Here at The Deli we call "Alt Folk" and "Avant-Indie" bands that have familiar tones but are still on some classification borderline. Even with these in mind, it’s difficult to categorize the work of Christopher Hoffman. In his song “The Ends” he whispers over five layers of sleepy ambience, a good half-and-half of electronic and folk influences, rippling and rolling. In other tracks, (“What kind of bird are you”) he brings in loud cellos dueting with saxophones over a continuous brass/strings section. Every track is interesting, and this music makes for a strong addition to the Brooklyn scene. – Caitlin Clive
Mumford and Sons is getting a lot of much-deserved attention lately. If you’re a fan, we’ve got something local for you to try. Dear Lions has a similar croon, without the banjo behind, but with the same acoustic simplicity in the slower tracks and characteristic sincerity in the lyrics. They released their debut EP a week ago, and you can check it out here. – Caitlin Clive
These CDs were submitted digitally to The Deli through this link.