New York catchy and upbeat popsters and recent Deli band of the month Murder Mystery will be playing this Friday night (February 11th for those not near a calendar) at Zebulon. According to the band, the show will be inspired by the great success of the Spiderman musical "Turn Off The Dark," and also include dramatic acrobatics, embarrassing technical problems, and most importantly fatal injuries – mixed with new music of course! That sounds like a winner to us. Friday night the band will be playing with Philadelphia band The Homophones and New York bands MiniBoone and Shiv Hurrah. – Leah Tribbett

Brooklyn experimental pop band Octant (whose only human band member we covered in the past and also interviewed about his crazy robotic band mates here) are playing two pre-release shows, one in Brooklyn and one in New Brunswick. The Brooklyn show is completely free and takes place on Saturday, February 19 at Pete’s Candy Store. Octant goes on at 10:00 sharp and will be joined by New Brunswick band Trintron. Available at the show will be limited edition CD versions of the record with hand-stamped covers, as well as free posters and free 1" buttons (there will also be 2.5" buttons for $2.00). The New Brunswick show will take place at CoLab Arts Space on Sunday, February 20. The doors are at 6:00, the show starts at 7:00 and Octant plays second. There will be complimentary wine and cheese while supplies last. Also playing are New Brunswick bands Trintron, Seahorse Valley and Fairychaser. The poster and 1" buttons will be free at CoLab Arts as well, but the CD versions of the record will be $5. You can listen and download a copy of the LP, or pre- order the vinyl, at Octant’s website or purchase it via iTunes. – Leah Tribbett

Deli Readers,

The Deli’s Year End Polls for Emerging artists are over (YAY!). You can find the list of winners and runners up organized by scene here.

The Deli Staff

Totally out-there dance machine Gang Gang Dance has an announcement to make. Their new album, Eye Contact is going to be out on May 10th by 4AD records. Can you wait that long? At this point, the Manhattan-based band does not have any US dates in their upcoming tour, but I’m sure it’s only a matter of time. Of course, if you happen to find yourself in Europe in April or early May, you can take some "Crystals" and shake your little ass off. If not, you’ll just have to be patient, like the rest of us. – allison levin

Akron/Family’s new album "S/T II: The Cosmic Birth and Journey of Shinju TNT" was released today together with this video of the single "Silly Bears". Don’t miss the band’s show at The Knit on 02.17.

When will it be summer again??? The band Beach Fossils have to tease me with their promises of beachfront indulgence while my BedStuy backyard shows no signs of melting away its snow anytime soon. Weather aside, Beach Fossils is one more reason to think this trend of summer-drenched music is not fading away anytime soon. Their music communicates the wistful pleasures of hanging out, doing nothing and being happy with all your free time… it’s refreshing to hear a band candidly describe the creature comforts of middle-class Brooklyn hipsters. The songs never get weighty with false grandstanding, instead delivering a simple, digestable formula that could easily provide the soundtrack to your next getaway weekend. Now they have a new EP on its way courtesy of Captured Tracks, a label that has taken an active interest in curating some of Brooklyn’s finest Lo-Fi jangles. Singer/guitarist Dustin Payseur and bassist John Peña have composed 8 new tracks for What A Pleasure that includes a guest appearance from Wild Nothing’s Jack Tatum on track Out in The Way. Look for it March 8. – Mike Levine

When the Austin post-rock outfit (now based out of NYC) …And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead released their third album, Source Tags & Codes, in 2002, many heralded the band as the next big thing in indie (a Pitchfork 10.0!) and praised the album’s searing sonic riffage, infectious vocal melodies, and affinity for the occasional orchestral flourish. Since the release of Source Tags & Codes, however, the band has had its ups and downs–some lukewarm reviews for later releases, a split with major label Interscope after 2006’s So Divided, the departure of members–yet it has managed to soldier on and continue to produce consistently original music to a passionate fanbase.

