If the good old rock’n’roll sound and antics aren’t lost on you, Nashville’s Krantz has a whole lot to give you. Fronted by Jeffrey “Danger” Krantz, a finalist in MTV’s American Supergroup competition, the band certainly knows how to deliver hooks with a punch. Their new EP ‘The Pennock Tapes’ is actually inspired by Jeffrey’s real-life experience of playing in cover bands and side gigs on Broadway in Nashville and realizing he had the voice to front his own band. Check it out, streaming below.

In the late ’80s, when bands like the Happy Mondays and the Stone Roses were all the rage, Manchester, UK was the kingdom of alternative pop. The wild parties propelled by that scene triggered the nickname "Madchester," which was soon adopted to describe that era’s music, which blended funk drumming and psych arrangement with an overall pop sensibility. In new single "Sex Crystal" (video streaming below), NYC via Australia electronic one-man-act Fascinator seems to find inspiration in that sound, something not many Big Apple-based artists have attempted. The formula still works, at least on semi-veterans of the scene like us.
The single will be included in the long awaited sophomore LP ‘Water Sign,’ out Friday 11 May via Spinning Top (Tame Impala, GUM, POND) /Caroline. Fascinator will support the release with a tour that will see him perform at Warsaw on May 30th.

Those who were bewitched by Tortoise’s post-rock masterpiece TNT owe it to themselves to get familiar with Brooklyn’s Tigue. The Brooklyn trio produces hypnotizing, circular instrumentals that slowly evolve in some kind of "internal" way – like in single "Triangle," whose video was unveiled last week. The harmonic content of the song doesn’t change (i.e. there is no chorus), but the continued changes in textures and instrumental parts, together with a literally unsettling time signature, keep the track interesting, and the bodies moving. The band will celebrate the release of their new EP ‘Strange Paradise’ at Elsewhere on April 27th.

With his deep and expressive voice, Swiss, New York City based indie rocker Sam Himself possesses the swagger of crooners of the ’80s like Bruce Springsteen and Chris Isaak, with a deep touching at times the depths of The National’s Matt Berninger’s tenor on "Bad as a Mile," our favorite track among the ones streaming on his Soundcloud page. The songwriting flirts with timelesness, offering rock songs with an atmospheric and thoughtfully sophisticated angle. Today Sam Himself releases his sophomore EP titled "Nobody," you can stream it here. 

Don’t we all need a dose of stylishness every now and then? This week we get our fix from this video by NYC synthpop duo 88 Palms for single "Bright Lights", which is counterintuitively set in the dark rooms of a downtown NYC venue. The band’s seductive melodies and loungy arrangements immediately bring to mind a more electronic version of Sade, filtered through the glitter of glo-fi. Sensual and vaguely dreamy, the track sets the ideal atmosphere for mass flirting, which is reason good enough to look forward to a whole EP of this: titled ‘Love Safari’ it’s scheduled for a May 25th release. 

Our most faithful readers might remember NYC electro-pop duo Sofi Tukker on the cover of 2016 electronic issue of The Deli Magazine. Well, the band recently landed a sweet deal with Apple for the use of an excerpt of their song Batshit in the latest iPhone 8 ad (which is literally everywhere these days). The guys just released their debut album Treehouse and will celebrate it with a live performance at Brooklyn Steel on April 21st.

Lily and Horn Horse is a NYC based avant-pop duo featuring a singer (Lily Konigsberg) and a percussionist / brass player (Horn Horse, aka Matt Norman). Except, the brass instruments are so filtered and effected that they often sounds more like synths, if not… horses. Real synths and drum machines are also programmed in their tracks adding texture and occasional bleeps and squeaks. In 2017 alone, they released two purposefully unglued-sounding records featuring more than 20 tracks each. Their songs sound like brilliant semi-developed sketches, built on quirky, sparse electronic foundations and airy vocals following strange melodic paths. SF kings of quick Deerhoof took notice and asked them to open for their fall tour last year. They are now back in NYC and will perform at Baby’s All Right on April 27th, opening for Half Waif’s Record Release party – do not miss either.

On his new EP entitled Refugee, Brooklyn by way of Tel Aviv artist O Mer deconstructs genres in a way that allows him to bend electronica with both soulful and eastern influences. The EP features the breakout single “Now I’m Alive,” as well as tracks that have only previously been performed live, like “The Veil” (streaming below), a song that can most accurately be described as meditative. The EP channels themes of displacement and disorientation that arise from living in a foreign country.

The Revolution, National Sawdust’s monthly appointment with emerging NYC artists, returns on Saturday, April 28th with three artists perfectly complementing each other. 

Talented soul pop and visual artist Brittany Campbell, who graced the cover of what will probably be remembered as the weirdest cover of our print magazine (back in 2016), will be the main attraction of the night, joined on stage by brass band Aberdeen‘s dynamic and cinematic instrumentals, and by Bianca Muñiz‘s delicate but somewhat troubled soul ballads. 

Tickets and info can be found here, check out a YouTube compilation with two videos per artist, streaming below.

NYC’s romance with Post Punk is not over yet, and we ain’t gonna complain about it. The seminal movement from the 80’s that triggered the first wave of creative yet minimalist DIY rock already influenced a slew of break-out local artists including Interpol, The Rapture, Liars, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah and Parquet Court among others. In the last few months, quintet Bodega (previously known as Bodega Bay) has made progress to potentially add their name to this list, gaining a lot of attention both in the city and at SXSW with their super-fun live performances enhanced by musical wild card Nikki Belfiglio’s, an effervescent backing vocalist that also plays a range of percussive instruments. The trademark of the band’s stripped down but driven sound, however, lies with Ben Hozie’s semi spoken-word style of singing. The band just unveiled this video for single "Can’t Knock the Hustle" and announced the released of their debut album Endless Scroll, scheduled for a Jun 1st release. Bodega also landed an opening gig for five Franz Ferdinand shows in April (including the Brooklyn Steel date on the 15th) and will tour Europe in May. Buzz alert, indeed!

New York City-based songwriter Caroline Rose has reinvented her sound on her sophomore LP Loner. Dawning an ironically sporty aesthetic, Rose delivers poignant tales of loneliness and disillusionment with a cigarette in hand. Contrasting the Americana sensibilities of 2014’s I Will Not Be Afraid, Loner combines elements of ’70s punk and straight-ahead pop. Caroline just announced she will be performing at the upcoming Summerfest. Our sister blog Delicious Audio asked her a few questions about the gear used in her sophomore album – read the interview here. – Charley Ruddell

Deemo is bringing back that ’90s hip hop flavor.  For fans of Premier beats, early Nas flow, and that New York Grit that made Craig Mack such an icon, Deemo and his team have a slew of bangers.  With lines like “It’s my House Party, but the Kid don’t play,” he demonstrates his grounding in the culture, and his wordplay reflects a scholarly approach to the architects of the Hip Hop kingdom. – BrokeMc

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