The Golden Pony – an electronic duo that just entered our "Emerging NYC Bands with Buzz" top 15 – broke onto the NYC scene in 2013 with a string of dancy remixes of old and new artists (the most successful being the one of Simon and Garfunkel’s "The Sound of Silence"). They have since gathered over 5,000,000 plays on Soundcloud and had two #1 hits on Hype Machine. The curly male duo also writes original songs, otherwise they wouldn’t be featured in this blog: the latest is a chilled EDM tune entitled "Die Inside Your Dance," featuring Savoir Adore at the vocals, check it out streaming below.

"In the pocket" is a phrase used by music geeks to describe bands that are just… feeling it. And after a few years and some lineup changes, Portland’s Slutty Hearts are there. Watch the closed-eyed communication between the band as singer Marisa Laurelle bashes a cymbal with a tambourine, smiling out lyrics about love crimes, and you’ll see the prowess of musicians that have paid their dues. The confidence of their live set is obvious, yet there is a vulnerability that brings them to the level of the crowd. Combining the gritty realness of punk with the slick veneer of pop without sounding forced and pretentious isn’t easy, but this band does it effortlessly – and with style. Catch them at the Trillium in Hood River July 3rd, or when they’ll be covering the Kinks for Ray Davies Day at Bunk Bar July 15. – Just Dave

NYC songwriter Julia Weldon will be performing at Cake Shop tonight within a bill tied to the New Music Seminar 2015 (she was included in their "Artist on the VergeClass of 2015″ list). The young artist plays hartfelt pop that often flirts with Americana influences, although her most popular single ‘Careful in the Dark‘ follows an intimate melodic path reminiscent of Elliot Smith at its most evocative. She’s releasing a new video today for new single ‘All I Gave Her.’

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

Aptly named NJ psych punks Psychiatric Metaphors released their first full length album “33 Thorne Street” earlier this year. Opening track. “Stone Bros Knows” (streaming) is driving three chord rock with basic beat under shouted tandem vocals. We soon learn these “bros know” that “she’s so cold.” There’s tension in the held chord before the verses, the way Sonic Youth frequently elongated moments within a song before dropping the hook. Title track “33 Thorne Street” has cleaner, 60’s sounding bright guitars. Vocals come off a tad more “sneering” this time, with an appealing amount of guitar noodling over the basic chords and simple drumming. The resident of the titled address is (also) a girl: she’s “inside getting tight” but “no one’s got a key” to get in. Metaphor indeed! “Sleep Deprivation” continues to mine the quarries of 60’s psychedelia that current like-minded locals Golden Animals have delved in to. “She’s So Fine” goes deeper into the caverns of early garage rock, conjuring up the spirt of Moby Grape and their classic track “Omaha.” Catch them next on Wednesday June 24 at Palisades in Brooklyn. – Dave Cromwell

As you may gether from their moniker, Brooklyn’s Teen Girl Scientist Monthly are not too interested in coming across as a serious bunch: the band exists for the dual purpose of making rock’n’roll music suitable for parties, and partying to it while playing it live. In spite of this, the guys are incredibly hard working: their  upcoming album "Hyper Trophy" will be – between LPs, EPs and 7" – their TENTH release since 2010. New single ‘Dark Rip’ (video streaming below) fits the profile of the perfect party tune: marrying the raw and upbeat urge of punk with the contagious optimism of pop, the track is bound to get listeners moving, wherever it reaches them. Teen Girl Scientist Monthly will be celebrating the release of  "Hyper Trophy" with a party at Cameo Gallery on July 18th – fun will be had by all.

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

A pillar of the Brooklyn DIY scene, since the late aughts Grooms (interviewed back in 2010) have been consistently releasing records of bendy post punk with both ambient and slacker rock inclinations. Their latest full length ‘Comb the Feelings Through Your Hair ‘ (their fourth) came out this February and shows us a group that’s still as inspired as in its early days, notwithstanding a couple of troubled years behind them (more about this here). Check out the fantastic title-track below and don’t miss them live at Union Pool on June 27 in their new lineup.

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

Featuring Nikolai Fraiture (bassist of The Strokes), Erika Spring (of Au Revoire Simone’s fame), The Like’s former drummer Tennessee Thomas, and NYC songwriter and guitarist Lewis Lazar, the new band Summer Moon certainly doesn’t sound like what it is (a "supergroup"), which, considering the talent at work, makes things rather exciting. The quartet played a show at SXSW in March before releasing any material, and finally unveiled first single "Happenin’" (streaming) in late May. The track is an upbeat number propelled by martial, Joy Division-esque drums and semi-atonal percussive electronic sounds. The simple, clean rhythm guitar and bass lines point back again to the darker sounds of the ’80s (think The Cure’s ‘Seventeen Seconds’) but somehow the tune doesn’t come across like post punk revival, thanks to vocals that adopt a more modern approach to melody and rhythm. Those interested in hearing more should hurry to buy tickets for Summer Moon’s upcoming show at Baby’s All Right on 07.28.

