I’m always impressed when I hear musicians take electronic elements, traditionally the materials of dance music, in a more challenging direction. With Teengirl Fantasy’s new track ‘End’ (streaming below) you get something closer to mood than movement. Like Eno, this is sculpture in time, rather than space. Nick Weiss and Logan Takahashi have distilled their elements to a simple texture, and the result is arguably one of their most compelling journeys yet. Coming off their strong 2010 debut ‘7AM,’ their latest record ‘Tracer,’ (True Panther Sounds) promises to delivery an even more symphonically complex experience… oh, and I hear Panda Bear’s got a track on it too. So stay tuned, with Teengirl Fantasy, a physical experience doesn’t always have to mean four-on-floor.

Watch for details on their August 23rd New York album release coming soon, and pick up ‘Tracer’ when it drops August 21st. – Mike Levine

Brooklyn-based Cinema Cinema, featuring cousins Ev Gold (vocals/guitar) and Paul Claro (drums), cut together raucous, fast-paced, muscular punk with noise and math rock influences. The two-piece released their sophomore full-length record “Manic Children and Slow Aggression” on July 10. Between ever changing tempos, attacking drum beats, aggressive guitar shredding and pervading feedback, Gold and Claro’s explosive music never seems to take a breath. The duo dances with a penchant for punk and pushes through the thirteen tracks with fervor and intensity. Cinema Cinema will be honoring their new release at St. Vitus in Brooklyn on July 13 before undertaking East Coast dates with legendary Black Flag founder/guitarist Greg Ginn. – Meijin Bruttomesso

I almost feel like every single venue should have residencies – our life would be so much easier, because no promoters would commit to give a band 3-4 shows in a month if they weren’t confident about the band’s quality, live show and drawing ability. Indie pop Brooklynites Fishdoctor just landed a July residency at Pianos and we can see why. Their May release "The Swell" is crammed with catchy and energetic songs which have the potential to entertain all kind of crowds. First show of the residency is on July 16 at 9pm.

The peeps in Pop. 1280 must like paradoxes, since their music isn’t poppy at all – dark, brooding, borderline evil rather. But maybe that dot means that "pop" stands for something else? Popsicle maybe? Popcorn? Oh, wait! It’s from a novel by Nick Corey, and "Pop." stands for "population."

Signed to Brooklyn’s Sacred Bones, these guys released a full length in January entitled "The Horror" (that’s more like it) which snatched a 7.5 from Pitchfork. I always say that I like tension and release in music, but… boy! Tense throughout, this stuff won’t let you off the hook, challenging most hears with truly edgy, clangy, and cacophonous sonic attacks, in perfect industrial/goth style – imagine an angrier version of Nick Cave’s Birthday Party. Pop. 1280 will be touring the US in September, but we can see in the band’s future an obvious destination, Germany and Northern Europe, true homes of angular and dark rock sounds. If this band was a painter it would be Edvard Munch. Check out their recent video of the song "Bodie in the Dunes" here.

I can’t even imagine the Lower East Side without The Cake Shop, which has been going through some financial hardships as of late. The loss of this venue would mean that the more noisy, experimental, and DIY side of the NYC scene would have abandoned Manhattan once and for all. And noisy, experimental and DIY music is a huge and seminal component of what this scene has expressed since the 60s. Ya man, it all happened in Manhattan – nobody gave a crap about the Brooklyn scene until the aughts! This is why we should all make an effort to visit The Cake Shop more often, in particular this Saturday July 14th, when 4 great local bands and legendary DJ Dan Selzer (of NY Happenings Yahoo Group fame) will entertain hopefully a packed house in support of the Ludlow Street rowdiest venue. Hilarious drunk punks Wild Yaks willheadline, bringing the usual dose of unruly fun on stage, preceded by Shilpa Ray‘s charismatic and imaginative freak folk (one of her songs streaming below). The opening bands will be soul-rock quartet The Immaculates and ungooglable garage-blues band DON’T. There will be also a photo exhibit by local photographer Ebru Yildiz.

This past weekend, CBGB Festival extended the 4th of July celebration and extra four days. A music, film, and spirits conference, the first CBGB fest in NYC featured a spectrum of artists throughout Manhattan and Brooklyn. I was able to catch a handful of the performances, starting Thursday night with edgy, dark and punky quartet, Black Wing Halo at Trash Bar. Southern rockers from NY, Hollis Brown (pictured and streaming below) rocked The Living Room on Friday, July 6. The quintet hit the stage twice in one night, at 9pm and 12am, showcasing tracks off their recent EP, “Nothing & the Famous No One,” and summer single, “Cold City,” which are both available for free download. Not too far away, Bowery Electric hosted the highly anticipated come back of The Virgins, who have only recently returned to the scene to play shows in conjunction with the release of “Venus in Chains.” Saturday afternoon was a scorcher, but that did not stop a record number of passersby from taking advantage of the music in the center of Times Square. Two stages alternated acts, as the audience hustled back and forth. Kicking off the lineup, GLINT, an electro-rock project comprised of its one and only official member, Jase Blankfort, joined forces with orchestral back up to mesmerize with contrasting styles and impassioned vocals. A few blocks up, the other stage erupted with Big Apple veterans, The Hold Steady’s playful heartland rock which was followed by quirky indie synth-pop, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah. –Meijin Bruttomesso

