Storytelling is an art in music.  Slick Rick spun some yarns, Biggie added specific details that drew us in, and countless other MCs have taken up the torch with varying degrees of engagement.  Brooklyn’s Metermaids display their instinctual yen for towing the line and reeling it in slowly with their video for “Profiteer,” the new single for their upcoming album We Brought Knives out Dec 2 on Strange Famous Records.  It’s a moody piece with a Stand By Me (the movie) vibe that makes you nostalgic for the creepy days of your childhood. – BrokeMC

We blogged about Brooklyn goth rockers Cult of Youth a few weeks ago saying how such a great band should get more visibility… well it seems like the Gods of music listened to our wishes, since the band’s new record "Final Days" is getting rave reviews – including from Pitchfork, which gave it a resounding 8.1, and Stereogum, which chose it as their "Record of the Week." For complex cultural reasons probably due to the fact that American prefer more explicit forms of rebellion, this is a band bound to find most of its audience in Europe (in particular the northern part of it), a continent that welcomes quality dark music and art more than any other. That’s why they are touring it more than thoroughly early next year. They have no local show scheduled right now, but we can imagine they won’t be short of offers after the critical praise they are receiving, so watch out!

I really didn’t know what to expect when Tiny Hazard took the stage last Tuesday at The Silent Barn.  My ultimate description of this band ended up somewhere around "surrealist nightmare fairy tale music."  Alena Spanger set the tone not just with her appearance – barefoot, a white dress, she looked young, like she was straight out of a cartoon – and her vocals, which would change on a whim from operatic disney to demon lord fury. 

Spanger and Tiny Hazard don’t want us to have any expectations, actively fooling us into thinking they’re one thing until they’re not.   They’ll be in the middle of a soft, dainty melody until someone hits the tritone on the piano and everything goes dark.  When you barely have time to adjust to the sudden change they’ll plunge into heavy, distorted, no-wave inspired insanity.  But there’s a method to the madness, their recordings and their live sets are both highly contained and controlled atmospheres, where every move has a purpose.

Their most recent single, "Silhouette" is a further demonstration of their eclecticism.  The song is disguised as a highly accessible pop song, but it’s clear that we’re in a confusing mid-point between light and dark. "All of those sick faces/Crooked and vacant/Mounting is your unrest/Warping silhouette," Spanger sings over a R n B/soul inspired synth melody, it seems almost out of place until someone turns on the ‘evil’ switch on and we’re shot into hell and the lyrics aren’t as out of place.  Stream the track below (one of their slower ones) and check them out at The Mercury Lounge on 11.22.

INTERVIEW: Read Emilio Herce’s interview with Tiny Hazard.

It’s that time of the year folks!

Submit your band for The Deli’s Best of NYC 2014 Poll for Emerging Artists – who wins gets the cover of our Spring Issue 2015! (And other prizes to be announced…)

ENTER HERE!

The Deli’s Staff

An unobvious mesh of Adrian Galvin’s folk sensibilities and Luca Buccellati electronic production, Yellerkin’s hybrid sound is incredibly succinct despite drawing inspiration from two polar opposite corners. Cut in the duo’s Bushwick bedrooms, their music is the result of a wholly collaborative process and each track is carefully constructed, often over a lengthy period of time. But even with the synthetic pallet and impressive attention to detail, tracks like ‘Solar Laws’ and ‘Tomboy’ boast a real rootsy, fireside feel, rounded out with Adrian’s cabin-in-the-woods vocals. Having put out a self-titled EP earlier this year, the group have quickly followed it up with the release of new single ‘Tools’ and will continue to filter out their music, one track at a time. See them at Bowery Ballroom on January 16. – photo by Jimmy Shirley

We added this song to The Deli’s playlist of Best songs by emerging NYC artists – check it out!
Read Dean Van Nguyen’s interview with Yellerkin.

