NYC alt rock outfit Lion in The Mane is set to release "The Way We’re Wired" on August 9, 2011. The EP was recorded at Long Island’s Pie Studios, in Glen Cove, by producer/engineer William Wittman. This is music for those who like borderline emo vocals, spontaneous yet powerful guitar melodies, and a solid, driving and punhcy rhythms section. CD release party at The Bitter End on August 6. – (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.

NY rockers Wormburner – currently nominated for our NYC artist of the month poll – have a high profile show on August 10, opening for Deer Tick at the Mulcahy’s Music Hall in Long Island. Wormburner play lyrically charged rock with intriguing western movie tinges that will please fans of the Boss and The National. Their latest full length – released in 2010 – is a concept album about two young and desperate characters on the run, seeking salvation on the road while struggling to make peace with a complicated past.

Folkstress Julia Haltigan – whose latest full length we reviewed just a few weeks ago here – will celebrate the release of her new EP "My Green Heart" on August 4 (tonight) at @ John Varvados Bowery (315 Bowery) in Manhattan. The show is free, and there will be free drinks – so this is a good opportunity to have cheap fun in some kind of "old timey" way.

We’ve been saying for a while that – with the new decade – the 80s are the new 70s, but maybe we were wrong… considering all the doo-wop and bubble-gum inspired artists we stumble upon these days, maybe the 50s are the new 70s! The Bandana Splits, the new band New Yorker Dawn Landes put together with Annie Nero and Lauren Balthrop, bring us a rather faithful reproduction of those old times atmospheres and melodies in this debut video. Their CD release show is on 8/16 at the video location, Farmacy, in Brooklyn

Brooklyn based Forest Fire just announced the release of their upcoming album "Staring At The X" – out on October 18 on Fat Cat Records. The embedded song "Future Shadows" – an extract from the CD – reveals an intriguing sound where a laid back rhythm and dub inspired guitar stabs intersect with tense vocals full of rock attitude. This is definitely a band to keep your ears on, check them out live at Glasslands on August 20.

Fantastic bill on Friday 08.05 at Prospect Park with some of The Deli’s favorite NYC bands ever. You should know by now that we have a VERY soft spot for Buke & Gass (7pm), the avant-indie duo of music instruments inventors that sounds like no other band out there, and which we featured on our NYC magazine cover back in 2008 (cover feature here). The band officially entered the Olympus of the NYC music scene when they shared the stage with Lou Reed at The Stone eaerlier this year. Delicate Steve (on stage at 8pm) has been also covered and cuddled by The Deli in our recent print issues – we also booked him/them for both our SXSW 2011 show and our B.E.A.F. fest in NYC. The man plays really inventive instrumental music. Headlining this bill will be Ra Ra Riot, a band we featured in print back in 2007 (interview here), just before they conquered the world.

A few days ago, we mentioned Aviation Orange’s release on Friday, but there’s no way we’re letting this weekend go by without hinting of another record release from Finding Fiction, same night and same place, just a couple sets later (11pm, PIANOS, 158 Ludlow at Stanton). Finding Fiction is for those who like The Getup Kids, Summerteeth, Wilco, and "Pablo Honey"-era Radiohead, although some of their latest tracks have deviated from the sound they’ve always played – in this regard, see if you like Weathermen, a song from the band’s new album featuring prominent percussions, and a pointillist use of the guitar. The single Migraines & Sheep is streaming down here. – Caitlin Clive

Having trouble finding your bong? Maybe if you smoked, you’d remember that it’s under your Bob Marley tapestry! Of course requires some heady vibes, and this is exactly what Technicolor Lenses has crafted for you. The beats gently coax your eyelids open wider than you thought possible, and MC ApoSoul laces the tracks with well- delivered earth-conscious raps. Spiced with techno and jam-band elements, the Lenses craft a sound all their own. Soul searchers need look no further, their debut "New Eyes" is the key to a truly visionary rap experience. – BrokeMC

If I was making a post-apocalyptic film I would cast Jason Anthony Harris.  I’d put him in a cornfield.  
The leading lady suffers from hallucinations.  She runs through detritus, over shattered neon.  The bottom drops out.  The hallucinations recoil.  She finds herself at the edge of a vast expanse of field.
As she weaves her way through the ghostly husks, poly-rhythmic blurbs pulse in and out.  She follows the sound, the clouds pass over too quickly, Jason Anthony Harris sits amidst rotten cobs, a single soul surgically bound to a fusion of loop station, vocoder, decades of effects pedals welded together, banging his microphone into dry earth and crooning a twilight monologue.  Amplified fuzz settles behind him and retorts, blistering, as a chorus of 100 looped voices swallow time.  She is mesmerized.
He doesn’t see her.  He continues tweaking the corn husks, banging the mic, discovering enhancements to this improvised loop, voice magnificent and morose, lost in a world of single being in performance.  She kneels to catch his gaze, to no avail.  The music grows frantic, the looped chorus relapses into a single, flat-lined tone.  He utters something with his gently immaculate British accent but we can’t make out what he’s saying as the hallucinations have returned, violently raining antique tea cups, pieces of scone, all of it looped and oddly beautiful.  Our leading lady is running, running through the cornfield, Harris’s opus tripping her, heavy, dance-worthy beats and a gritty pool of sonic potential, waiting to be tapped. – Valerie Kuehne

LA/NYC based alt-folk duo Pink and Noseworthy (who placed 64th in our Best of NYC 2010 poll for emerging artists) takes the traditional collaborative dynamic of male/female singer-songwriters and adds a dash of dream-like alternative-pop. Their music has an air of 70s simplicity thanks to Mark Noseworthy’s perfectly balanced instrumentation, serving Shanee Pink’s honest and moving voice. The songs "She" and "Something Better" (amongst our favorites) create a perfect balance of intimacy, tension and melody reminiscent of early Leonard Cohen. "Light Feather" – another highlight – blends twangy guitars, playful piano parts and soft percussions, slowly building, one pretty melody after another, towards a beautiful looping finale. The band has upcoming shows scheduled both in NYC and LA: Sullivan Hall (NYC) at 10pm on Aug 3rd and Hotel Cafe (LA) on September 8th. Highly recommended. – Christina Morelli

"Forever", the debut LP from Austin-based Stefanie Franciotti (out on September 27), is a record of pastoral psychedelia, swirling texture, and unforgettable vocal strains, combining both synth landscapes and pop architecture to create an unfolding sense of yearning. Her voice weaves in and out of brethren synth and guitar timbres, unfolding over time outlined by minimal drum machine pulse, creating tape-saturated pop gems and ominous moments of synth shimmer that recall both dream pop and industrial urgency. Her synth work tends towards the warbly atmospheres – they bend and fuse like crusts of dried REM tears – and the songs have a dusty arc, with stark melodies that recall the spacious melancholia of Julee Cruise. Forever possesses an earthy, melting quality, reflecting Stefanie’s Texan roots in HD – hi-fi meets lo-fi, night meets day.