We gave Brooklyn based psych pop band Zula quite a lot of attention recently in this blog and we are glad to see that our non-NYC editors agree in seeing potential in this band. The quartet was voted by our editors as the best Psych Rock/Dream Pop artist to submit to our year end Best of NYC Poll for Emerging Artists. This is a band that’s been churning out a lot of good material in the past two years, and the new album "This Hopeful" released in the fall of 2013 under Inflated Record’s wing shows a reached maturity. Check out beautiful dream pop single NRGZ streaming below, and see them live at Shea Stadium on January 30 and at Baby’s All Right on 02.06.

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

Whether you like your dreams sweet and beautiful or weird and lynchian, psych influenced music is sure there to facilitate your oniric activity. Producing some of the most creative and out there music around, these genres have a strong presence and history in an experimental city like New York.

A quick reminder about the fact that we already published Best of NYC 2013 Open Submissions results for Indie Rock, Songwriters, Electronic, Indie Pop, Alt Rock, Alt Folk, Hip Hop and Revival Rock results. Here are the results for PSYCH ROCK/DREAM POP – these artists submitted to be considered for our Best of NYC 2013 Poll for Emerging Artists.

Competition was furious in this category, with 21 bands out of 25 with an average score above 6.5 and 16 above 7!

Total submissions in this category: 25

Artists Qualified to the next stage (Readers’ Poll, starting soon):

1. Zula – 8.16 (out of 10)
2. Butter the Children – 7.83
2. Golden Animals – 7.83

Honorable Mentions (scores above 7):

Dead Leaf Echo, Empty Chairs, Lazyeyes, Sondra Sun-Odeon, Malka, The Montauk Project, Belle Mare, Lapland, Two Seconds To Midnight, HOUNDSds, The Ugly Club, Winkie, n y t y l y, PURPLE SUNS.

Jurors: Dawn Reed (Deli DC Area), Ben Toledo (Deli Portland), PDG (Deli NYC).

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

The Deli’s Staff

Former Jazz singer Niia has gone from singing torch songs, to singing soul jams about burning. The latest video for ‘Generation Blue’ shows the artist igniting an otherwise slow and dreamy work into an explosion of well-chosen instruments (produced by Hannibal), complete with all the strings and guitar bends you’ve ever wanted to hear, and tastefully placed beneath Niia’s ghostly alto. Taken from her forthcoming record, the song takes a cosmic dreamworld and makes it your daily paper’s headline. Check it out below, and see a live version of it here. – Mike Levine (@Goldnuggets)

It starts with a crashing cymbal and ends with moonlight twinkle. In between we find a gentle halcyonic rolling wash of guitar and precise yet eerie keys, perfectly placed percussion dissipating into Cassandra Jenkins‘ bittersweet tones that tell tales of a queen and a king that seem somewhat disillusioned but tinted with hopefulness. There’s a langour to precedings, at least to start with, before a teasing frivolity and back and forth gasping vocal scales. "Rabbit" (streaming below) has just the right amount of production at the touch of co-writer Sam Griffin Owens of Celestial Shore.

The song is dedicated to Jenkins’ goddaughter in memory of her parents’ now deceased pet rabbit, and comes with the following note: ‘After Rabbit passed away in 2004, her body was sent to North Carolina to the teenage taxidermist, Amy Ritchie. She returned to New York beautifully preserved with one peculiar detail. On one side of her face she bears a neutral expression, and on the other a beguiling smile.’

Recognition came in the form of playing bass in Eleanor Friedberger’s band, but solo talent will carry Miss Jenkins far. Catch her at Glasslands on tonight) January 20th.

Full results for the ALT FOLK category submissions to the Best of NYC 2013 Poll for emerging artists can be found here.

Former Stars Like Fleas leader Shannon Fields took off for Cooperstown, NY in 2008 following his band’s final folk freakfest, "The Ken Burns Effect." A self-titled debut by his new act, Leverage Models, marks Fields’ return to NYC and the beginning of a second act. Channeling the spirit of soaring ’80s synthpop by OMD, Tears for Fears and David Bowie from the "Let’s Dance" years, the album boasts ten tracks of crisp production, featuring guest appearances by Trevor Dunn of Mr. Bungle and BK darling Sharon Van Etten on vocals. The album’s tapestry of retro soundscapes and cryptic lyrical sentiments is quite unique in the current musical landscape, something that sure got Pitchfork’s critical juices flowing.- Brian Chidester

See the full Open Submission results for the Electronic cateogry here.

