Just premiered on Pitchfork, here’s the band’s website. Don’t miss tonight’s show at Glasslands in W’Burg.
NYC Artists on the Rise: Whale Belly
The other night I saw this new folky band called Whale Belly at Glasslands and they put on a pretty impressive show. The band had around 9-10 people on stage and they had the entire place dancing and screaming and singing along and clapping between songs, it was really something that rarely happens in W’burg. Check them out if you have the opportunity, they’ll be opening for Beach Fossils in Vermont and then will play RoCkwood Music hall on 10.01. – Doug Sevcik – (as posted in The Deli’s Open Blog – post your band’s entries, videos, and Mp3s here).
Electronic bands we like: Body Language – Highline Ballroom on 10.19
Body Language – an electro-pop outfit we’ve been following for some time – put on a great show at Brooklyn Bowl last Saturday. This band can deliver rambunctious energy, booty shaking dancey beats, angelic melodies, experimental textures and mellower atmospheres at will. To get more from the band, you’ll be able to catch their music video to "Huffy Ten Speed" very soon and listen to their second EP in the fall, featuring three songs that they performed at Brooklyn Bowl and one never-before-heard track. Next NYC date at Highline Ballroom on 10.19 during the CMJ music marathon. – Abigail Devora
Hip Hop party at Shea Stadium on 09.18 w/ Deathrow Tull, Bisco Smith + more
This Saturday, September 18th, Bisco Smith and brokeMC have put together a great night of hip hop culture. From 2004-2008 the FALLDOWN parties had their home at the original Bushwick DIY venue, Asterisk. Now they bring the same energy and diverse sounds to the new Brooklyn DIY venue Shea Stadium off the Grand St. L stop. Expect a slew of amazing painters slathering canvases right in front of your eyes, live screen-printing of shirts and bags and whatever you bring by Werdink.com, killer DJs, and some amazing local hip hop acts including Bisco Smith (pictured), Deathrow Tull, Rosetta Stoned and True Theory. If you never made it to a FALLDOWN party before, now is your chance to make up for it. $7 (Ladies free before 11pm), 18+, doors at 9:30pm.
Crystal Stilts back with a new single + album in early 2011
Crystal Stilts was (probably) the band that started the whole "nu-surf-psych-punk" trend – and we liked their debut CD "Alight of Night" so much that we gave them the cover of our 17th NYC issue. The Brooklyn droners just announced the upcoming release of a new single (you can stream the two songs in it here and here) and of a full length album scheduled to hit our ears in early 2011. The band will play live at The Rock Shop in Gowanus on 10.29 after a long time – mark dat calendar of yourz!
Waking Lights release ‘The Rabbit Hole’ digitally on 09.17 – live at Maxwells
Waking Lights‘ orchestral psych folk sure doesn’t lack in originality, character and good songs. And variety! These guys have the rare gift of sounding rootsy and innovative at once – a gift they share with The White Rabbits and Motel Motel. We really dig the song "Only the Sex", with its exotic sounding strings and Doorsy organ parts. The song’s overall psychedelic atmosphere (and the rousing chorus in particular) are reminiscent of our good old friends The Occasion (cover of Deli issue #5). In the band’s other tracks you’ll find some aggressive bluesy numbers and several folk-ish songs with "telephoned" vocals floating on a controlled carpet of – alternatively – acoustic guitars, keyboards, feedback and strings. The NJ/Brooklyn based band will celebrate the digital release of their latest record ""The Rabbit Hole" 7” on September 17 with a show at Maxwel’s in NJ – highly recommended!
La Otracina’s CD release party at Union Pool on 09.16
Around for 7 years now, NYC heavy psych rockers La Otracina are about to release their fourth album and tour the US in the fall. Recorded in bass player Evan Sobel’s home studio and the band’s rehearsal space over two years (Sobel also recorded/produced NAAM’s s/t debut LP recently released on TeePee Records), "Reality Has Got to Die" blends classic hard rock, early-metal, and prog, but also includes forays into free-jazz, cosmic synthesizer music, and even folk. This is a band that you want to see live – don’t miss the CD release party at Union Pool on September 16.
Dive Index release video and CD
Dive Index is the collaborative, cross-genre project brainchild of NYC producer/musician Will Thomas. The sophomore album "The Surface We Divide" (out on 10.12) features vocals by Joseph Arthur, Cat Martino, and even former Ride vocalist Mark Gardener, and instrumental appearances include cello by Julia Kent (Antony & the Johnsons) and drums by Kevin O’Donnell (Andrew Bird). They recently released this video featuring Cat Martino on Vocals.
NYC on the Rise: Emil & Friends
We will soon write a little more in depth about Emil & Friends (you know how Friday is right for a blogger, right? You feel like you used all the words already…), but for now we’ll just say that we really like them – they sound a little like a folky version of Dirty Projector with less weird melodies. No upcoming show announced, but several promising signs (a sold out vinyl and a new EP released on Cantora Records, which lauched MGMT and now Bear Hands and… a custom super hero suite!!!).
Jesse Robertson plays Bar 4 on 09.16, releases album in February
Brooklyn-based singer/songwriter Jessi Robertson is set to release her first full band album "Small Town Girls" in February 2011, but "Half Moon," the album’s first single, will be available through iTunes, CD Baby and most major online outlets beginning September 16, 2010. In addition, "Half-Moon" is currently streaming at MySpace. The song showcases Jessi’s electric folk sound while lyrically exploring the loneliness and alienation that have become haunting themes in her work. See her live at Bar4 (444 7th Ave. Brooklyn) on September 16. – (as posted in The Deli’s Open Blog – post your band’s entries, videos, and Mp3s here).
Darlings release single, announce EP release, play Union Pool
Without a doubt, Darlings are currently the NYC band that better carries the torch of the carefree guitar indie pop of the 90s (fans of Pavement, be advised). This group of former NYU college mates has been enjoying a growing buzz in the last few months and we wouldn’t be surprised if they were one of the "it" bands at this year’s CMJ Music Marathon. Darlings just announced the digital release of their first single on PopMatters, and announced the release of an EP in the fall. See them at Union Pool on 09.10.
Deli CD of the month: Translations – live at The Woods on 09.15
Branded as New Wave in their myspace profile, NYC based Translations is a little more complex than that. The band knows how to use reverb, clanging drum machines and lo-fi tricks in ways more interesting and sophisticated than your average Bushwick bedroom project. Most importantly, they can write good songs, and have found a strong signature sound in Andrew Fox’s dark and thoughtful vocals. In this band’s tracks you’ll find ambient noise, rock’n’roll, great melodies, as well as alcohol-heavy inflections. The self-titled EP opener, "The Wanderer" – an electro-pop and punk mash up filled with lots of range and vocal harmonies – stands out as the album’s best track. The brand new single "Tarantella" (recorded with the help of Jeff Curtin from Small Black, not in the EP), with its evocative vocals, sudden empty breaks and a highly addictive "revolving chorus", takes us back to the summer of 1998, when everybody was in love with The Beta Band (which one year later committed artistic suicide with one of the ugliest albums ever). Check out Translations live at The Woods on September 15 and a week later at Coco66.