It doesn’t happen very often to hear a band somewhat reminiscent of The Cars – in particular when the band in question is fronted by a woman. Rick Ocasek’s magnificent 80s new-wave-pop experiment won over a wagon of fans, but for some reason was never very influential. Living Days share with The Cars not only a synthy and glammy approach to indie pop, but also a very charismatic lead singer: Stephonik Youth’s deep, sultry pipes are not your average indie-pop girly vocals, and that’s what makes things interesting. The songs It’s Oblivion! and Let’s Kiss are real pop-rock gems full of attitude and catchy hooks. Check the band live at Coco66 on July 3.

Great songwriting is timeless and space less, this is why Spottiswoode‘s songs sound like they could have been written anywhere and anywhen – although the dude betrays an obvious English accent. His songs and delivery remind us of some serious musical heavyweights like Tom Waits – with whom he shares entertaining cabaret antics – Leonard Cohen and Momus, for the alternatively witty and ironic lyrics. This NYC scene veteran will perform at 92YTribeca on July 2 with “His Enemies” – that’s the name of his band, probably a testament to how hard it is to find musicians available to play your songs without getting into fights? Also, check out his own web-paper “The Spottiswoode Examiner” for the latest news (judging from this picture he must have a pretty intense lifestyle…).
Our old friends Jones Street Station will open the night with their old time sounding tunes sung with angelic male voices – this is probably one of the few NYC bands that can effortlessly pull off 5 part harmonies.

We continue our "Best of NYC Countdown", covering every day one of the artists that made our Year End Best of NYC list (a chart compiled by a jury comprised of local bloggers, music writers, promoters, record store personnel and DJs).

Our Phila-Deli editor just plugged these guys to us ("us" as in the NYC Deli editors, which is actually one person who likes to pretend to be two or three) and… we dig! Of course (as you may realize) this Mammal of Paradise might be even better appreciated in a "totally stoned" frame of mind, but even in our current "totally sober with a slight headache" situation they sound pretty friggin’ interesting – are they the new Spiritualized? The video, then, is appropriate – what’s the guy doing? A new drug using butterfly wings?? Hey, she is contaminating the water with it!!! It’s going to be a wild world!

The first time I heard the song "Daisy" by Fang Island, after 15 seconds I though – gee, these guys sound totally like Animal Collective, c’mon! Then something happened, the song morphed into some kind of grandiose, super fast indie version of the Queen’s "Flash Gordon" soundtrack – that’s when I got confused – and amused. These guys have the ability to mix the coolest musical influences with the cheesiest ones, no wonder they ended up catching The Flaming Lips’ attention – hipster NYC bands are normally scared of cheese, but hey, that’s always an interesting ingredient, isn’t it?
Fang Island will surely have an exciting summer touring not only with Wayne Coyne’s Lips, but also with Stone Temple Pilots (this seems like a less than ideal pairing).

Wonderful NYC shoegaze-pop trio School of Seven Bells is offering fans the opportunity to hear their new album Disconnect from Desire in its entirety prior to release day on July 13th. Beginning today at 12 pm EDT, the album will be available via stream on the band’s website, SVIIB.com. To access the stream via the band’s website, fans will be asked to join the mailing list. Mark September 9 on your calendar – the band will be playing Brooklyn Bowl.

I dig The Jaguar Club. I dig how Will Popadic’s voice trembles with fervor. His voice is like a new breed of Ian Curtis, passionate and mature. I still can’t get over “Out of the City,” from their album "And We Wake Up Slowly". which I listened to over 20 times today.. Popadic’s yummy voice mixed with the surf-esque guitar sounds (they definitely have a Beach Boys quality about them) featured in their most recent album is equally delightful. Hearing it is like receiving a first kiss. It creates excitement and evokes a hyper nature that only the truly musically talented are capable of creating in a 4-minute song. – CS

There’s something very gentlemenly about The Postelles‘ songs, which will make us say that they sound like a less sunovabitch version of The Strokes. It must be the Doo-Wop influences or something… It’s funny because probably in the 50s most parents were looking at the guys playing in Doo Wop bands like if they were real sunovabitches who were ruining their children and stuff, while now that music sound harmless and cute to us. It’s amazing what the world went through in just 60 years – and no doubt, Rock’n’Roll was a big force in making icons and stars out of more or less rebellious bastards. But The Postelles aren’t like that, they are very talented boys who want to seduce you respectfully… The young NYC band has just released this video and is getting ready for a fall release of their debut full lenght.

