Get ready to dig in to a hearty vegetarian dish. The Harmonica Lewinskies have a new record ‘Salad Days,’ and it’s all you’d expect from a funk group with the tagline ‘funny name, serious music.’ Filled with domestic dialog between partners (‘Funky Home’), to folk anthems (‘Harlem ), the EP will get you shuffling and itching for the party, even while thinking about how much fun it is to be domestic.

An ode to home life, the record is written mostly by the members of the group who aren’t usually able to contribute tracks to the band’s records, like the all-important rhythm section (as a bass player… I can relate). So dig in to that salad and wipe that plate clean. Check it out below and see them at Webster’s Studio on November 30. – Mike Levine @Goldnuggets)

Since forming in 2009, The Stationary Set had their fair share of big venue performances. They’ve shared the stage with Phoenix and Mumford & Sons and most recently played a sold out show at Highline Ballroom along with January Jane. The band played The Deli’s CMJ show at Rockwood and is recording an EP over the course of the winter, so stay tuned for more warm and fuzzy goodness.

LINK: Corinne Bagish’s interview with The Stationary Set.

We are having a rather "psych" day here at The Deli – lots of spacey emerging NYC artists to blog about! Last but not least in this category is Brooklyn quartet Ancient Sky, which just unveiled the single streaming below (entitled "Wishing Well"). The band’s sound, with its droney, spacey and rather epic character, sits squarely in "psych rock" territory, and is somewhat reminiscent of The Occasion, a great (and rather obscure) NYC act that graced the cover of The Deli’s 5th issue back in 2005. Ancient Sky’s debut album ‘All Get Out’ will be released on November 14, and four days later the band will open for Psychic Ills at the BSP Lounge in Kingston, NY.

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

Taking their name from seminal Britpop band Suede’s 1992 debut single, New York City’s Drowners prepare to unleash their modern-day revival of that classic indie-pop sound. The band is fronted by Matthew Hitt, a Welsh-born former full-time professional male model, who has called New York his home now for the past two years. In April, the four-piece group signed to Frenchkiss Records, and, after a few important show at the recent CMJ Music Marathon, it’s currently putting the finishing touches on the upcoming record, scheduled for an early 2014 release. – LINK: Dave Cromwell‘s interview with Drowners.

A whirlwind of noise greets you as Video Beast throws open the door to their 1,000 mile an hour rock on latest concept record ‘Beyond the Milky Lust.’

Not the kind of band that knows how to take a break very well, this high-energy three piece is constantly at it: bashing your head with tantrums of watershed distortion demons, and cymbal crashing retaliation, all set to a score of ’80’s cinematic sci-fi adventure. Check out ‘Rider’ below. Great for practicing your karate, and piloting B-52s through enemy territory. – Mike Levine (@Goldnuggets)

This band submitted their music for coverage here.

There is an intriguing blend of pitch bended guitar textures and (almost) jazz-inflected vocals running through the Bushwick based band Surfing. Moving the dreamgaze genre in a similar direction as fellow Brooklynites Sua (and Night Manager before them), the band’s marriage of a more sophisticated vocal style with multiple layers of driving, hook-heavy guitars is surely a welcome trend. Their lone track (so far) “Hollow Sparrow” throttles along like “Mustang Ford” era Swervedriver, this comparison made all the more accurate by fluid, looser, fill-loaded drumming. Jordan Stern’s voice is strong with a tonal quality and phrasing reminiscent of Caroline Crawley in 1992’s Shelleyan Orphan. The band – which went on a short hiatus earlier this year, to reappear just in time for CMJ in October – is currently working on new material. – Dave Cromwell

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

If you’re like me, Halloween is just too awesome to celebrate one day a year. Lucky for you, the folkies at The 1st Annual Rotten Apple Roots & Bluegrass Halloween Party feel the same way. It’s a once a year celebration where you’ll get to wear your costume for a second time, and listen to some of the finest folk NYC has to offer. Headlined by Charlottesville’s The Hackensaw Boys and Hillbilly Brooklyn punk troubadour Morgan O’Kane, these acoustic virtuosos would be worth the price of admission alone. Joining them will be talented NYC fiddler Melody Allegra Berger, jamgrass impresarios Union Street Preservation Society sharing the stage with Diamond Eye Jack Superjam and bushels more of folk bands. So check out all the details here. See you on Fri, Nov. 1st at The Bell House, and remember to dress as silly as you can for the occasion. – Mike Levine (@Goldnuggets)

When you’re emcee Chaz Van Queen, there’s a lot to be positive about. If lyrics are to be believed, Queen is constantly surrounded by a vibrant community, plenty of sunshine, and has quite a few Twitter followers too.

