“No this ain’t conspiracy. We know we ain’t equal. This the revolution, motherfucker; this the sequel!” In the video for their song “#,” OSHUN, Niambi Sala and Thandiwe (18 and 19 respectively), resurrect the tattered spirit of Public Enemy with eloquence and vehemence. Though they flaunt the fashion and the shibboleth of Afrocentrism, there is a greater complexity to their locus. The mission of “empowering women and all people, instilling confidence, cultural pride, and self-respect… within a re-emerging movement of cultural realignment, awareness, and creativity” is represented clearly and concisely throughout their repertoire. Regardless of how they may be labeled or categorized, OSHUN’s music is vast and deep, communicating fluidly from subtle ripples to massive crashes. – BrokeMC

Even the best innovation means nothing without a vital sense of the past. Brooklyn’s Journalism connect two seemingly disparate influences—Joy Division and Sea and Cake—in a brief, three-song EP that radiates complacency and anxiety. Closer “I See Everything” (streaming) is the exception; it pushes past style, and thus beyond vanity, into more unfettered territory. More like dat, please! he band will be closing our all ages CMJ Garage/Slacker Rock Stage at Muchmore’s on Thursday 10.15. – Brian Chidester

Every year, so much amazing new music is released, and there just isn’t enough time to catch it all. An intriguing record we found in our digital submissions is Tall Horse’s Ep “Glue.” The Portland, Main trio plays a brand of introspective alt folk-rock that’s at once imaginative and suspenseful. The record starts off with the stand out track “Sour,” some kind of bitter anthem that mixes a spacious and borderline epic electric sound with the band’s recurring Americana influences. Heavy and cathartic, the song puts us in a good headspace for the second track, “Old Gun Shot,” a more traditional folk ballad, except in the rather paradoxical, bleak lyrics. There’s never really an upper on the EP, but who needs that anyway if the music is consistently good. It’s really solid and tragic song writing, and if you are strong enough to deal with that, chances are you will enjoy this record. – Paul Jordan Talbot

This band submitted their music for coverage here.

Here are more hot names of emerging NYC bands that qualified through the Open Submissions to our Best of NYC Year ENd Poll 2014 for Emerging Artists. It’s the turn of electronic bands – ranging from electronica to industrial, electro-pop and electro-rock.

Total submissions in this category: 26

Artists qualified to the next stage (i.e. the Readers’ Poll, starting around 01.20):

1. GRUMBY – 8

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2. Wonderful Humans – 7.66

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3. LAVACHILD – 7.33

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Honorable Mentions (scores above 6.33):
The Use, Creature In The Woods, Ponyhof, Kris Keyser, TURBO GOTH, Brothertiger.

More coming!

The Deli’s Staff

Brooklyn’s Stone Cold Fox founding members are from various states ranging from the West to the East Coast, but reconvened in Brooklyn to hash out their debut LP ‘Memory Palace,’ released in the spring of 2014. The band’s tone is reminiscent of a Strokes meets Skaters vibe, although they happen to blend a few more influences into their melting pot including an electro-indie rock energy. They will be playing Rough Trade Thursday 1/15 with Gospels and Lazercake, and for the occasion they released this rather ridicolous DIY video of single "Sold." – Robert Frezza

Thanks to all the artists who submitted their music to be considered for The Deli’s Best of KC Year End Poll for Emerging Artists. After tallying the votes for the Open Submissions stage, it’s time to release the results. Please note that to avoid conflicts no local editor was allowed to vote for bands in their own scene.

Total submissions from KC: 32

Jurors: Jason (The Deli Chicago), Maylis (The Deli NYC), Paolo De Gregorio (The Deli NYC)

Acts advancing to our Readers/Fans Poll:

1. ATLAS – (Alt Rock/Americana) – 8

We are aware that the label "Femme Fatale" may sound chauvinistic to some, but when a lady enters the stage like this (skip to second 0.28 if you are in a hurry), we think the title is not only deserved but actually pursued. Okay, okay we’ll issue a "Homme Fatale" alert soon, promise! The lady we are referring to is New York born Fiona Silver, a singer songwriter (and model, in case you wondered) that plays a gentle brand of rootsy pop. We like this single "Medicine Man" but we’ll admit that the chorus’s caloric content (i.e. sugar) is dangerously high for our musical metabolism. We’ll have to burn off those sonic calories one way or another.

