Matthew Houck, aka Phosphorescent, whose last album was a tribute to the great Willie Nelson, is back to original material with a May 11th release of Here’s to Taking It Easy. Fans can get a taste of the album with the new Mp3 of the bittersweet ballad, “The Mermaid Parade.” The tribute to the half naked women that parade annually at Coney Island makes for an amusing country blues number, and Houck’s sorrowful lyrics blend well with the delicate piano and melancholy guitar. The last time I spoke to Houck he was working on this album and said at the time, “So far it’s my favorite thing Phosphorescent has ever done, so I’m really itching to get back to work on it.” Phosphorescent will be playing a free show at Other Music on May 10th, a day before a at Union Pool. The band will also play Mercury Lounge on May 13. -Chloe Schildhause

May Day, 2010, NY’s The Dig – a band we’ve been following for a few years now – played to a sold out Mercury Lounge alongside the UK’s The Joy Formidable on the second day of their mini-tour. These guys’ infectious grooves on “You’re Already Gone” and “Two Sisters in Love” pumped up the packed Lounge, while “Look Inside” and “Sick Sad Morning” blended heartfelt verses with romantic melodies and pounding bass lines. Impassioned vocals floated over ringing guitars and syncopated backbeats on “Penitentiary”; and “He’s a Woman” undulated with instrumental feedback and distortion, championing The Dig’s psychedelic inspirations spiced with alternative rock flavor. “She’s Going to Kill That Boy” shook with a haunting guitar and trippy keyboard reverb and erupted into a head-banging refrain. Closer, “I Just Wanna Talk to You,” interspersed with crowd clap-along segments, oozed with bluesy seduction and a classic rock ‘n roll spirit. On June 5, The Dig will return to Mercury Lounge to celebrate the release of “Electric Toys” due out officially on June 8.  –Meijin Bruttomesso

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 sotre personnel and DJs). Many of the bands in this list will play The Deli’s Best of NYC Fest in Williamsburg in May (6 shows in 3 different venues between the 13 and the 15).

Dreamlike and echoing, Zambri layer an array of effects over airy female vocals performed by front sisters Jessica and Christi Jo.  The Brooklyn-based group’s first release, “Bang for Changes EP” explores elements of shoegaze, placing heavy emphasis on synthesizers, reverb, and grungy distortion, and mixes these musical facets with electronic tidbits and dance club undertones. Experimenting with changes in the tempo within songs and following unusual melodic patterns, Zambri fashion a trippy listening experience. -Meijin Bruttomesso

The School of Seven Bells‘ debut album was one of the CDs we most thoroughly enjoyed in 2008. We heard that the ethereal NYC female duo has recently finalized their follow up LP, which will be entitled "Disconnect From Desire" and relased in the summer. They also announced two live performances at The Mercury Lounge on June 10 and 11 – we’ll be there if they let us in!

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 sotre personnel and DJs). Many of the bands in this list will play The Deli’s Best of NYC Fest in Williamsburg in May (6 shows in 3 different venues between the 13 and the 15).

Eskalators are part band and part public performance piece. As if being a ska-influenced band in the Brooklyn indie scene isn’t already enough to raise some eyebrows, the band’s infamous and well-documented subway car performances have grabbed the attention of the Village Voice, the New York Post and Time Out New York. Eskalators formed in 2007 and performed their first show on—yes—an escalator in the Mall of America, and have since gone on to incorporate 18 members, including Williams. On the new record, Cats and Dogs Living Together, the band combines melodic and raw power-pop/punk vocals and power chords, a horn section, and everything from flute and glockenspiel to djembe. The songs are instantly infectious—melodic hooks abound and Williams’s vocals tap into the urgency of 20-something angst. The Eskalators aren’t totally a ska band (and to be fair, not everyone in the band grew up listening to ska); there’s enough pop melody and instrumental variety to push the band into other musical categories, and anyone with an interest in fun, energetic, and well-crafted songs should hop on board and sing along (lyrics are included with the band’s new record for that very purpose). – Bill Dvorak

As you all should be aware by now, The Deli’s mission is to give local artists free exposure and opportunities. Recently Stratosphere Sound, the Chelsea based recording studio owned by Smashing Pumpkins’ James Iha and Fountains of Wayne’s Adam Schlesinger, gave to The Deli readers the opportunity to win a FULL DAY of free studio time (there will be more, so stay tuned!). We can now announce that the winners of this first studio time giveaway (chosen directly by the Stratosphere Sound’s staff) are alt rockers The Shake – congrats! Stratosphere Sound has a 30% discount on their studio rates for all those who will mention The Deli until the end of September.

