that Jäh Division started as a joke between roommates Brad Truax and Barry London, a self-described “good smoke and a joke,” their nine-track LP Dub Will Tear Us Apart… Again is more than another sophomoric meme album. Truax and London, in collaboration with members of Oneida and Home, create spacey, discordant soundscapes throughout Dub that rely upon components of Joy Division’s music as a backbone while expanding outwards into something completely different; at face value their music is familiar in melody only, with their phaser-laden employ of the Curtis’ vocal lines from songs like “Disorder” and “Love Will Tear Us Apart,” but the end result is more indicative of the group’s respective electronic instrumental chops. While not for everyone, Dub Will Tear Us Apart is an interesting, defiantly different interpretation of post-punk made by and for those who crave New York’s weirdest sounds.

Jäh Division will play a record release show on January 26th at Secret Project Robot, supported by Mourning A BLK Star. Stream Dub Will Tear Us Apart… Again below. –Connor Beckett McInerney (@b_ck_tt)

Hola, peoples into emerging music!

The winter issue of The Deli NYC (our 56th!) is now up on the cloud (HERE), featuring glitch-soul luminaries altopalo on its cover!

The issue also tackles the current shift of everything cool from Brooklyn to Queens, and – as usual – highlights many local bands we dig (and their favorite gear).

There’s also a special about the NAMM show, which we will participate in with our own Stompbox Booth featuring tons of emerging pedal manufacturers!

Fresh Buzz and NYC Records of the Month sections are never skipped!

Look out for the print version, out at the end of the month.

The Folks at The Deli

There is nothing usual about the vocal powerings of Zelma Stone’s front woman, Chloe Zelma Studebaker. How do we mean that? There are the self-proclaimed modern influences of Angel Olson (we hear that), the haunting calls like Jefferson Airplane’s Grace Slick, some Kate Bush feels. This stuff is hard to find and there’s a blooming of those same types of lyrical and vocal strengths within this work, repackaged into a more modern type of dreamy folk with some touch-of-grunge rock. Tracks like “Light Bulb Boy” and “River” have surprising key-shifts, killer baselines, sexy drums and a smack of tamborine. Challenging, fierce and empowering. Let’s go see them tomorrow night, where Richshaw Stop hosts their album release party. January the 19th with an all female-fronted bill of Mayya & The Revolutionary Hell Yeah, Moon Daze and Mae Powell. –Michelle Kicherer, Associate Editor