Have you ever re-arranged your brain? Throw Vision asks this (not so) eternal question in their latest video for ‘Hippocampus.’ Combining the band’s penchant for throwing Jazz keys, funk basslines, haunting harmonies and rock into a giant and and extremely tasty gumbo, the song headlines what each member brings to the table, launching into unexpected directions where only this group dares to tread.

Taken from their LP ‘In I,’ the video of this haunting song – based on research in neuroscience that suggests memories can be edited – is a cinematic journey by the band through some bizarrely shifting forest landscapes. Warning: this feature may induce serious mental re-arrangements if watched too closely.

Thow Vision will be opening for Nat Baldwin (Dirty Projectors) in New Haven, CT on 6/6, and then performing at Crown Heights’ new live spot Friends and Lovers on 6/13 and curating the evening’s acts, including James Tillman. Look out for the release of a brand new EP in the coming months. – Mike Levine (@Goldnuggets)

Unlike the group’s near-spontaneous efforts on debut record ‘Chemistry Night,’ (created in a matter of days back in 2011)  Jackpot, Tiger‘s self-titled follow-up took the band three years to finalize, but it was well worth the wait. While the LP’s extremely catchy opener ‘Caught in Love’ (streaming) should work well for anyone looking for butter on their popcorn, we recommend a deeper look at the album as a whole to hear how much ground the fuzz-pop quartet manages to cover.

Tackling a range of issues here: from the ups and downs of desire in ‘Caught in Love,’ to the irresistible ‘Alone With You,’ to the Beach Boys-inspired waves of haunting closer ‘Float Away,’ Jackpot, Tiger confronts pop music head-on: revealing inner demons the best way to exorcise evil spirits: through the power of sugary hooks. Check out ‘Caught in Love’ below, and when you find you can’t get the song out of your head, see the band for their album release party at Mercury Lounge on May 12th at 7:30pm. Mike Levine (@Goldnuggets)

It’s a pretty fun thing when a band can weave in and out of genres over the course of their career, but a really uniquely fun thing when a band can do it during a single song, let alone every song on an album (at the risk of becoming unrecognizable). Brooklyn sextet The Graveyard Kids released their second full-length, “II,” last November, and the sextet is only growing more promising with time, traversing the outer limits of rock-n-roll, and incorporating everything you know they’ve listened to a thousand times over from surf rock to reggae-pop to du-wop to punk and metal to bluesy dream-pop. The sounds and styles flow or jolt, meld or deflect, all keeping you on your toes and jostling your ears’ emotions in the best way possible. How often does one hear 90’s sludge guitar playing rhythm for a surf rock hook? Check them out on Mama Coco’s Funky Kitchen’s new compilation, along with a ton of other great bands, here! – JP Basileo

Remember when, in the early ‘augths, all major magazines and newspapers published articles saying how the internet and mp3 revolutions would have allowed emerging artists to reach a wider audience without the need of a record deal etc. etc.? Well, that is certainly true today, but one of the things that nobody expected is that smallish blogs like ours can actually have a significant impact on the promotion of a track. Catchy and well produced synthpop single ‘Anxieties’ (streaming, the video) by NYC’s The Landing got a staggering 180k+ plays in just a few weeks thanks to the magic algorythms of Hypem.com, which picked up a post we did in December about it. This of course is great, although it has to be said that this kind of success doesn’t automatically translate into the real world – which is the band’s next challenge. The first step in this direction is a (real) record: the release of debut EP ‘We Are‘ will be celebrated on May 22 at Littlefield. Hopefully there’s a way for The Landing to reach at least part of the 180k+ music fans who gave them some virtual love.

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

The Pixies are back together – and it’s not the same. The indie guitar rock of the 90s is back in fashion too, but bands picking up influences from the mind blowing Bostonian quartet’s early records are nowhere to be heard… until you hit ‘play’ on Brooklyn’s NoPop‘s latest single ‘O, TV’ (streaming). Skillfully recreating – and taking to extreme levels – the famous "Loud/Quiet/Loud" production philosophy, the track is ridden with light dissonance, disjointed, crunchy riffs, and thick bass, and all is injected with the at-once anesthetized and horror-show-like vocals of Oscar Rodriguez and Rachel Housle. The adoption of odd tempos dear to Mr. Black Francis, and simple but tasteful background vocals reminiscent of Ms Kim Deal seal the deal as far as influences. With this tune, NoPop pretty much gave us what fans of The Pixies have been hoping to get since the ‘Doolittle’ years: music that’s at once unpretentious, unpredictable, wildly explosive and absolutely memorable.

We are sure the guys will feel belittled by this comment, but they shouldn’t: they are a young band and they have time to develop this sound in a more personal direction – what they accomplished with this song is not easy, and shows talent and promise. We are looking forward to the band’s debut EP "See Pretty," to be released tomorrow 05.13.

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

Stylish melodic songwriting and charismatic female vocals is what NYC based trio Folding Legs brings to our sonic table with their debut EP "Drown in Light," released in late 2013. If – upon listening – you happen to hear some kind of old continent element to their music, that’s because two fourths of the band hails from across the pond (Vienna and Stockholm, origin of lead singer Katharina Stenbeck). In particular, we hear a little bit of two European artists we like a lot: Turin Brakes and Likke Li. There aren’t a lot of bands with this kind of grown up alternative melodic sound in NYC, and Folding Legs pull it off really well for a brand new band. You’ll have the opportunity to see them live at Rough Trade on Friday May 16 with Stargazy.