Forget everything the last decade taught you about the so-called aesthetics of punk, and welcome back to the days of angry fist-in-the-air pissed-up antics. Hating on hipsters since 2009, Foster Care released last month their debut LP ‘Bad City Vibes’ (Jackshack), a furious set of 13 fast tracks bursting with pure antagonism. I’ll refrain from the critical urge to give them credit for the lyrics (not as thick as one may think) or even the noise (tighter than it sounds) to get straight to the point: these guys are Brooklyn’s straightest answer to an oh-so-docile scene, furiously sticking it up to… Gee, the list is long. As a target of choice, NYC posers beware: they will be down at Legion on Wednesday (7/11), dishing out some rabid hardcore punk to a crowd that may make you swallow your tote bag. – Tracy Mamoun

New York based indie darling Janet LaBelle has released a series of two live videos revealing her brand new single “Just a Little Rain” and a performance of her song “Goodbye, Baby.” Drawing from her pop tinged roots and 1960’s influences, the video series follows her release of the “Blossom & Blue” EP. While this latest EP demonstrates an exploration of styles channeling her main influences from Diana Ross to Tom Waits, from Astrud Gilberto to Fleetwood Mac, LaBelle’s voice emerges as one of its own. Check out the official live video of “Just a Little Rain” (filmed by Chris Carlone at Studio 201) here, and listen to our favorite single "Losing all the Way", streaming below. You can catch Janet with her band at the Mercury Lounge on Thursday 7/12 at 6:30pm. – (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.

Kid Mountain is an up and coming Boston indie band. Though hard to classify the exact genre of what they play, they like to call it Shoe-Pop. It has the ambience and reverby guitar and vocals of shoe gaze yet much more up beat with an acoustic guitar that fills everything out and gives everything a unique sound. They have an EP that came out in January called, Visitor’s Center and they are currently making their debut album due at the end of the summer. Though just a baby band this quartet has already played with the likes of Reptar, The Wandas, and many more bands that are currently big on the indie scene, so keep your eye on them! – (as posted in The Deli New England’s Open Blog – post your band’s entries, videos, and Mp3s here).

Cuddle Magic, a 10 piece avant-pop orchestra split between Philly and Brooklyn, is about to celebrate the release of their third album "Info Nympho", which is available for streaming here. The band offers an array of soothing instruments (including glockenspiels, toy piano, and various strings and winds) along with the more standard guitar, bass, and drums. At once playful and haunting, the record thrives on the dual male and female vocals spinning intricate counter-melodies. The rhythm section provides a steady but never banal backdrop, while the less conventional instruments are allowed to take the forefront and guide the listener through truly stellar compositions. The variety of sounds, textures, and arrangement ideas, and the quality of the material showcase a band in its full maturity, mastering an impressive musical vocabulary, ranging from classical counterpoint to math rock influences, without disdaining occasional jazz chords and electronic elements. From opener "Disgrace Note"’s semi-robotic mallets in six fourths, to "Jason" (streaming below) and "Hadwrit", with their beautiful melody and organic arrangements featuring almost any instrument you can imagine, this is a record that manages to be original, moving and memorable – what else can you ask? Catch Cuddle Magic in Bushwick on July 13th, at a new venue named Muchmore. – Bob Raymonda

Eric Gilstrap (vocals), Steve Spinella (guitar), Matt Revie (guitar), Max Goransson (bass), and Jim Wood (drums) unite under the name Clouder. The band has been quite prolific, releasing their EP, "Serious Business," last September and full-length record, "Freakin’ Out the Squares" in February. The Brooklyn-based quintet rustles up the sounds, auras and cover art inspirations of music’s decades past, saturating the already-spacey musical atmosphere with even more psychedelic effects, and injecting them with elements of surf and garage rock. Live, they are a force to be reckoned with – see them at The Grand Victory on July 14. – Read Meijin Bruttomesso’s interview with the band here.

It seems kind of random that an Iowa gospel guy, a classically trained musician and a Manhattan hippy got together in a band that actually makes sense. The Ludlow Thieves have been playing in NYC for less than a year with a sound that is hard to pin down: Alt-Folk? Classic rock with a rustic Americana feel to it? Whatever you call it, all that matters is that it sounds good – and fun. Dan, the lead guitarist and composer, brings a classical foundation, weaving in string elements and some of the harder hitting stuff. Danny, lead singer, carries the heart of the band’s sound in his voice. And Walker, the drummer, brings a tribalism to the band that you can hear in almost every song. See them at The Mercury Lounge on July 12. – Read Keith Putnam-Delaney’ sinterview with the band here.