With an etheral blend of airy, earnest vocals and driving melodies, Sticklips‘ sophomore album has a space-aged pop tone that haunts with each note. "Zemi" highlights the chilling and tender vocals of frontwoman Johanna Warren, who croons with a sleepy force, while the band maintains their mantra to “keep it weird” in honor their late founding member Jonathan Nocera (passed away in 2011), who helped create their electro-folk sound. On September 5th Sticklips will appear live at the Fisher Center at Bard College in the Hudson Valley, where they will open for New England Piano-Alt-Pop queen Amanda Palmer. – Devon Antonetti

Between a cover of Plastic Bertrand’s iconic ‘Ca Plane Pour Moi’, some sweet synth-pop with a touch of irony, some celtic-pop punk floating between slow stripped down drinking songs and anthemic foot-stomping jams (and a whole lot more, let’s not ruin the fun), the ‘pop’ label Team Genius has loosely been attributed is nothing but reductive; if anything, it’s merely a conducting thread to this troupe’s project that’ll certainly put a smile on the faces of those who spent the last decade ranting about how spaced out bands’ releases are today. These brave guys will be releasing not one, not two but THREE EPs on the same DAY via Paper Garden Records and a second LP shortly after. Now what d’you think of THAT? If you’re eager to get a taste of this eclectically festive, deliciously tacky package, two of the forthcoming sets are available to stream (Pop & Loud). The triple-release show will take place at Union Hall on September 29th.- Tracy Mamoun

Here at The Deli NYC we TOTALLY relate to quirky bands, maybe because we are writing from the place They Might Be Giants and Mixel Pixel call home. Ball of Flame Shoot Fire insert themselves in this bizarre, originality driven musical tradition with a sound that shares with those two bands a poppy approach to songwriting, although replacing their electronic tendencies with orchestral ones, and filtering the results with chaotic Captain Beefheart-ish influences. The outcome is a charmingly soulful, slightly crooked, and entertainingly unpredictable orchestral pop.

The band has been around since 2009 and is about to release their fourth album, entitled " Zileur (Mi-Mi-Mo-Mo)". They advanced a couple of free mp3s from it – the first one, entitled "Bad Thing," is pasted below. See them live at Cake Shop on September 7 with Miniboone, I’m Turning Into and The Meaning of Life.

Mp3: Ball Of Flame Shoot Fire – Bad Thing

Like the aim of any good John Hughes film, Fan-Tan’s new single ‘Window’ seeks that defining moment that comes after some serious heartbreak, and some serious choices made. What could only be described as a feel-good moment captured by heady tenor Ryan Lee Dunlap, ‘Window’ bounces at the altitude of an international flight and a positive emotional turn.

Look for this and more shoe gaze soul on their upcoming record ‘A Strange Game’ out on Goodnight Records, and see the power trio when they play at Glasslands with Heliotropes, Cloudeater + Grandfather on Oct 2nd.

It sounds like Brooklyn pop-rock quartet The Veda Rays has been rather busy in the studio lately: they released the EP "Die Fast" on August 21st, and they already have a following EP (entitled "Life Kills") slated for an October 9th release. At that point they’ll just need an extra, similarly titled EP, to have what might one day be remembered as the band’s "death trilogy"!

From the former record, the smooth vocals of the single "Better the Devil" and its layered melody make for a sound reminiscent of a peppier, more upbeat Coldplay. The song may open the EP with foot-tapping shenanigans, but it’s markedly livelier than the rest of the album; the three tracks that follow are shimmery indie rock. These twinkly numbers, dressed with psych edges, are very pretty at times, almost wistfully so. Guitar riffs flow underneath it all, uniting and carrying the EP forward. – Corinne Bagish

