Brooklyn band Zula takes indie electronic pop to new eerie directions with ‘Make Contact’, a single they recently released, which serves as a preview for a full length scheduled for the end of 2012. A loop of voices in the background, reminiscent of the ending one on The Beatles’ "A Day In The Life," pulls the listener into a trance-like state as the beat falls into place, and other subdued textures and melodies slowly move in. Delving into underlying feelings and suggestions, and toying with unusual musical ideas, Zula updates the existential art rock of Radiohead’s "Kid A" era for the DIY generation. See them live at Delinquency on September 28 with Tony Castles, Backwards, and Ancient Sky. – Christine Cauthen

Brooklyn, NY sextet Azi Nizi Maza rolls out a diverse swirl of R&B, indie rock, and new wave on their six-track excursion THANK YOU FOR COMING. Consisting of bass, drums, keys, trumpet, guitar and female vocals, this eclectic unit creates a smorgasbord of sound channeling classic soul, swinging funk, surf rock frivolity, and catchy grooves led by a captivating chanteuse-like figure bedazzling ears with daring post-punk energy. Showcasing a forward-thinking musical acumen that allows the band to make seamless dynamic shifts and atmospheric switches while top-notch songwriting reveals an advanced comprehension of psychedelic hard rock and free-form jazz, Azi Nizi Maza has created a blend of unique and intriguing tunes perfect for adventurous ears to fawn over. – MikeSOS

Callers is one of those bands we’ve been following for friggin’ ages (well, let’s not exaggerate, 3-4 years maybe…) and often wondered how long their status of "Best Kept NYC Secret" would last. It’s probably time for it to end – surely their upcoming European tour with Dirty Projectors will help in this regard.

Featuring one of the most beautiful female voices in Brooklyn, the band, originally a duo, has now ventured into a quartet format with the addition of drums and keyboards. The preview single Heroes (streaming below) features a fuller sound, but mostly… a faster one. Indeed, the track represents a steep increase in terms of BPM if compared to the band’s material we are familiar with, but the songwriting quality is there, together with the top notch delivery. Sara Lucas’ blue soprano here almost sounds like Joni Mitchell from the Hejira period, when the Canadian songwriter’s youthful enthusiasm started to be contaminated by the understanding that adult life is full of sadness, which conjured up one of the most beautifully melancholic records ever made. These contradicting forces are also at work in this song, where the dancey rhythm section lifts our mood, while Sara’s blue notes and lyrics keep our thoughts wondering about the mysteries of life. See Callers at Music Hall of Williamsburg on 09.20 with Wye Oak. – Read a 2011 Deli interview with Callers here.

Mp3: Callers – "Heroes"

We watched Field Mouse progress from a singer songwriter based project to a full blown Dream Pop band, and their new single "How Do You Know" (streaming here) represent another step towards the most pillowy and ethereal of musical genres. The track will be released as a 7" through the Lefse Records Singles Series. NYC daydreamers, shoegazers and stargazers shouldn’t miss the band when they play Pianos tonight (09.14) and The Rock Shop on 09.19.

Alexandra Stewart arrives to her music with the same wide open spirit that accompanies many of her fellow colleagues, artists like Bjork or Feist, with whom Stewart shares a link to Iceland’s legendary producer Valgeir Sigurðsson, through her own producer (and Sigurðsson’s apprentice) Alexander Overington. Like her own story, Stewart’s new album ‘Wàbà’ checks in with the force of a tireless immigrant, set to land on Brooklyn’s shores with a splash before finding its way to all our playlists over the next several months. Stewart is that kind of dangerous artist who threatens to upend expectations of what our local songwriters can do. The first single off her soon-to-be-released record is a mellow and slightly jazzy power rocker (‘Soul Like A Ghost,’ streaming below); so sure of it’s own power, it’ll leave you a little taken aback. But don’t worry, there’s plenty of perfectly quiet moments for you on the record too (‘Lullaby’ and ‘You Don’t Know How’) – you can stream the whole thing here.