There seems to be a trend of late that we certainly won’t complain about: local NYC/Brooklyn bands channeling earnest 90s music styles to match the Doc Martens and grandmother-inspired floral prints seen on the streets of Williamsburg. After a positive review from Pitchfork for their track, “Future Tense,” local band Diehard couldn’t be blamed if they were to perhaps act like they have it all sorted, but this power pop four-piece offers no hint of pretension on their Oh So Premier EP.
After the minimal-to-layered buildup of the opening track, the record kicks into higher gear with “Was I Wrong?,” a playful Velocity Girl-like singsong of regret that can’t help but bring on a smile. “Future Tense,” a haunting I Can Hear The Heart Beating As One-evoking track manages to honor that quintessential record while also offering a new breath of youthful beats and lyrical beauty. We can easily imagine it as a worthy track to follow “Damage,”  yet it holds its own in the sincere indie rock department.
“Cool Kids”, the final track on the EP, is a beach friendly take on harmony and happenstance. “We’re all down/We’re around” makes us want to meet them at the benches in front of Bouton Hall for an afternoon of youthful time wasting.
Oh So Premier may do its fair share of conjuring up the past, but it also marks an enjoyable present and promising future for Diehard. – Lora Grillo for StereoactiveNYC.com

Under the name The Blow, Khaela Maricich has released a number of music albums and toured nationally and internationally. Working in music venues as well as art spaces, her performances explore and exploit the conventions of each format. Her recent work interweaves elements of narrative performance art with traditional pop-show dynamics, while her music is an intriguing, minimalistic mix of synths, drums, and delicate vocal melodies that’s hard not to love. Although The Blow’s last album (entitled "Poor Aim: Love Songs") dates back to 2007, the project is active live and will hit Glasslands on May 15 (Acrylics will be the openers).

The Static Jacks are an extremely young rock band from New Jersey that blends Interpol’s tense guitar work and driven drum beats with a more "alt-rock" approach; mostly traceable in their preference for epic, open melodies. In their still short career they already managed to play with bands of the caliber of Tokyo Police Club, Youth Group, and Nightmare Of You. Self-described "Infamous rock mangler" Lee A. Cohen (manager of The Dandy Warhols and So So Glos) is a big fan of the band and recently sat down with them for a Deli-cious interview – read it here.

We accidentally caught Bronze live at Pianos last night and dug them. Today we find out that they are no total strangers, as they formed from the ashes of Detachment Kit, a band we covered several times. Compared to the now defunct act, Bronze have a less guitar centric, more produced sound, in some sort of crunchy dance-pop sort of way (think something between MGMT and Social Broken Scene), and an equally fun live show, with the added textural element brought by Jess Birch frantic percussion. Check out their songs here, they don’t have shows planned as we speak.

Rock duos have been extremely trendy since the advent of The White Stripes – heck, we know this – having had two-peeps-bands on the last 4 covers of The Deli!!! (Buke and Gass, Zaza, Glass Ghost and Talk Normal…). In this kind of dual musical collaboration, most of the time the "sacrificed" instrument/player is the bass/bassist. Thankfully, Hank and Cupcakes are vindicating this often underestimated 4 string guitar. Hank’s virtuoso bass (with the help of a well picked selection of pedals) manages to create full arrangements spreading through the entire frequency spectrum. The man uses his instrument in what we could call a "maximalistic" way (as in: "I’m gonna squeeze all I can out of this thing, dude!"). Cupcakes (on the other side of the stage) sings, entertains, plays tight drums standing, while wearing "minimalistic" clothes – for the joy of part of the audience. The band is about to release a new EP with a show at Le Poisson Rouge in the West Village on May 12 – be there!