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

Dammit Hey Anna! Nothing reminds me of how cold it is outside quite like a great band talking about how much fun it is to laugh and play in the warm weather. But latest EP ‘Pompette’ has done just this to me: with tracks like ‘Tim McQue’ and ‘Pia’ brimming over with the shimmering, sunny and pop-tastic sensibility that is making this band of three sisters get noticed. The group might come across as modest and unpretentious, but Hey Anna’s music drives home a very clear message: get out of your house, and find yourself a piece of heaven. Do just that when you see the group play at The Bowery Electric next Friday night (Jan 24th), and check out ‘Dance Until 3’ below to hear tons of good reasons to keep active at odd hours of the day. Mike Levine (@Goldnuggets)

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

NYC mellow synth-pop outlet Half Waif exudes indie-tronic beauty. The subtle keyboard parts and calming vocals of Nandi Rose Plunkett are the clear center of attention – and rightfully so – while the delicate background arrangement holds the songs together like magic glue. You can listen to their latest EP titled "Future Joys" here. Check out single “Wooden Horse,” streaming below! They’re set to play Brooklyn’s The Rock Shop on January 29. – Michael Haskoor (@Tweetskoor)

Full results of the Best of NYC 2013 Indie Pop Submissions here.

Another day, another round of results related to the Open Submissions for The Deli’s Best of NYC 2014 Poll for Emerging Artists.

We already gave you the Songwriters, Electronic, Indie Pop, Alt Rock, Alt Folk, Hip Hop and Revival Rock results, it’s now time for INDIE ROCK + LO FI – labels we stick to bands with a tenser and darker (or poorly recorded) guitar rock sound.

Total submissions in this category: 28

Artists Qualified to the next stage (Readers’ Poll, starting around 01.20):

1. Steel Phantoms – 7.5 (out of 10)
2. Fishdoctor – 7.16
2. Haybaby – 7.16

Honorable Mentions (scores above 6.5):

Cosmonaut, Libel, The Teen Age, Lily & the Parlour Tricks, Controller, The Glorious Veins, BLUFFING, Dead Stars.

Jurors: Dawn Reed (Deli DC Area), Brescia Mascheretti (Deli Writer), PDG (Deli NYC).

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

The Deli’s Staff

Named after one of the first successful color processes in photographic history (Kodachrome – with an h – is the term Kodak originated form), Brooklyn-based Kodacrome‘s first video ("Strike the Gold") soundtracks a young female riding horseback in half-speed, matching each step with a kind of dreaminess that defies modern digital rapidity, even as it embraces its cool. Recalling ’90s band Everything But the Girl, whose lazy house music backdrop gave techno something of a folk air, Kodachrome employs all the twitchiness of dubstep without losing any of the casual elements that Elissa Pociask’s vocals so boldly evoke. Five-song "Perla" EP dropped in ’13 to similarly stunning results – check out opener "The Bug," also streaming here. – Brian Chidester

See the full Open Submission results for the Electronic cateogry here.

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

Since we are now witnessing a Brooklyn grunge/90s guitar rock revival, I guess a funk/rap-rock revival was to be expected since the original genre had its climax during those same years in the early 90s with the release of Rage Against The Machine’s debut album and The Red Hot Chilli Peppers’ "Blood Sugar Sex Magic."

NYC’s PUSHMETHOD brings the genre to new frontiers by effortlessly combining virtually every contemporary style of music into each song, from blues to metal to hip hop (check out the streaming single "Box Me Up"). A band that is sure to turn many heads (teen ones in particular) in the very near future with a wide variety of talent, it seems their destiny is truly in their own hands. They’re also not a afraid to throw a ballad in for good measure. – Joe Fish

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

It take a special kind of craziness for a band to reach a certain level of success, only to then completely reinvent their sound and style entirely. For Storyman, they’ve been remaking themselves ever since moving to NYC from Ireland several years back. Now they’ve moved from the folk purity of their older unit (Guggenheim Grotto), to the kitchen sink of pop-tastic noise and fireworks of latest incarnation: Storyman. Yes, these guys are still the intimate singer-songwriters they’ve always been, but now they’re unafraid to let everyone join the party: from pounding drum machines, to rocktastic ukulele parts.

For a band that’s been together now for 15 years, Storyman is just getting started. Watch their video to ‘Coming Home’ below and see the city through bizarre cue cards… and a special guest appearance from Chewbacca. Mike Levine (@Goldnuggets)

One-half 1960s confectionary pop, one-half folk whimsy, Dear Georgiana’s debut record just might be one of the best albums of the year. With a voice sure to possess you, placed on top a facade of candy-coated pop fun, it’s no wonder she’s won Deli Mag’s open submissions for the songwriter category this year. Check out her single ‘I Wanna Be In Love’ below, and fall in love with Brooklyn-by-Alabama songwriter Lauren Balthrop yourself. Mike Levine (@goldnuggets)