Dead Leaf Echo is a Nouveau Wave voice of emotion wrapped in lyrical intrigue and swirling movement. Lines shift from point to plane as DLE plays their next show in complete electric formation. Fresh and unreleased material from their new upcoming release “Truth” out on 2&1 Records this fall. The band will play with SF and Montreal’s Postcards. – (as posted in The Deli’s Open Blog – post your band’s entries, videos, and Mp3s here).

We continue our "Best of NYC Countdown", covering every day one of the artists that made our Year End Best of NYC list (a chart compiled by a jury comprised of local bloggers, music writers, promoters, record store personnel and DJs).

Few people in the city can call themselves native New Yorkers. Nine times out of 10, this rare specimen has stories to tell and a lot to say (note: not an actual statistic). William Johnson is one of the select individuals who can proudly brandish the title he was born in Brooklyn, grew up in the Bronx and returned back to Brooklyn, where he currently resides. He uses the name Gordon Voidwell to tell his tales of love, race and class to funky, fat synths laid over soulful, beat-laden pop melodies. An immediate comparison can be made to Prince for the ability to successfully fuse funk, R&ampB, pop and soul in a palatable form for mass consumption.  So far, the songwriter/producer/recorder/sound engineer has released the digital EP “Ivy League Circus” and a 26-song mixtape for hip-hop site OkayPlayer, featuring original songs by Johnson and remixes for Das Racist and Boy Crisis. – Read Nancy Chow’s interview with Gordon Voidwell here.

To understand and fully appreciate Brooklyn’s Asa Ransom (pronounced ay-sah ran(t)-səm), attendance at one of their shows is mandatory. Their intense, whimsical energy practically throbs off their recorded EPs, but it is only fully realized and witnessed at their live performances. The band is tight, the crowd is wild for the dance-prone music and good times are bound to ensue.  
Asa Ransom dreams up songs that have transformative properties. Though some of their influences are Western-based such as the Talking Heads and Velvet Underground, they have clear world music inflections. They lure listeners in with the hypnotic, snake-charming intro to “Two Invitations” and keep them at bay with the polyrhythmic, African-influenced percussion over distinct, spirited guitar, tickling keys and walloping bass. To get a taste of their wildly vivacious music, their latest offerings, the five-song “Gold” EP, and the 12" The Luck of Stoney Bowes" can be streamed here. – Read Nancy Chow’s interview with the band here.

The anticipation builds for The Screaming Females impending fourth album release, titled “Castle Talk.” To be released through Don Giovanni records on September 14, the tracks appear positioned to match and possibly even surpass the quality shown on their previous album “Power Move.” On that record, the single "I Do" gave us an anthemic feel by way of a descending chord progression. While the bass and drums throttled forward like a 1980’s SST label punk band, guitars chunked over top until the inevitable sinewy guitar solo. “ Bell ” took that same formula but sped everything up a bit. There the vocals alternated between a sing and a scream, but still found the room for well placed background aaaahhhs. Still, the lead guitar solo’s jumped out at you, and it wouldn’t be a stretch to compare this band to a legendary act like Dinosaur Jr. “Buried In The Nude” stretched it all even further. More angular and a tad frantic, what’s clear is the equal interplay of a power trio that thinks like a band. Marissa may be the flashy focus, as gifted guitarists usually are, however one can sense the band dynamic clearly at work here. The new album can’t come soon enough. – Dave Cromwell