Rachel Mason is an NYC-based singer, performer, sculptor, filmmaker. Her latest project is titled ‘The Lives of Hamilton Fish‘ and it doubles as a concept album and adjoining film. The album essentially has the singer (and her accompaniment) narrating what’s on-screen through each lyric, which makes for an unsettling experience on songs like "Nightmare" (streaming) where the nom de plume falls into an almost Borgesian state of identity crisis. Hamilton Fish, as it were, is actually two people: a statesman and a serial killer, both of whom died a day apart from each other in 1936 (true story). Mason sings both men with a disturbing intensity, which resonates deeply where life resembles fiction, and that fiction resembles even more fiction. Upcoming performances will be at the Anthology Film Archives on July 21 and Joes Pub on July 26. – Brian Chidester

Brooklyn-based folk rockers Bridget Davis and the Viking Kings boldly speak the truth on “Transient,” the lead single off their forthcoming first full-length album “I Wasn’t Planning on the End.” With Davis’s gentle voice gliding over drum clasps and guitar curls that recall the waltzing tracks off The National’s self-titled debut, the song unapologetically yet sensitively tells of the hurt we must do to one person in order to commit to another. Davis is a sharp songwriter, though, and the song never sinks into melodrama. In fact, the listener comes away almost broken by the track’s blunt honesty but in a beautiful, ultimately redemptive way. Bridget Davis and the Viking Kings’ “I Wasn’t Planning on the End” is scheduled for release in September. In the meantime, listen to “Transient” below. – Zach Weg (photo by Mara Auster)

Blistering old school punk rock outfit The Tracys are as clear an 80s punk revival as it gets.  Their self-titled 12-track debut album is a healthy blend of pop-punk, New York Hardcore and some of Fat Wreck’s earliest punk pioneers, with songs like "Autocorrect" (streaming) resembling some early NOFX work, their punchy and aggressive sound softened by the raspy yet melodic vocals.  The band is gearing up to shred BK’s The Acheron this Saturday, June 20, sharing the stage with Ma Jolie, Pass Away, Choke Up and Living Room. We’d assume that their personal acquaintance Tracy, whom the band has dedicated their entire existence to, will be in attendance.  – Michael Haskoor (@Tweetskoor)

Bowmont is a Brooklyn based trio that’s been delivering beautifully textural and atmospheric synth-pop since the beginning of the decade. It has the luck of having a GRAMMY award winning engineer among its ranks (Jeremy Loucas), who also happens to be obsessed with synths.  The two other members, Danish lead vocalist Emil Bovbjerg, and German guitarist Elias Meister, are accomplished musicians who also share a passion for musical toys. We can’t think of a better band for a Delicious Audio interview about gear and the creative process. (Photo by Fabrizio Del Rincon)

LINK: BOWMONT TALKS ABOUT GEAR, SYNTH AND THE CREATIVE PROCESS

In the dim backroom of Greenpoint’s Matchless Bar, Brooklyn-based, Skidmore College-rooted quartet Pooch started the evening off with a warm set of songs that touched on several kinds of rock (indie, psychedelic, maybe even surf) that particularly captivated thanks to frontman Jonathan Benbeniste. With a warbled timbre reminiscent of Counting Crows’ Adam Duritz and a formidable yet welcoming stage presence, Benbeniste ushered his bandmates through guitar solos, electronic loops, and drum riots that showed a group furthering their cohesiveness.

Fellow Brooklyn rockers Looms took the stage next, playing loose tracks that thrilled with their spindly guitars and calmed with their plaintive keys. Singer/guitarist/keyboardist Sharif Mekawy certainly was engaging, especially during the four-piece’s closer: a cover of Radiohead’s “Bodysnatchers.” Simulating Thom Yorke’s vocal idiosyncrasies on the keyboard and belting the beautifully pained line, “I have no idea what I’m talking about,” Mekawy put a wonderfully electrified spin on the ‘In Rainbows’ cut.

Then came Secret Crush. As its lead singer’s triangular, red guitar foreshadowed, the Bushwick-based outfit performed mostly joyous electric rock tracks while periodically dipping into the tremulous madness of Deerhunter. Through guitar lines that changed volumes (at times low, at others house-breaking) and songs that began with an ominous recorded voice, however, the Brooklyn quartet blended these disparate sounds into their own odd-rock.

Bassist Jack Counce of the next band, Fat Heaven (pictured), wore a Heatmiser shirt but the New York-based trio sounded a bit more like Nirvana (or, perhaps, a grungier Green Day) than that Elliott Smith-co-founded group. Over Gayla Brooks’ extremely fast drumming, lead singer Travis Yablon yelled into the microphone ferociously yet sweetly, delivering such lines as, “Will you walk with me?” There was warmth in the chaos.

To end this by-now-rainy night, the aptly-named Brooklyn quartet Future Punx (a recent Deli NYC record of the month) put on a danceable set at Cameo Gallery. Assuming the stage like aliens come down to party, the post wave band bounced into a set of electronic trances, skittering guitars, and rubbery basslines. The Devo and Blondie of the late ‘70s and The Human League’s early ‘80s hit “Don’t You Want Me” were clearly heard in these songs but Future Punx is not a gimmick. Refreshingly, they just seem to not take themselves too seriously and, as a result, allow for a good time.  – Zach Weg