Australian Alex Wall’s solo project, Wax Witches, is a display of, and an ode to, an upbringing immersed in the fast-paced three-chord blast beat ballads and sludge bangers of the 80’s California punk culture. The one-man brain-baby released its sophomore LP, “Celebrity Beatings,” last year: a pissed off sixteen-song tantrum of a record, purporting attitude, discontent, and refusal to conform in every note sung. Wall, who is also the frontman in the Gold Coast’s Bleeding Knees Club, plays every instrument on the record, incorporating some psych influences immediately apparent in his heavily delayed vocals. Wax Witches is everything a bare-bones punk fan would ever need, as it comes from the heart of a lifelong bare-bones punk fan. His follow-up LP, titled “Centre of Your Universe,” is currently out in Australia, and is due for a worldwide release on September 9th under Burger Record’s wing. He is currently touring the US. – JP Basileo

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

Listed first on Billboard’s Emerging Artist Chart this past June, Ryn Weaver is the latest NYC example of how well produced electronic music can generate viral web interest even in the absence of a "real world" presence. From debut track "Octahate" (streaming) – which gathered over a million plays on Soundcloud – to the second very recent single "Promises," Ryn’s tunes show a welcome edge probably at least in part ascribable to Passion Pit’s frontman Michael Angelakos contribution – he produced the first single. Other prominent names such as Benny Blanco and Cashmere Cat have also shown support for Ryn, so don’t feel shy to spend some time with her music. We are looking forward to see her in a live setting. – Rebecca Blandon

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

This upcoming Tuesday, August 5th, self-proclaimed “rock ’n’ soul” band The Bottom Dollars will begin their month-long residency at Brooklyn Bowl. Comprised of five charismatic (and very hard working) young men, the group has been building a growing fan base since the release of their debut EP “The Halcyon Days” back in 2011. This year, the band is back with ‘Meet Me in Cognito,’ a sophisticated collection of rock songs threaded with bits of blues, folk, and the occasional country twang. With their latest release, the boys have proven themselves to be technically sound musicians, offering guitar riffs, instrumental interludes, and vocal layering characteristic of seasoned rockers. They know how to properly translate it all on stage – a quite rare talent. Be sure to catch them on August 5th, 12th, and 19th, alongside special guests the likes of Aabaraki and The Teen Age. – Jillian Dooley

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

NYC natives Jack and Eliza premiered the single "Secrets" this week in preparation for their EP ‘No Wonders,’ to be released next Fall. Like their popular debut single "Hold The Line," "Secrets" (streaming below) is riveting and minimalistic: simple electric guitar chords are the only background to the duo’s celestial vocal harmonies and riveting lyrics. The timing of their single release could not be more on point, as "Secrets" fits seamlessly into the lazy heat of summer and drawn-out nostalgia. These New York natives, and childhood friends, have paired to create a surge of positive energy as a new band. With over 60,000 listens on Soundcloud in just a month, it seems New York City and beyond waits in anticipation, and wonder, for their EP. You can see them live on 8/23 at Glasslands with Ski Lodge. – Sammie Spector

We added ‘Hold the Line’ to The Deli’s playlist of Best mellow songs by emerging NYC artists – check it out!

Ladies and Gentlemen,

today’s the day when The Deli goes international, eh! Please allow us to introduce you to… The Deli Toronto!

Bellows is the project of Oliver Kalb (ex The Epoch) that features members of Frankie Cosmos’ band in the live lineup. "Funny Things” is the band’s preview single of the forthcoming album “Blue Breath”, which was “recorded in five bedrooms Kalb lived in over the course of three years”. If – from this premise – you expected a more subdued and lo-fi kind of music, you’d be only half wrong. The song stands in slight contrast with the rest of the album. It is voluble and soul stirring, and while it may seem more appropriate in a cathedral or even an open field, it remains personal, not quite the whispered words of other songs on the album, but individual and intimate nonetheless, an impassioned perspective from a cloistered bedroom. The full length ‘Blue Breath’ will be out on September 2, and the band will be performing at The Silent Barn on 08.22 and the release party at Shea Stadium on 08.29. – Emilio Herce

