Deli Readers,

The Deli Austin’s Best of 2012 Readers and Fans’ Poll for local emerging artists is over, thanks to all those who cast their vote in support of the emerging local bands and artists in our list of nominees. Congrats to psychedelic keyboard driven quartet Borrisokane for being The Deli Readers’ Best Austin Artist of 2012.

Kudos also to weird folkster hhhhhh and psych rock masters Black Books who placed second and third.

ARTIST VOTES   1 Borriskane 94 2 hhhhhh 52 3 Black Books 40 4 The Couch 30 5 Residual Kid 19

Stay tuned for the composite chart, to be released soon, which will include the point nominees accumulated from the jurors and Deli writers’ votes, and will crown The Deli’s Best Emerging DC Area Artist of 2012.

The Deli’s Staff

Since leaving Titus Andronicus, Amy Klein has been a busy woman.  Her work with Hilly Eye (pictured above) points towards a personal development of sonic lessons learned toiling away as guitar and vocal support for the aforementioned (almost entirely) bearded outfit.  Listen to the buzzy “amnesia” on their bandcamp for a clear example of this. At over five minutes in length, the track deftly dances between earnest vocal music and psyched-out guitar bombast.  Amy can also be found out front in her own band Leda. Single “Something To Believe In” reveals a more produced and pop sound.  Handclap percussion and cleaner, less effected guitar textures go hand-in-hand with catchy, defined hooks. The band’s fun sonic formula cleverly blends 60’s girl group rhythms and harmonies with a bit of 70’s Linda Ronstadt western pop. – Dave Cromwell 

Want to know what Brian Eno’s been listening to? Check out Port St. Willow. The duo has entranced the British experimental pop guru with the simple beauty of their debut album "Holiday," released in 2012 – The Deli had the pleasure to book them at CMJ in October. These Brooklynites’ subtle synths and sweeping vocals will take you to an ambient landscape away from the clatter of this urban jungle, in a melancholic world that borders on introversion. Take off your headphones and catch them live at Mercury Lounge on 02.22, it’s worth it. – Lucy Sherman

Loveskills is a perfect marriage of sentimental indie pop and deep booty groove shaking. Because no matter how much stuff singer Richard Spitzer goes through each day, he always finds a way to bounce right back to the dance floor. And good for him. The latest video for ‘Flash in the Dark’ has him making his way to what’s probably the most awesomest club in heaven, all to the stop-start cadence of blank. It’s a perfect distillation of sentiment molding to wax. See Loveskills live at his release party at Mercury Lounge tomorrow night (Friday 02.15). First 50 people in the doors get a free 12". – Mike Levine (@Goldnuggets)

Here at The Deli second place is not always for losers. In fact, for the third time in our history, the band that placed second in our Year End Poll for Emerging Artists will get the cover of our Spring edition – the "Best of NYC" issue (check out last year’s issue in pdf here). This is happening because the winners (in this case Foxygen) were already featured on the cover of a previous issue, and a quarterly mag can’t really have the same band on the cover twice. So congrats to Spirit Family Reunion, whose exuberant fiddles and banjos are leading the roots music revival that in the past few years has been threatening NYC’s indie rock supremacy. They are the first straight forward Americana band to win our Best of NYC Poll for Emerging Artists – signs of the times? 

It’s the commanding duo of vocalist Sara Lucas and musician Ryan Seaton that gives Callers their driving power-pop sound and provides a forceful backbone to the group. The Brooklyn- Providence foursome released their third full-length album “Reviver” in late 2012, with Seaton’s expertly crafted arrangements filling around Lucas’ earthy, abounding vocals. In honor of the latest release, Callers will be hitting up Union Pool in Williamsburg for a March residency for three consecutive Thursdays, beginning March 7. The stint will include appearances with Here We Go Magic’s Luke Temple and Fang Island, as well as a few promised “surprise guests” in between. – Devon Antonetti

Streets of Laredo is the kind of folk band Brooklyn was made for. A quartet that grabs what instruments they have around, and howls at the moon collectively over broken hearts, getting stuck in crappy situations, and wondering about how the hours pass by. Singing almost entirely in harmony, this band is every bit a family… they keep traveling back and forth from Brooklyn to their home in New Zealand where they do most of their recordings. Latest record ‘Girlfriend’ captures this familial intimacy, continuing their instrument-sharing traditions and starting some new ones. They won’t be back in NYC until April, but you can check out their schedule here for future shows. – Mike Levine (@Goldnuggets)

Those bloody brilliant Brooklyn betrayers did it again. Foxygen charmed our jury of NYC "scene experts" and writers and went on to win The Deli’s Best of 2012 Poll for Emerging NYC Artists. Congrats guys!

But, why "betrayers"? I’m glad you asked! Not only have Foxygen moved to LA (of all places) basically the day after they landed on the cover of our CMJ issue (had that happened one day earlier, they would have been ineligible since our publication is reserved for NYC based artists)… but they even dared to sing these words in a track from their latest album: "There’s no need to be an asshole/You’re not in Brooklyn anymore" – Well, not sure where you were when you wrote those lyrics, Sam, but it seems like if you really try your best you can be an ass wherever you are…

Admittedly, though, we have to agree about one thing: during CMJ we had more than one report that the guys were, ahem, (see above picture) – but you know… what could be better than being under 25 and getting the feeling you’re about to become famous? We were all there at some point, right? We shall forgive them, since they are about to realize what it truly means to be an indie musician…

But as far as LosAngelinos inspiring better behavior than New Yorkers – I’m sorry dudes, you got that one mixed up. We’ll let none other than The Reader’s Digest prove you wrong.

What cannot be disputed, though, is this duo’s crazy talent. We sang their praises many times already – well before most of the current media freak out. You can find all of our Foxygen coverage here, including this early interview.