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

Like many successful antifolk acts, Crazy & the Brains have spent the last few years building a following outside of the fertile, yet insular scene where they first got their start in 2009 (you guessed it, NYC). Their other foot has remained firmly planted within: "All I Really Want" is a Barry Bliss cover, and the band plays regular gigs with scene alumni like Hamell on Trial, Jeffrey Lewis, and Toby Goodshank of the Moldy Peaches. Singer/guitarist Chris Urban is an ideal frontman, dishing out well-crafted Ramones sendups. Cofounder Jeff Rubin is the secret weapon, however. As essential as a hype man, his xylophone bashing and backing vocals help give this endearing party band a distinct sound. Look out for an upcoming video release for "NYC" on May 16th @ Shea Stadium in Brooklyn. In the meantime check out their latest single "All I Really Want" below.

Vows is the electronic project of four New Jersey based musicians from Somerset County – yes we cover the NJ scene that far. But wait… it’s also the name of an electronic band from Brooklyn! May the law suit begin! Anyway, we covered the Brooklyn guys a bunch of times already, so it’s time to focus on their NJ colleagues. Even though in their bandcamp profile’s tags Vows label themselves as "Dream Pop", their music features a philosophic aura and a subtle creepiness that fits with the word "dream" but kind of fights with the notion of "pop" – we think they should rather find a label with the word "noir" in it. Their debut came out in 2011, but after two years without output, the band seems to have found new inspiration in 2013, which led to the release of full length "Stranger Things" that same year, and then already three singles and two EPs in 2014!!! 

We are digging this song from their February 2014 single "Ride This Out" – check it out below. By the way, Vows will NOT be playing live at Cake Shop tomorrow night (05.10) – that’s the other Vows…

An artist used to making opposites work for him, Muteboy, in his latest 2-track album transforms anxiously existential lyrics into buttery summer vocals on ‘Sunny Day,’ and brushes easy-going acoustic guitar strokes over static-soaked wilderness samples for ‘Sleepy Day.’ It’s the perfect good weather treat for anyone that likes their laptops hanging in the same room as their acoustic guitars.

The producer/songwriter originally got his name from bullies on his grade school bus, but has since turned that around too: making something truly unique from the kinds of sounds and lyrics other people usually miss. Check out ‘Sunny Day’ below and hear how he brings it all together. – Mike Levine (@Goldnuggets)

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

VÉRITÉ is a new electropop project based in NYC – although for some obscure reason this piece of information is not revealed in artist’s website and social media pages – lucky we have friends who know! Very little info has leaked about this act – is it actually a band or a solo effort? – but the simple but tasteful video of debut single "Heartbeat" (streaming) gives us a beautiful face and an intriguing song, split between a moody, atmospheric verse and a radio ready pop explosion in the chorus – and that’s more than enough for now. This seems like a studio born effort, although Rockwood Music Hall back in December hosted what seems to be the only VÉRITÉ live show to date. An announcement of a new release should be around the corner, since the profile picture of the band’s Facebook page was changed a few days ago to an image that looks like the cover of a record entitled "Wild Regrets."

Rather unusually, indie rock Brooklyn collective Lily & The Parlour Tricks just premiered their new video for single "Requiem" on our favorite web source of biased information, the Wall Street Journal (it’s true, we read it to hurt ourselves). This instantly opens a gigantic can of political worms: tough questions must be asked, and we won’t shy away from them!

Are those "sexy" dance moves (first two seconds of the video in particular) appropriate for a publication that caters to an audience that predominantly shares a conflictual relationship with sex? (FYI, the band is famous for their "sinful" press pictures). Will the Journal lose some of the coveted Tea Party readership for premiering a video featuring music and images of young NYC hipsters, who very likely contributed to elect "the Devil" to the highest office, and almost certainly had all sorts of pre-marital – and probably also some version of homosexual – sex? And finally, can or should music unite left and right in today’s divisive political atmosphere? To quote The Cardigans: "Well I sure hope so. I really hope so. But I don’t think so." 

Are we being serious you ask? Not really.

This single will be featured in Lily & The Parlour Tricks’ upcoming album, to be released later this year. The band is scheduled to play Bonnaroo and Summer Fest in June.

P.S. In case you are wondering, those two links are meant to go to the same destination.

If you haven’t gotten your rump moving yet to sexy-cool R&B songster Kent Odessa, then honestly… you might as well not shake your butt at all. Odessa’s brand of eclectic dance pop is a lot of different things, but you can always be sure of at least one thing when you throw on his tracks: you’re not sitting down any longer. Promoting his first new album since Odessa’s 2011 debut ‘Silverdome,’ latest track ‘Physical Genius’ documents the world’s most fantastic lover by convincing us he knows a thing or two about this delicate subject, applying the most honey-dripping, sexy-sweet electro-pop we’ve heard from him yet, while striking an interesting middle ground between Robert Palmer’s ‘Simply Irresistible’ and John Lennon’s ‘Instant Karma.’ ‘Physical Genius’ looks backwards to Odessa’s Detroit roots while keeping an eye towards topping tomorrow’s charts. Check it out below, and look forward to the full-length record of the same name dropping later this summer. – Mike Levine (@Goldnuggets)

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