St. Claire is a band that deserves the folk label. Hailing from across the globe, the members of this quartet have chosen to build their home atop the muddy waters of rustic guitars and banjos, and solid foundations of wide open spaces of love-weary lyrics. Indeed, while other ‘folk’ performers don traditional instruments but keep the melodies as radio-friendly pop fodder, (Mumford and Sons anyone?) St. Claire isn’t afraid to tell a story of heartbroken pain, rooted in tradition, but sounding like the first time it’s been told. Like the beautifully haunting ‘He is a Ghost,’ where a repeated ode to love becomes an anthemic act of desperation. But you’ll have to listen to these pleas yourself to really appreciate the fact that the band’s now settled into Brooklyn. See them when they play Piano’s on Tuesday, December 11th (tonight) or at Rock Shop on January 6. – Mike Levine (@Goldnuggets)

The song "He is a Ghost" was added to our Soundcloud playlist of folk NYC based artists here.

Dream pop met 80’s electronic revival and became the Brooklyn based duo Color War. Lindsay Mound’s sweetly spacy vocals keep the mood dreamy, and Billy J’s inimalist beats and electronic arpeggiators give the sound a "technical" edge while moving the music forward. This is a softer side of electro pop that favors simplicity and clarity of sound over layered synthesizers and full-bodied noise. Color War has a few songs available online in "The Prismatic Collection," including a cover of Lee Hazelwood’s “Some Velvet Morning,” and are currently busy writing the soundtrack for the film "Night and a Switchblade" by director Ben Finer. – Lucy Sherman

The Amputees‘ debut e.p. "Commence The Slaughter" has been out since Sept. 1st a blend of hardcore, pop punk, indie and Garage Rock. With a sound centered around a swirl of rage, Manson and guitar layers, the six member band have been playing round New York since June of 2011. You can stream the 4 song e.p on The Amputees Bandcamp page, and check out their Occupy Wall Street-inspired video here. – (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.

Elika has a certain knack for re-making tragedy into beauty. Taking from personal tragedy and turning her experiences into a reason to persist, their latest video for ‘No One Gets Lost’ juxtaposes a halcyon youth against the cold realities of dangerous machinery like power drills and buzzsaws. Make of it what you will… but it certainly sounds like something malicious is happening here behind the scenes. Like a lot of their music, Elika presses on with a definite sense of optimism that shines through their stacks of shimmering keyboards and melliflous soprano. Taken from her new record ‘Always the Light,’ Elika is a powerful voice puncturing through pain and adversity with each new record. – Mike Levine (@Goldnuggets)

"No One Gets Lost" was added to our SoundCloud playlist of emerging NYC artists here.

Take a listen to Corrupt Autopilot and you’ll wonder why the band hasn’t been invited over to your house yet. Or maybe they have… perhaps yours is the ‘Quiet House’ they’re referring to in the album opener (streaming below) of trash rock anthems ‘Oh No!’

In a clear ode to grungey 90s bands like Mudhoney and old, old Weezer (the Blue record of course), the trio have recreated the decade in all its garage rock majesty. Through eight tracks of messy awesomeness, the NY group transcends the past two decades and even finds time to discuss Panda blood along the way (nice!). I’d say… if you can’t invite them over to your place, the least you can do is power this record through your speakers, and maybe break out the flannel again while you’re at it.- Mike Levine (@Goldnuggets)

This band submitted their music for review here

Anya Skidan is a young Brooklynite unafraid to throw herself decidedly at life’s shadows, attempting to illuminate some psychedelic light over her settings. We enjoyed her performance at our flagship CMJ show at Pianos, and recommend you go see her live since you’ll have three opportunity in December: she’s playing Pinebox Rockshop on 12.15, Pete’s Candy Store on 10.18 and Goodbye Blue Monday on 12.29. Read Mike Levine’s interview here.

Cuddle Magic may have a weird name, but it somehow makes sense. Their music inspires hugs (sophisticated ones though) and is achieved through instrumental wizardry involving a large list of unusual instruments. They played our CMJ show last October at The Living Room and charmed us inside out. That’s why we interviewed them here. 