P.S. One of the prizes for the winner of the NYC Year End Poll is the cover of the Spring issue of The Deli, but since Foxygen was already featured on a Deli cover in the past, the Spring cover will be assigned to the band placing second.

Deli Nation,

Our Year End Poll for Emerging NYC Artists was – as usual – a painstaking (and somewhat excruciating) process. 

First, we let the local bands submit their music (for free), and got our Deli editors to pick the nominees. Then we polled a list of 30+ NYC scene expert (our jury, list at the bottom) and asked them to nominate 3 more bands of their choice each. Then we polled our writers, then we polled our readers. We tried to keep things open for each single genre, from Indie Rock to Roots Music to Hip Hop.

If you are a geek interested in all the subtelties related to how this poll works, you can read its rules here (happy reading!). But if all you care about is the awesome new music NYC produced in the year 2012, this list is all you need. Enjoy!

BEST OF 2012 POLL FOR EMERGING NYC ARTISTS – FINAL RESULTS –

NYC NYC Electro: La Big Vic releases “Cold War” + play LPR on 02.14 Posted on: February 12, 2013 Dreamlike and picaresque, La Big Vic’s self-titled first single from their sophomore album, “Cold War,” is hypnotic to listen to. Things stay rooted in familiarity with their hazy production value (think Brian Eno) and a juicy, over-the-top Pink Floyd-esque chorus delivered in lead vocalist Emilie Friedlander’s dry, sultry vocals, recalling Hope Sandoval, minus the inner glow. This might sound like a put down, but it actually gives the whole glimmery affair a much needed shot of cynicism. The single isn’t gonna move the ground beneath your feet, but it’s enough to suggest real aesthetic clarity for this band. See them at (Le) Poisson Rouge on 02.14. – Brian Chidester NYC Skaters win The Deli Writers’ Best of 2012 Poll for Emerging NYC Artists Posted on: February 11, 2013 Deli-rious beings, In our insanely convoluted (but SUPERBLY accurate) system governing our Year End Poll for Emerging NYC Artist, our writers have a rather influential vote. Here are the results of this specific poll (top 3 positions only). Quite unexpectedly, indie guitar-pop trio Skaters (pictured) took home the gold (the band is currently recording their debut LP, needless to say we are looking forward to it!), with the silver going to electro-pop masters St. Lucia and 10 bands getting a sliver of bronze.   ARTIST J W R OS TOT   1 Foxygen 11 2 0.032   13.032 2 Spirit Family Reunion 9 2 0.023   11.023 3 Ambassadors 5 2 0.137   7.137 4 Skaters 3 4 0.046   7.046 5 DIIV 6   0.05   6.05 6 St. Lucia 3 3 0.043   6.043 7 MS MR 5 1 0.035   6.035 8 Apollo Run   1 2 3 6 9 Clementine & The Galaxy   2 0.156 3 5.156 10 Ghost Beach 5   0.045   5.045 11 Hot Sugar   2 0.031 3 5.031 12 Widowspeak   1 0.027   5.027 13 Life Size Maps 3 2 0.024   5.024   Hunters 4 1 0.024   5.024   Lazyeyes 1 1 0.024 3 5.024 16 Anya Skidan 3 2 0.011   5.011 17 Julian Fulton & The Zombie…   1 1 3 5 18 Napoleon 3   0.259 1 4.259 19 Great Elk   1 0.218 3 4.218 20 Black Taxi   2 0.098 2 4.098 21 Mother Feather 3 1 0.058   4.058 22 Flatbush Zombies 3 1 0.047   4.047 23 Conveyor   1 0.046 3 4.046 24 Swear & Shake 1   0.045 3 4.045 25 Nude Beach 4   0.043   4.043 26 Laurel Halo 3 1 0.023   4.023 27 Snowmine 3 1 0.02   4.02 28 Dalton   1 0.019 3 4.019 29 People Get Ready 3 1 0.017   4.017 30 Slothrust     1 3 4   Frances Rose 1   3   4 32 Melissa Czarnik     0.198 3 3.198 33 Modern Rivals   1 0.178 2 3.178 34 Eastern Hollows   1 0.145 2 3.145 35 Cultfever     0.087 3 3.087 36 Los Encantados 3   0.065   3.065 37 Le1f 2 1 0.064   3.064 38 Kiss Slash Crooked Smile     0.037 3 3.037 39 Turkuaz 1 2 0.031   3.031 40 Beast Patrol 2 1 0.027   3.027 41 ARMS   1 0.022 2 3.022 42 Lady Lamb the Beekeeper 2 1 0.02   3.02   Parquet Courts 3   0.02   3.02 44 The Stationary Set 1 2 0.019   3.019 45 James Ferraro 3   0.018   3.018 46 Kids These Days 3   0.015   3.015 47 Psychobuildings 2 1 0.014   3.014 48 BEST OF 2012 FOR EMERGING NYC ARTISTS – DELI WRITERS’ POLL RESULTS –   ARTIST VOTES   1 Skaters 4 2 St. Lucia 3 3 Ambassadors 2   Anya Skidan 2   Black Taxi 2   Clementine & The Galaxy 2   Foxygen 2   Hot Sugar 2   Life Size Maps 2   Spirit Family Reunion 2   The Stationary Set 2   Turkuaz 2 Final results out on Monday!!!! The Deli’s Staff NYC NYC band on the rise: Drowners play Pianos on 02.20 Posted on: February 11, 2013 I told you… deep down, tough guys are just big romantics like the rest of us. In fact, the fiercer the leather jacket, the bigger the heart. Friends of band Skaters, Drowners pick up similar riffs from that group’s messy rock stature and turn them into a glorious montage to rock n’ roll the way we New Yorkers want it. – Mike Levine (@Goldnuggets)