What’s going on today people? Almost every song we play sounds like… Christmas. It’s happening also  with this very very pretty track by Plates of Cake, a Brooklyn based quartet playing an interesting melange of alt folk and lo-fi: that calming melody, those beautiful female harmonies… Is that Santa singing? The track, entitled "As if the choice were mine," is the opener of their debut 7 inch, which also features "Transit," a song starting with some kind of "celtic/spaghetti western" verse followed by a chorus of pure pop crooning. Only a NYC based band could have given birth to such tune. See Plates of Cake Live at Cakeshop on 01.19 or at Pianos on 02.03.

The Ludlow Thieves is a rather new and rather impressive NYC based folk rock trio whose songs, ranging from the uplifting and energetic to the intimate and pensive, work very well as a soundtrack to our impending winter holidays. These guys have already gotten some impressive song placement on a couple of TV shows, and will be releasing their debut record at Mercury Lounge on January 6. Check out a preview of it here.

There’s an interesting all-NYC-based-bands rock show this Thursday 12/22 at Pianos featuring Deli NYC favorites Ambassadors and Clouder, Brooklyn’s Desert Sharks, and singer/songwriter Eli Orling from Brooklyn based Car on the Moon.  

Ambassadors is a band with serious potential. They craft short catchy yet rockin’ tracks with strong melodies and hooks. Made up of brothers Casey and Sam Harris, their childhood friend Noah Feldshuh and drummer Adam Levin, the band has been making headlines since their conception in 2008, playing exciting R&B-infused indie rock shows around the city. Their most recent release is the “Unconsolable” single and their full length is due out early next year.

Brooklyn’s Clouder has been sweeping the scene with their psychedelic influenced indie rock music. The five piece was recently nominated for the NYC Deli band of the month and with the lead of singer Eric Gilstrap, have been building their fan base, wowing audiences and press outlets like CMJ and Hype Machine . They have just finished recording a full length album. 

Desert Sharks (in the picture) is a 4 piece all girl rock band that forges instantly hummable songs drenched in surf rock and punk influences. Their latest release is a 4 song EP available for download on their bandcamp.

Brooklyn’s Eli Orling is the lead singer of multi-instrumental indie folk quartet Car on the Moon. He releases solo music that is both intimate and honest, touching upon issues of love, loss and everyday relationships with a bluesy rock’n’roll tinge.

Streaming below is the song ‘The Pines’ from Aaron Thompson‘s latest release, "Vessel EP". More raw and ambitious than his eponymous debut album, "Vessel EP" was recorded in five days this past summer at the Empress of Sound Studio in Washington, DC (where he was based). Thompson has recently moved to Brooklyn and will be performing in at Pianos on February 10, 2012. – (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 and APS Mastering.

Remember when Tyson had that rant where he talked about how great he was and how he wanted to eat your babies? Ever wanted to hear that sample sliced up and laced into a slammin beat? Well look no further, your prayers have been answered on the track “Supreme” by Keon Supreme. Despite his questionable taste in cover art, Be Still’s selection of tasteful modern beats are slathered with a natural buttery flow reminiscent of K-OS. There are a couple gems on this album; “(R)Evolution” is a Kanye-worthy beat, and Keon’s delivery is confident and optimistic. It’s hard to spout inspiration raps without being preachy and overly didactic, but he does it well. Though relatively new to the scene, Keon has been busy churning out material and honing his skills. As long as he maintains his current trajectory, he’ll find his audiences increasingly reluctant to “Be Still.” – brokeMC

Two Lights, upon first glance, is just another trio of (rather) cute boys who play music that makes many girls swoon. However, if you give them a second glance – and a listen – you’ll realize that the catchy pop songs crafted by these NYU students have the magical power to obliterate wintery thoughts – something a helluva lot of people desperately need in December. The band started in Maine with two brothers, Abner and Harper Willis and their childhood friend Ryan Gross, as the three musicians played songs about high school, love and growing older. The band then ended up at NYU and released their first single “Summer” in September 2011. Since then, they have added a drummer, Benny Brown, as well as garnered praise for their tracks on Consequence of Sound, Verbicide Magazine and CMJ.
Their bittersweet, sugary indie pop songs tie the future of careers and relationships with the past of high school and teen angst. Their debut EP will be released in early 2012 followed by a series of U.S. tour dates. – Amanda Dissinger

When Brooklyn based artist Doe Paoro will play Pianos on January 3rd there will be demons in the room. The artist describes the kind of music she plays as “ghost soul”, i.e. “a sound that echoes the resurrection of a choir of ghosts who haven’t completely detached from the human experience”. We’ll add that those ghosts have a beautiful and soulful voice. Doe Paoro – fronted by Sonia Kreitzer, who used to sing in the Brooklyn collective Sonia’s Party – will play tracks from her first album, "Slow to Love," which will be released in early 2012. Her music has garnered comparisons to artists like Lykke Li and James Blake and also features classical influences the singer was exposed to through her classical training. In the meantime, enjoy her first single "Can’t Leave you", streaming here, or this cover of Future Islands’ “Little Dreamers”. – Amanda Dissinger

The Stepkids capture all the glitter and gold of classic seventies funk, R&B and soul music with such expertise that their recently released self-titled debut album could pass for a rediscovered lost recording from that era. With their own personalities stamped all over their work, the band channels the spirit of Earth Wind & Fire, Sly Stone, Todd Rundgren and dozens of others. The Connecticut and NYC-based three piece will play The Knitting Factory in Williamsburg on December 14 and then embark on an Australian tour. – Read Dean Van Nguyen’s feature on the band here.

Outspoken and outstanding, the ensemble of NYC based musicians known as Outernational reaches out to reggae, ska, punk, dub, polka, mariachi, hip-hop, and world music, to implement their “radical vision for the future of a world without borders,” a stance that has continued to blossom since their first EP, “Eyes on Fire” and only becomes stronger as the band’s grabbing music and message recruit fans and followers. After playing on of The Deli’s CMJ show in October, the band – which will release atheir debut full length in early 2012 – will again entartain their NYC fans with a show at Bowery Electric on December 26. – Read Meijin Bruttomesso Q&A with the band here.

It’s always rewarding when we see results coming out of something we initiated, isn’t it? NYC rockers The Majorleans won our Artist of the Month Poll a few months ago, and with it they won some free studio time at Grand Street Recording, which they used to record this new single called "Hard Enough" (streaming below). Well done band and studio people! Go check out these guys at The Mercury Lounge on December 20.

What’s about NYC that attracts dark and droney indie bands? Is it its cold and dark winter? Or maybe (more likely) Lou Reed and Sonic Youth’s legacy? Royal Baths, after signing with Brooklyn based label Kanine, took a leap from one side of the country (San Fran) to the other, and The Deli is happy to welcome them to the Big Apple. Paying homage to various psych-rock and new wave icons like Syd Barret, Joy Division, Spacemen 3 and at time even Jefferson Airplane, their music – notwithstanding an underpinning melodic element – ranges from the seriously depressed to the invasively distorted, overall always keeping in line with tasteful lo-fi aesthetics.

MP3: Royal Baths – "Darling Divine"