Brooklyn/Austin based, interstellar rock group Midnight Masses, a brilliant Trial of Dead spin-off we celebrated back in 2010 with this feature (which made our print issue) announced its return with sophomore album, “Departures,” released on July 22. This is an introspective, audible incarnation of loss, wonder, and longing. The group, which began as Autry Fulbright and Jason Reece of …And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead, came from the necessity of a creative outlet shortly after experiencing the deaths of family members and close friends, and the bereavement, emptiness and bafflement of such losses are still present in each song. Some songs will make you move in drone-beat synth, while others will move you, with spatial, helicopter-like tremolo, all while making you think about life and death, and the beyond. Midnight Masses plays Union Pool on August 20th, and Mercury Lounge on August 21st. Check them out then, and in the meantime, watch the video for “Broken Mirror,” which Fulbright refers to as “a ghostly love song.” – JP Basileo

Led by charismatic songwriter Zohra Atash and produced religiously through DIY means by Joshua Strawn, Electro Goth duo Azar Swan recently unveiled this new video for single ‘Over’ (below), and is gearing up for a September West Coast tour. We asked them a few questions about their favorite gear and recording habits here.

‘New York was there, but what did I care,’ sings lead singer of Free Time, Dion Nania, on ‘Here & There’ from their debut and eponymous album. Apparently, a lot, since he upped sticks from home town Melbourne to the big city in 2011, and brought his jangly strained guitar vibes with him. With a disinterested bounce, Free From Band tell the tales of suburban frustration and misery in a whimsical fashion, and where similar bands Real Estate, Beach Fossils and mates Scott & Charlene’s Wedding vibrate slowly with resurgent intensity. Song titles such as ‘I Lost Again’, ‘World Without Love’ and ‘It Doesn’t Stop’ suggest a pessimistic outlook, but new tracks ‘Guess Work’ and ‘Esoteric Tizz’, the new 7", are delivered with such nervy skittish disillusionment that the songs never sound bleak. Sunny melodies and exasperated lyrics just sound like the reality of being in the world’s greatest city, but on a rainy grey day. Catch them at Baby’s Alright on 7th August. – Francesca Baker

After ten years spent covering the NYC scene, here at The Deli we have the occasional nostalgic day when we like to reminisce about awesome bands from a few years ago that undeservingly disappeared from the face of the earth. Decadent and troubled looking dark pop band Living Days was ALMOST getting to that point. Back in 2010 we enjoyed their debut single so much that we booked them for our very first SXSW show. Then a few years went by without much happening. We are therefore very glad to see them (and their mysterious and charismatic front lady Stephonik Youth) back with a show scheduled for August 20 at Union Pool, sharing the stage with another one of those semi-forgotten NYC acts (Midnight Masses, more about them soon).  The band recently dropped a new single "Thrill Anybody?" (streaming) and is finalizing a new album that should see the light early in 2015.

Self-described “weird rock” band New Beard will be kicking off the release of their new EP “My People Are Around” with a release show at Mercury Lounge this Saturday, August 2nd. Though the record is coming in at six tracks shorter than the band’s first full-length “New Beard City,” don’t be deceived by its brevity — it is tightly packed with strange vocal inflections, grungy power chords, and irony-stricken lyrics in all of the right places. While some tracks on the album verge on compositional chaos, others play out with the soft, crooning exterior of a folk song — much like the opening track, “The Weight of a Tiny Being” a quirky love song that reveals the probable origins of the band’s name: “You have changed me for the better/I grew out my facial hair for you.” Check out the video of title track My People are Around. – Jillian Dooley

New Beard – My People Are Around from FaceHeads on Vimeo.

Quite reliably, every year Brooklyn churns out a dream pop band that makes waves in the blogosphere and beyond, and Beverly is the latest in this series. The band – which in its original inception featured Frankie Rose on drums – recently signed with local label Kanine Records (who launched Grizzly Bear, Chairlift and Surfrer Blood among others), and just released this new video for the single "Out On A Ride" (watch it below). They will be touring with break out NYC indie poppers The Drums in September and October, and play Rough Trade on August 5.