The music of Jason Paul has been through a lot of iterations since 2007 when he first started releasing material, so you really never know where he’s headed next. His most recent foray to soul-inflected rock is his new trio of producers/musicians Japan Soul also featuring Dave Lipp and David Rozner. If you could picture Bruce Springsteen getting signed to make an electronic record at DFA, you might come somewhere within the vicinity of the classic club treatment Jason gives to his warm saxes and vinyl grooves. Check out newest jam ‘Plastic Utopia’ below. – Mike Levine (@Goldnuggets)

Wild Leaves are five friends who moved from the Midwest to Brooklyn. Their Debut EP, ‘ Wind & Rain’ will be out on March 26th.  Recorded live to tape over three days in Upstate New York, the songs on the EP look back at things left behind, a reflection on new lives taking root. Hazy melodies and spacious reverb recall memories not yet lost. See them live at their release party at Mercury Lounge on March 25. – (as posted in The Deli’s Open Blog – post your band’s entries, videos, and Mp3s here). The Deli’s NYC Open Blog is powered by The Music Building.

We added this song to our SoundCloud compilation of emerging Rootsy NYC artists here – check it out!

Touchstones come easily for Parquet Courts. While a lot of Brooklyn bands try desperately to shed historical reference, songwriters Austin Brown and A. Savage seem to revel in finding common ground with those that have come before them. Doing their homework, they’ve managed to flirt heavily with the noise-rock expectations of Sonic Youth, the late, angular punk of The Stranglers, and the slacker torch passed over from Pavement for their much-discussed LP ‘Light Up Gold.’

But there’s also something uniquely New York in how they’ve channeled their frustrations through punk freakouts in ‘Master of My Craft,’ or when they’re talking about nothing in the universal truths of ‘Donuts Only.’ This is part of a timeless link in a chain heading back to Velvet Underground, but cutting its teeth in the grunge noise of the ’90s. Parquet Courts placed in 77th position in our recent Year End Poll for Emerging NYC bands, and also thanks to their energetic and tight live show got a lot of buzz going last week at SXSW. See them play with Iceage, April 20th at Bowery Ballroom. – Mike Levine @Goldnuggets)

This song was added to our SoundCloud playlist of emerging NYC artists here.

A big chunk of the world became familiar with Chappo in 2010 when the Brooklyn band licensed their song "Come" (featured in their debut EP) to Apple for an iPod Touch commercial. In the following years the group released another EP and a full length in 2012, while Chappo’s drummer/producer Zac, together with NYC based Jupiter One drummer Dave Heilman, also started working on material for psychedelic side project Fancy Colors. Jupiter’s singer K in the meantime had also started a new solo project called Kishi Bashi, who – together with Chappo – toured with Of Montreal among others. 

After 2 years the Fancy Colors "Near Equator" album is finally done and available for streaming. Sounding like a mellow, psychedelic journey for fans of (a less baroque version of) Pink Floyd, it is said to evoke an experience Zac had one night, when he believes his "psyche had melted with the critters" who were sleeping under his room’s floor, which led to hin sharing some of their dreams, which – listening to the record – must have been rather beautiful. 

Chappo is now back together working on a new release and recently put out an EP of cover songs called "Nothin’ to Sell You". See Chappo at The Knit on March 30.

This song was added to our SoundCloud playlist of emerging NYC artists here.

For Freak Owls, the city is a magical place filled with color and light… and nagging doubts hiding in the shadows at the end of long nights out with friends. As far as the band’s concerned, this is exactly where you should be, and what you should be doing right now. At least, that’s what singer/songwriter Josh Riccio thinks in the uneasy optimism expressed in his intimate songs. A new generation’s Iron & Wine, Riccio has curated his record’s look, feel and release himself (‘Orca City is out on his own label, Sing Engine Records), and I have no doubt this is just a start for even bigger and more optimistic things to come. Listen to EP opener ‘Push You’ below, check out the very pretty video of an old song here. – Mike Levine

This song was added to our SoundCloud playlist of emerging NYC mellow artists here.

One of NYC’s original psych-rock groups, Psychic Ills have been keeping Brooklyn weird since 2003. From their debut LP ‘Dins’ back in 2006, the band was always a cut above their peers. While other bands tend to throw everything they’ve got into a cosmic cauldron, Elizabeth Hart and Brian Tamborello seem to weave hypnotic grooves out of thin air. Using a soft touch on ‘FBI’ and getting down-and-dirty on ‘I Get By’ for latest record ‘Hazed Dream’ (Sacred Bones), their new sound has an ultra-economy of space that leaves plenty of room for hazy questions… and that’s what I love about them. The band won’t be back in NY until later this year, so keep them on your telekinetic radar until then. – Mike Levine (@Goldnuggets)

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

Lots of news this month for NYC Indie Rock quintet Stone Cold Fox: the band just released this video for their single "Seventeen" – streaming below. On the live show side of things, they’ll be headlining Glasslands Gallery on 03.22. Also, our friends at Delicious Audio asked them a few quetions about recording and gear, you can read the interview here. 

Are they called Feathers because their electronic beats mixed with the soft voice of Anastasia Dimou cause you to feel like you are flying through the city on a windy day? Probably not. The Austin band formed in 2011 after leading lady, Dimou, moved to Texas by way of New York and met three other lady musicians. Their new album "If All Now Here" will be out later this year but you will have multiple opportunities to check them out on their home turf during SXSW – most notably they will be performing at the exclusive Yahoo! Music show featuring Depeche Mode, a band they date – at least musically. For a quick reference on their other showcases see their cover photo on facebook. – Courtney Pierce

Spunky and sunny, Brooklyn-based Team Spirit embodies all the characteristics of their name, creating a swinging surf sound with bursts of poppy cheer. The band is heading to Austin for SXSW and will release their second EP in April, under the wing of buzz creators (and conflict of interests defiers) Vice Records. Listen to the track streaming below from the upcoming EP – epic! – Read Meijin Bruttomesso’s interview with the band

With their albums "Darkness Sure Becomes This City" and its 2011 follow-up "The Unknown Science," Joy Kills Sorrow has taken their captivating live performance to NPR’s "Mountain Stage" series, in addition to folk festivals and bluegrass competitions throughout the world. The band, whose name comes from the call letters, WJKS, of the Monroe brothers radio station in the 1930s, just finished tracking for a new album, in between shows on the East Coast. See them live at Rockwood’s Stage 2 on March 24. – Read Davon Antonetti’s interview with the band here

After taking their "buzz band" status to new heights in 2012 (partly also because of the cover of The Deli’s summer issue), Snowmine goes to SXSW as a "band not to miss." To remind music fans about their gorgeously ascetic dream pop, Snowmine released today a new song and video for the single "Silver Sieve" (streaming), taken from their upcoming second album. Don’t miss these guys’ live show, it’s top notch stuff – we booked them several times, and can’t get enough of them!