Fresh from playing multiple showcases at both the CBGB and CMJ festivals in October, the newly dubbed PARLOUR TRICKS (formerly Lily and the) have recently released new material. Their latest single "Lovesongs" (streaming) reiterates an already established reputation for appealing harmonies and compelling songwriting. Produced by Emery Dobyns with mixing by Michael Ilbert and mastered by Joe LaPorta at Sterling Sound, the track emphasizes melody and vocal purity over any kind of artificial digital enhancements. Meanwhile, their live show presents a visual and auditory experience that comes together with a seamless professionalism. The band will be playing live at The Mercury Lounge for their early show on Saturday, December 13th with Rocket & The Ghost. – Dave Cromwell

Ladies and gentlemen, winter music is here, perfectly timed with a fuh-reezing November morning… Recently signed by local label Paper Garden Records, Sabila Sabila is a young Brooklyn based songwriter with a knack for entrancing ballads, that are at least in part reminiscent of The Deli’s favorite Wilsen. First single "Settle In" (streaming) dropped this past October, quickly carving an online audience of 10k listeners through Soundcloud, while "Stars Under My Skin" is being released today. The new single reveals a slightly twangier approach in the tradition of Cowboy Junkies, probably the mellowest band of all times. You can see Sabila Sabila live at The Stage at Chelsea Market on Friday December 5th.

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

From their records, it sounds like Ice Balloons are trying to be the Sonic Youth of the digital age, or maybe the Suicide of the new millennium – both pretty fascinating ideas: electro-lofi-noise-rock madness! The band released their debut, self titled album about one year ago, and it’s… insane. But not necessarily impossible to appreciate, in particular when the vocals and the bass follow some kind of discernable song pattern, like in our favorite song "Dragonfly," streaming. On the other hand there’s nothing discernable, ever, about the digital noise created by their keyboards, whose granular wall of sound is like a permanent, rough sonic sea in which the other musical element alternatively drown and float. The guys have TV On The Radio’s Kyp Malone as an occasional band member, and enjoy wearing costumes live. Their show at Baby’s All RIght on November 26 should be fun – with earplugs.

With those vocals filtered, heavily effected and drenched in never ending reverbs, Brooklyn’s Nicholas Nicholas on record sound like the ghost of a band from the ’80s. Chris Masullo (pictured, the creative force behind the band) obviously enjoys using a heavy hand on his voice and most other sonic elements, a trait common to many creative producers and arrangers. The band will be opening for High Highs on Tuesday November 11/18 with Fascinator and Gold Lake. On the bill also two other Brooklyn bands: electro-crazy one man band Fascinator and dream rockers Gold Lake.

A band blessed with the gift of seriously rocking (we know that because we booked them for one of our NYC B.E.A.F. Fests), Brooklyn Bugs in the Dark are back with a new album of dark, brooding rock’n’roll, entitled "Cross My Heart Little Death." They’ll be celebrating this release with a show at Union Pool on November 21, check out single "Red Lines" below.

Today, this song by Brooklyn (via Massachusetts) trio Howard is helping us make this Monday more bearable. We’ve never really been into Gregorian chants, but the way these guys integrate a melody reminiscent of those religious choirs with their post-rock arrangements is very interesting, rather comforting and totally cool. Kudos are due, in particular considering this is a completely self-produced effort. Howard, previously known as "Orange Television" in its MA version, will be playing Rockwood Music Hall on November 22. Their album "Religion" will be out soon.

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

The brainchild of Torontonian composer Warren Hildebrand, who recently relocated to NYC, Foxes in Fiction has been creating its own brand of atmospheric mellow pop since 2010. Latest album "Ontario Gothic" offers a collection of invariably downtempo songs featuring a lush production and an arsenal of intriguing melodies and sounds. The album’s running theme is Warren’s recovery from the death of his younger brother Drew in 2008, which probably inspired also his previous three records. Foxes in Fiction will be touring Europe this fall, and then play Music Hall of Williamsburg on January 29.

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