Tonight the band will be celebrating the release of their seventh full-length album, Tao of the Dead (released through Superball Music and the band’s own imprint, Richter Scale), at Littlefield in Brooklyn. The show will also feature Brooklyn’s Takka Takka and art on display by band member Conrad Keely, who did the cover artwork for his band’s new record as well as an accompanying graphic novel. The new tracks were recorded in just ten days, and the album is split into two parts in different tunings; the first produced by Chris “Frenchie” Smith (who produced their debut) and the second by Chris Coady (who has worked with Beach House and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs). In an interview with The Deli the band explained: “Our favorite records are ones that can be experienced as a great body of work, and not the disposable, artless idea of recording one or two singles while disregarding the rest of a record. Why not give people a reason to experience an album as a whole?” Tonight would be a good opportunity to catch Trail of Dead’s ferocious live energy in an intimate setting before they hit the road for bigger venues with Surfer Blood in April. In the meantime, you can check out Keely’s trippy, steam-punk influenced artwork at the band’s website –Bill Dvorak

The solo project of Californian Richie James Follin (from The Willowz), Guards is good for the following (and more): some slow dancing, jumping up and down and cleaning the house. There’s a gentlemanly quality to this music: the songs are gentle and inviting, charming and distinguished, yet still absolutely badass. Follin wrote these tracks in New York City. He had the help of friends Caroline Polachek from Chairlift (see embedded song), James Richardson of MGMT, Loren Shane Humphrey of Willowz and sister Madeline Follin of Cults appearing as guests on some of the songs. Guards opened for Beach Fossils and A Place To Bury Strangers at Glasslands on Saturday and will play London and France in mid February. Guards just released a debut 7" and 12". – Read Lauren Piper’s Q&A with RK Follin here.

Christopher Paul Stelling is an anomaly in the NYC indie scene, he is a guitarist who takes his craft to the next level and places a high emphasis on instrumental virtuosity. Playing a unique style of fingerpicking, reminiscent of bluegrass and folk legends from years past, Stelling tells stories of a gypsy musician going from town to town and room to room. Originally hailing from Daytona Beach, he has passed through Boulder, Boston, Orlando, Asheville and everywhere in between. Stelling has recently settled into his new home of Brooklyn, where he is winning a fan base through his captivating solo performances. He is equally comfortable playing larger venues such as Highline Ballroom as he is playing smaller, more intimate settings. – Read Alex Borsody’s interview here.

Hey, do you remember The Bravery? They made "An Honest Mistake" back in 2005. But the New York-based band isn’t erring with their choice of opener for their UK tour. Royal Chains are also NYC locals, so don’t fret that you’ll be missing them open for The Bravery across the pond…they’ll totally be back soon. And when they are? You should be there. As a girl who longs for the shining era of garage rock revival in the early 2000’s (yeah, all those "the" bands), Royal Chains make a return to the genre still feel fresh. Their new single "A Million Fires" captures the distorted guitar and gritty feel of 2003, but mixes it up with better production values and some smooth backing vocals. And some tinkly bells that still manage to rock… just because. Because why? Because who doesn’t love rocking bells, that’s why. The Royal Chains return to the states right after Valentine’s day, which if you ask me, is better than a Whitman’s sampler. – allison levin

Nicole Atkins returns to the New York (and world) music scene with her long-awaited second album "Mondo Amore." Opening track "Vultures" presents a lyrical landscape riddled with fear and loathing. "Cry Cry Cry" emerges with a shuffling drum pattern, gospel backing vocal chorus and clean muscle shoals guitar work. "Hotel Plaster" returns to familiar crooner-core territory, as violins add previously unexpected textures. The slow passionate vocal performance is enhanced by a male voice duet, mixed just under Nicole’s. "You Come To Me" is a straight ahead rocker, snare drum and reverberated guitar driven. Rising piano notes create an upward motion for Nicole’s impressive pipes. "My Baby Don’t Lie" recreates a classic down-home jug-band-on-the-back-porch feel that British blues rockers like Led Zepplin loved to emulate. The record then segues into more familiar sonic territory before returning to the original southern fried vibe. "This Is For Love" uses fiddling violins for maximum background effect, cleverly blending them into a country rock format, but it’s "You Were The Devil" that delivers Nicole’s most sensuous vocal performance on the album: inside a twangy western motif, the subject matter emphasizes the albums overall theme – love, loved – then lost. "War Is Hell" explores this emotional experience further. Nicole’s vocals underscore exactly what she does best – the torch song. "Heavy Boots" effectively uses cathedral organ and piano to dramatically highlight this tale of leaden footwear. "The warriors are waiting outside for you on the street. The hungry virgin eyes with scorpions in their smile. They are no match for me." "The Tower" re-imagines Led Zepplin’s "Dazed & Confused" minus the extended stoner jam (though live her band at points have gone even there) – there is a tasty guitar solo, though. This may also work as a break-up song. Nicole Atkins plays The Bowery Ballroom on February 9. – Dave Cromwell (photo by Lucia Holm)