Mice Parade just announced the release of the album "Candela," scheduled for late January 2013. This is a band we’ve been following for years and always manages to inspire us with their suggestive music and intriguing imagery – check out the new video for "This River has a Tide" below.

Mice Parade — "This River Has A Tide" from paul yates on Vimeo.

Obscured by Echoes used to call themselves The Hi-Tones, but in an act of maturity, repentence, or just plain whim, changed their name to go along with their new psych-sound revealed in the album "Black Matter Manifesto". And a fine sound it is, studio-clear recordings warped with spectral-ish convolutions, brimming with trembling guitars, runaway synths, and reverbed, Pink Floyd-ish vocals. Supported by the rock-solid bass + drums combo of Kevin Harry and Gary Delgado, the other instruments are free to wander down cool, occasionally-dark psychedelic paths, giving this release a truly wide and deep sonic range; from the creepy tones of "Black Widow" to the pop-like lo-fi thrash of "Pop Politico" to the spellbinding string arpeggios of "Hatchet Man" to the heavier rock tones and softer pickings of "Cher Ami". Check out the Black numbers ("Black Matter" and "Black Widow") for a fine sampling of excellently-laid, conventionally pop tracks that were given the band’s signature psych treatment – Spectral modulations, hypnotic synths, and filtered vox laying down slightly-unconventional melodic lines. Give "Electric Funeral" a bit of attention to see how eerily close to old Pink Floyd vox Johnny Flores can get, and check out the near-pop stylings underneath the tremolo in "Aleister LaVey". Lots to like here. If you can avoid getting distracted by the wavering, hypnotic production, you’ll be able to pick out the classic pop compositional chops. We don’t know what they’re on, but we want some. – Scott Osborn

Speedy Ortiz is a year old post-punk band featuring former members of Quilty. A total no brainer for classic 90s noise rock fans, they channel the metallic guitars and distortion-heavy hooks that made bands like Sonic Youth fixture. Speedy Ortiz brings plenty of their own songwriting savvy to the table. They’ll be playing with the legendary Sonic Youth frontman himself for a few dates to promote their "Sports" EP. The Northampton natives define themselves as “snack rock” – you can pick up the slacker vibe from the tunes on the EP, sports theme aside. They definitely deliver the noise on tracks like "Silver Spring" (streaming below) which invites you to yell along with singer Sadie Dupuis’ jilting vocals, which she complements with some spooky yells of her own. – Hillary Anderson

As covered in the latest print edition of The Deli, nu-electrofunk is on the rise in NYC, as evidenced by cool recent releases from Body Language, Friends and AVAN LAVA. Brooklyn based Autre Ne Veut throw their hat square in the ring with a free-download album titled Anxiety. Robotic counter-melodies and electronic castanets punctuate hazy rhythms that approach house music, but pull back just short of full disco-fication. Sexy falsetto vocals like the groove-oriented “Counting” (featuring Mykki Blanco, video streaming below) and the jumpy “Warning” feel carefree, if slightly calculated. Autre save the best for last with the electro freakout, “World War,” a ballad gone experimental to the extreme, recalling Purple Rain-era Prince in all its decadent hysteria. Label them “one to watch” – see them tonight (12.07) at 285 Kent in Williamsburg. – Brian Chidester

The single "Counting" was added to our SoundCloud playlist of emerging electronic NYC artists here.

New and young NYC electro-pop band, The Henry Millers, is playing a show in support of their debut “Daisies” at Pianos on Friday DEC 7th (tonight). Produced by former Pharell/Neptunes protégé Maxwell Drummey of Chester French, the album was released less than a month ago. The music video for their single “Diamonds” (streaming below) is a playful mix of Looney Tunes style cannibalism and One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest. The song itself is a reminder of pop bands such as Under the Influence of Giants and other earthy California style pop rock. Check them out, bring some flowers. – Julia Kwamya