New Music, Emerging from your Local Scene
North Side rapper Manny 10x has released the first single, "Warp Speed" from his forthcoming debut mixtape, Revolutionary!, which is due out later this summer via Rosebud Allday.
This mixtape is the result Manny spending a year in prison, for defending himself, where he primarily read and wrote and rekindled his passion for music. Shortly after being released he was put in touch with Jsun Rose of Rosebud Allday, and quickly composed his debut mixtape.
I never did a proper introduction when assuming role of Managing Editor of The Deli NYC, but, hello — my name is Connor Beckett McInerney, and I’ve served as editor for the Deli’s NYC blog since November of last year. Today is my last day.
I hope you’ve enjoyed the music that we’ve highlighted on this blog since my tenure began in late 2019 — much like my predecessor Paolo De Gregorio I sought to highlight the city’s experimental, independent, and often overlooked artists to the best of my ability.
The Deli was one of the first publications to pay me for my work as a critic when I first arrived in NYC several years ago, and stepping down feels a bit like "the end of an era" in a personal capacity. Nevertheless I am incredibly grateful to Paolo for giving me this tremendous opportunity. If you’ve enjoyed the music I’ve spotlighted on this blog, feel free to follow my personal Twitter account (hyperlinked above) and check out my radio show, LOCAL BOPS, which airs every Tuesday night on KPISS.fm.
As a final note, I want to say thanks to everyone who submitted music, read the blog, or passed along a word of encouragement. I hope to see you at the gig someday.
Kindest regards,
Connor
“Opulent Field,” the latest video by NYC experimental quartet JOBS, feels simultaneously complex and minimalistic. Utilizing repetitive instrumental elements (namely guitar and cello), in tandem with a tightly-wound electronic percussive overlay, JOBS’ sound is hypnotic yet never overindulgent, relying upon precise interweaving of acoustic and synthetic parts to craft dreamily distant indie rock. Moreover, the band’s give-and-take approach to performance and the decision to keep their sound grounded makes for an intrepid-yet-quiet listen — stream it below, and keep an ear out for the band’s forthcoming endless birthdays, out August 7th.
The summer’s half over, and yet with the world as it is, it may feel like the summer hasn’t even begun. Costa Rican pop artist Michelle Gonzalez a.k.a. MishCatt comes to us with her new single "Goofy", which she bills as "therapy for mood elevation". The electric blend of pop and jazz mixed with Gonzalez’s sultry voice makes it a song of the summer contender, and the team behind it (Carl Falk, Albin Nedler, and DYO) have produced pop hits for artists such as Madonna and Ariana Grande, giving "Goofy" the power to rise up the charts. For anyone thinking that MishCatt sounds familiar, she performed an acoustic version of "Fades Away" at an Avicii tribute concert last year in Stockholm; fans of the departed EDM artist may have heard her there. Take a look at the sunny video for "Goofy" below. – Will Sisskind
Austin’s hardcore music scene is quickly evolving and picking up momentum. The best evidence of that is the punchy and powerful partial debut of Exhalants new album, Atonement. The album is stocked with hard-hitting tracks such as “Bang,” which sends tremors of rage and exultation down listener’s spines. Exhalants comprise of a trio of compact heavy guitar riffs, crashing drums and intense vocals that rip through each song, creating a multi-front assault on the senses.
Diving into “Bang,” we instantly feel the distorted bassy guitar riffs which resonate power and raw energy, and seemingly imitate the heavy metal version of a Beach Boys phrase. All of a sudden, screamingly loud vocals come into play, and punchy drums follow, which rip through the little bits of background silence left behind from the awesomely intense guitar ostinato. Virtuosos of mastering intensity, Exhalants’ Steve, Tommy, and Bill absolutely shred through the song and leave no doubts left behind about their skill.
As the song wraps to a close, the crash and deep instrumentals that Steve, Tommy, and Bill create continue to persevere and they even add entirely new vocals and slides into the picture. With twenty seconds left, the drums begin to fall out of the picture, leaving behind a guitar and vocal duo that could make you shout and yell with excitement. Together the duo work together to leave no note left untouched and to fill each and every moment with the punchyness that the Exhalants are renowned for.
On September 11th of 2020, Exhalants’ LP Atonement will be released, and if “Crucifix,” “Blackened” and the rest of Atonement is equally loud, this premier is sure to meet Exhalants mission of being “loud as fuck.” Likewise, with Steve on throat and guitar, Tom on drums and Bill on bass, we are absolutely sure to see one of the craziest, punchiest and most extreme albums that they have ever dropped. Mark your calendars for the 11th Austin, you don’t want to miss this one.
-Eric Haney
Fresh off announcing his multimedia collaboration, A Home Unfamiliar, which also doubles as a COVID-19 relief project, Austin artist Mobley is back with a Foster The People-led rework of his single, “Nobody’s Favourite.”
Originally released as a single in February 2020, the “Nobody’s Favourite” rework is the anchoring single to Mobley’s new EP, Young & Dying in the Occident Supreme. Thought initially as a self-described “dancepunk number,” the Foster The People rework pulls away from the “punk” portion and pushes full-steam ahead towards the “dance” side of the original concept.
Unintentionally or not, the original version of “Nobody’s Favourite” leans awfully heavily on a couple of teeter-totter guitar riffs quite similar to that of Tame Impala’s “The Less I Know The Better” and “Do I Wanna Know?” from The Arctic Monkeys. With the Foster rework, thought the riffs are still present, the track is reimagined in the shape of a punchy, hypnotic synth-pop dance track not out of place among the catalogs of the DFA label releases and Theophilus London.
As quickly as anything becomes relevant in 2020, it is buried beneath an unending pile of other; a song from February may as well be from another lifetime. For Mobley, the rework feels like a reminder, perhaps even a pang, of all the late, summery dance nights currently shelved (or relegated to Zoom) until further notice.
-Benjamin Wiese
Photo credit: Andrew Bennett