Railbird is the kind of band that doesn’t mind sharing their secrets with you, even if some of these details might make you a little nervous. Singer Sarah Pedinotti seems to whisper these tell-all remarks with a mysterious honesty requiring a certain amount of courage on both sides of the microphone. This isn’t an easy-going ride, but is certainly worth the time. Latest video ‘Jump Ship’ (streaming below, which premiered on Brooklyn Vegan a few days ago) plays with these conflicted feelings, bouncing between intimacy and moodiness amid kaleidoscopic bubbles and cameo appearances from Sean Rowe and Phantogram’s Sarah Barthel. Check it out below and catch the band live when they play The Rock Shop on September 7. – Mike Levine (@Goldnuggets)

Headed by Brooklyn native Paul Weinfield, Tam Lin evokes the aura of late-60’s acoustic folk, creating songs that are subdued and guarded while allowing hints of vulnerability to shine through. Weinfield is the son of a composer and a poet, blending the two influences into Tam Lin’s fragile love songs on the band’s fourth album, “Garden in Flames.” The album, which was released last fall, covers an array of sounds by its ten multi- instrumentalist musicians, traveling through Weinfield’s heartaches and his battle with cancer. Tam Lin will perform at the Living Room on September 7th. – Devon Antonetti

Staking their claim as a top contender among bands with names that are nearly a complete sentence, "Letting Up Despite Great Faults" have a number of quality songs to support such a noble sounding name – our favorite from their latest release are the dramatic "Stand Still" and the more minimalistic “Folding Under Stories Told” . The Los Angeles/Austin based electro-dream-pop band is about to release a new album entitled "Untogether" (scheduled for early October) and recently unveiled the first single "Visions" (streaming below), which nods the 80’s era Cure of "In Between Days" by way of pace, chord progression and strumming, and through bass textures reminiscent of New Order’s Peter Hook. Sugary sandpaper vocals share space alongside additional late-80’s pop purveyors Echo & The Bunnymen, with a bit of modern-era "twee" (and fellow half-a-sentence named) Pains Of Being Pure At Heart style vocals on the bridge. – Dave Cromwell

The Last Royals are two gentlemen out of Brooklyn who bonded (on a musical level) in 2010. Since then, singer/writer/producer, Eric James, and drummer,Mason Ingram, have been pouring their hearts out in song. Their upcoming record, “Twistification,” due out in January of next year, takes listeners on a quick-paced, joyful joyride. “Winter Waltz” is a short overture that contrasts with the remainder of “Twistification,” transitioning from melancholy to an eruption of bouncy synth-driven verses, defining the cheerful nature of the record. Upbeat highlights include “Friday Night,” “Wake Up,” and single, “Only the Brave,” which is currently available to the public. Mid-album, the tempo relaxes with the lush “All Over Again” but accelerates to the power- electro-pop “Good day to Be on the Radio.” The Last Royals will be amping up for tour in the fall and probably have a few plans up their sleeves for a record release fit for rock royalty. A 3 song teaser EP will be out on October 2nd on iTunes via Ooh La La Records. – Meijin Bruttomesso

Alien Trilogy is a noisy synth-punk trio from Brooklyn New York whose music takes inspiration from 80’s and 90’s sci-fi films and the sound of bands such as Devo and Nervous Gender. The trio combines catchy synth lines, effects laden vocals and the squeals and pops of circuit bending into a tightly focused cyper punk assaults. Alien Trilogy will deafen audiences next at XPO 929 in Bushwick on September 29. – (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.

Following the release of her acclaimed debut albums, Brooklyn-based ambient electro experimenter Laurel Halo will be touring with Ital (PLANET MU) starting mid-next month and into early October. The tour will start at 285 Kent Ave. on 09.21.

Planted firmly in the roots music of American folk, Mountain Man shoots up from the salt of the earth and into the high, wide atmosphere with delicate harmonies and spirits as wide as the Mississippi. Their three voices have the strange effect of sounding close enough in range to fool you into thinking their magic is issuing from a single being, not unlike another downhome female powerhouse, First Aid Kit.

The trio of Molly Erin Sarle, Alexandra Sauser-Monnig and Amelia Randall Meath recently opened for Feist, and are working on the follow up to their debut album, ‘Made the Harbor". – Mike Levine (@Goldnuggets)