We got familiar with avant… orchestral (?) NYC trio You Bred Raptors? a few years ago when we booked them for a CMJ show at the now defunkt Ludlow St. location of the Living Room. The masked musicians play a tense and multi-faceted brand of cello driven post-rock (often indulging in prog-rock moments), which seems to have gotten a little less frantic more reflective in their new album "Grant". Maybe they realized that – since they often busk in the subways – New Yorkers didn’t really need an added cause of stress during their commute? The band has already played two cool gigs in the first week of 2015, including Mercury Lounge on January 3rd and the Manderley Bar (home of the Sleep No More play) last night – probably the most appropriate environment one can think of for a masked band of this kind. Check out track "Ice – Nine" below, and – if you dig – keep an eye on the band’s calednar for upcoming shows.

We continue to publish the results for our Best of NYC Poll 2014’s Open Submissions, which are organized by genre. For the unaware, the poll is reserved to local emerging artists.

We now tackle the Singer Songwriter and Rootsy Pop category. Kudos to Christie Belanger for topping this list with her beautifully intimate and poetic music, and to Pete Ayres for charming our jury with his upbeat folky pop.

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Total submissions in this category: 18

Artists qualified to the next stage (i.e. the Readers’ Poll, starting around 01.20):

1. Christie Belanger – 8.16

2. Pete Ayres Band (live at Mercury Lounge on 02.6) – 8

Honorable Mentions (scores above 6.5):

Stephen Babcock, Jessi Robertson, Pam Steebler, Emilyn Brodsky, Frank Bell, Ukulelien.

Jurors: Maylis Personnaz (Deli writer), Roxy Morrison (Deli Toronto), PDG (Deli NYC)

Stay tuned for more results, and then for the readers’ poll!

The Deli’s Staff

When a band features Ron Llave (the only human to be featured twice on the cover of The Deli with indie dance collective People Get Ready and electro-world-beaters Yeasayer), PP Coolata (of mathy spazz-rockers Ex Models and stoner krautpunks Knyfe Hyts) and Yuka Mofongo (bassman for Doug Gillard and defunkt Deli darlings, Pterodactyl) you can certainly expect great things. The trio just debuted this garagey – and rather droney – single from their upcoming debut album, to be released on March 3rd. No live shows announced, but we expect fireworks from these guys in a live settings.

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

Long Island punks InCircles caught our attention with their 2013 full-length, ‘Youngblood,’ and – with a brand new EP in the works – it’s safe to say that the twangy trio have no plans on slowing down. They’re on the bill for the upcoming N.Y.C. Punk n’ Roll Festacular! which will take place on January 23rd at Lit Lounge. Also on the bill that night are also other relentless NYC punk acts like Arson Welles, World War IX (WWIX) and Heavy Negatives. WWIX in particular, with their old school punk, have built a reputation for unstoppable debauchery and unrestrained live fun. Check out the track "Jesus Freaks" and keep on punking it the fuck up. – Michael Haskoor

Brooklyn based folk-pop artist Leslie Paris Viking showcases an ironic wit via a series of recently released tracks. With a vocal tone reminiscent of late 70’s/early 80’s troubadour Steve Forbert, Leslie delivers folk that’s “alive on arrival” – once more. “This Machine” presents the sort of thoughtful wordplay any poetry fan can appreciate. Couplets describing the title subject as “A positive action machine” with “no regretting from now on” and being “hellbent on heaven and whatever else you do for fun,” point to the author using metaphor in describing his own feelings. Alternately, “The Greatest Singer In The World” morphs from over-the-top braggadocio to self-doubt. “No one approaches me” eventually becomes “that’s lonely.” Of “all the people on this train, I can’t be the only one who’s unsure of the bargain.” Its basic two chord guitar progression with understated keyboard, guitar and drums accompaniment present what Forbert fronting The Velvet Underground might have sounded like. – Dave Cromwell

This band submitted their music for coverage here.
We added this song to The Deli’s playlist of Best rootsy songs by emerging NYC artists – check it out!