Check out all these different moods when Stewart plays Glasslands Monday, September 17. – Mike Levine (@Goldnuggets)

Our friends Body Language , who graced the cover of The Deli SXSW 2012 issue, have just released a preview track (Lose My Head, sreaming below) from their upcoming EP Grammar, scheduled for release on September 18. The band is currently touring with Chicago’s The Hood Internet – don’t miss them at Music Hall of W’Burg tonight (09.14).

Brooklyn’s Morgan Neiman (aka Ducky) has a new EP, The Whether, continuing her assault on gooey soul-pop by playing sultry, understated vocals against tinny electro beats and homemade dubstep basslines. The four-song affair (clocking in at under 12 minutes) recalls the Cardigans, minus the joy, re-imagined instead as a dream- like transmission broadcast from an undisclosed underground bunker. Trippy stuff, Ducky’s videos are even more strange. Take the one for “Killing Time,” featuring three young females baking a cake and standing in front of a mirror dressed like tormented wives from a Douglas Sirk period drama, their greatest impasse here being that of sheer boredom. It’s this kind of unabashed decadence that first brought attention to Williamsburg over a decade ago. In the hands of the frivolously-monikered Ducky, it feels like a sort of homecoming. – Brian Chidester

Seems the good ol’ folks at Stereogum still got a little flavor left in them. Apparently, out of their top 40 new artists from around the world, five of them are Hip Hop artists who claim NYC as their home. Topping their alphabetical list is Azalea Banks, the cherry-bomb rapper known for lacing electro-clash beats with her staccato street flow. She is so damn sexy and, remarkably, most of her appeal comes from her amazing lyrical agility. Joey Bada$$ chimes in with an old school flavor reminiscent of NYC in the 1990s. For cats who appreciate straight lyricism over some classic boom-bap, he’s bringing it back. But what’s a top five rap list without a bit of nonsense? Das Rascist affiliate Lakutis (pictured) makes a bunch of words rhyme with little reverence for linear thought or punchlines—a headache to some, a welcome relief for many. Scroll a little bit further down and find young Le1f, the crunk southern-rap revivialist. His lean-back approach to lyricism has him vacillating between super triple-time and borderline chopped and screwed raps – highly recommended for altered mindstates. Speaking of altered mindstates, fifth and final NYC rap rep Meyhem Lauren garnered his acclaim simply by having a party in his SXSW hotel room and recording the whole thing for posterity. Wish you were there? Download his most recent mixtape and you can experience the cannabis-imbued fury of him and all his friends. – Broke MC

We found this lo-fi, self produced music video for Lizard Kisses‘ "Close" (off their forthcoming album) in our Open Blog and were intrigued by it. On Tuesday September 18th, the band will be performing in at Blue Warbler House in Brooklyn alongside best buds Mutual Benefit and Kevin Greenspon. It will be a small intimate show with accompanying projections. – (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.

Treasure Teeth released their new EP "Sell Your Gold"at Public Assembly on September 9th. This is – reportedly – a US-UK duo based between NYC, Miami, and London (somebody must travel a lot!) making aquatic womb-like experimental glitch pop with hip-hop and R & B inflections. – (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.

Today Woods premieres the first video for "Cali In a Cup," a track from the forthcoming album Bend Beyond. Filmed on Super 8 at and around this year’s Woodsist Festival in Big Sur, CA, the video confirms the NY band’s non-chalance. The band will launch a national tour in Atlanta on Sept. 26 where they will team up at various points with Widowspeak, Purling Hiss and The Walkmen. They will also play on Saturday Sep 08 at the culinary event Meatopia at Randall’s Island.

From the song streaming below – a track from Tony Castles‘ upcoming EP "Sharon Stone" – one question comes to mind: has this band become a little less crazy (in a psychedelic kinda way) and a little more soulful all of a sudden? Sneak peaking at the full EP (excerpts for each track can be found here) fortunately dissipates any doubts in this regard – the guys are still out there. So, this rather straight "One Tone Man" track – although very enjoyable – is a little misleading, really.

Tony Castles will perform at Pianos tonight (09.06) and then on September 28 at Delinquency.