With Slick Rick’s panache, and a dash of Q-tip’s bebop swing, most of Queen’s tracks are built for movement, constructing anthems out of whoops and shouts, all while keeping the backbeat steady and laid-back throughout. Last record ‘A:)4U’ displays one of the smoothest flows going right now. Take a listen to ‘Can You Hear the WOOP!?’ below, and see him when he announces more shows soon. – Mike Levine (@Goldnuggets)

I wonder if this decade will be remembered as the "Dream Pop" years – these days the genre seems to offer an endless reservoir of new acts coming out to grab the spotlight, from The XX to Beach House and so on, which means there’s a growing public out there appreciating this sound. DC’s GEMS are one of the dream pop bands of the moment, thanks to two gorgeous singles "Sinking Stone" (streaming) and Pegasus, plus a string of other above average songs already available online. There’s a lot of anticipation about their first official release, which will be celebrated with two shows at DC’s U Street Music Hall on November 14 and at Brooklyn’s Music Hall of Williamsburg on the 11th.

Ejecta is the electro-pop project of Joel Ford and Neon Indian’s Leanne Macomber, who "gives weight" to the band’s promotional campaign by appearing au naturel on… every single band picture passed to the press. What about Joel – you ask? He’s there somewhere, but he has the gift of invisibility. 

Single "It’s Only Love" (streaming) showcases ethereal and well crafted electro-pop, but since all we can think about right now is Leanne’s naked body, we decided to suspend judgement about this band until we see how they dress – if they do. We won’t let Ejecta trick us into saying they are the best band in NYC just because we are enjoying their singer’s nude pictures! This being said, a video or live performance in line with this visual aesthetics might just be enough to corrupt us into a stellar review – looking forward to both! 

Ejecta will celebrate the release of their debut album, ‘Dominae’ (out November 19 on Driftless Recordings), with a show at Glasslands on November 23.with Vulgar Fashion and Brooklyn Future Punx, along with a DJ set from Caroline Polachek of Chairlift.

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

It really warms our hearts that a talented and stubborn artist like Shilpa Ray found a fan in none other than Nick Cave, who in our modest opinion is one of the greatest rock authors aof all times. The Australian legend is in fact releasing Shilpa’s new EP "It’s All Self-Fellatio" under his label Bad Seeds LTD. The two seem to have many things in common, and not only musically (do they even look a little like each other? We are referring to Nick’s pictures from 30 years ago of course). They both obviously belong to the rare breed of truly noir, unapologetically maudit artists; which is a corageous premise, since it automatically prevents them from catering to at least 90% of the music fans out there: not many people can apprecieate darkness, in particular in the US – these are poppy times, folks! And they both have a knack for trying to pierce the veil of Maya, in search of deeper, more troubled truths (the title of Shilpa’s EP is revealing in this regard). We guess this is why Shilpa appears to be more popular in Europe, the continent renowned for its sweet tooth for decadence, where she has a dense tour booked until the end of November. After the tour, a new album is expected in 2014, entitled "Last Year’s Savage." May the best of luck be with her.

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

Brooklyn’s delicious pop band Neighbors is playing a Halloween show at Glasslands tonight. Admittedly, after interviewing them back in 2010, we kind of lost track of them, and discovered today that they released their debut album about one year ago, and put out this very well done, cute lo budget video earlier this year. But since the video is about dressing up, this is probably the best day of the year to blog about it, right? Besides, these guys seem to have a thing for dressing up – check out this other video.

Not exactly the scariest band in NYC even when they try, Neighbors should nonetheless create a fun atmoshpere for a Halloween party. They’ll share the stage with Cale Parks and Cosmonaut, more info about the show here – have fun!