Sofar Sounds started in London in 2009, when two guys realized that most live shows felt kind of soulless. They started Sofar Sounds as a way of booking intimate, secret shows, and the idea found the unconditional support of sir Richard Branson, quickly expanding to hundreds of music scenes (NYC was among the first). The Deli enjoys being involved in these events not only because of the noteworthy local talent on display, but also because they are well lit, something that allows people to actually see our print magazines!

Sofar and The Deli have a joint event booked for tomorrow, but we can’t tell you where it is nor who’s playing until a few hours before it begins… why? Because that’s how Sofar Sounds works: it’s about creating suspence and exceeding expectations. So… you just have to trust us that this is a show that’s worth witnessing, with three uber-talented NYC based artists (two ladies and one dude), playing music intersecting the folk, pop, soul and experimental genres. You can purchase tickets here using code DELI-64AE0, which gets you to skip the line and go straight to payment. See you there!

Obliques is the project of New Yorkers Zach Van Hoozer and Ben Flesch. The duo is adopting the marketing technique of depriving the press of their head shots, replacing it with tasteful graphics. Their smooth and well produced pop-soul features an interesting balancing act between the soulful and passionate but clean vocal melodies and the edgy distorted guitar parts. Single Lightweight (streaming below) perfectly exemplifies this dynamic, which is in all likelihood the sign of a healthy collaboration. This is definitely a band worth checking out when they play at Berlin on May 23rd.

We added this song to The Deli’s playlist of Best songs by emerging NYC artists – check it out!

This Thursday, May 11th, Boiler Room is teaming up with the Dance Liberation Network to produce an event at Brooklyn’s House of Yes to raise awareness for Let NYC Dance, a campaign to help repeal the archaic cabaret laws still in effect in NYC. The event, which will be live streamed via Boiler Room’s channels, aims to drive attention to the campaign and encourage people to sign the petition pushing for repeal of the law: since 1926 it has been illegal to dance in NYC without a Cabaret License- a nearly unobtainable license that is far out of reach for bars and clubs that cater to everyday New Yorkers. 

Musically, the night will unify a broad range of DJs/performers to illustrate the diversity of NYC’s sound, spanning the range of generations of music and people who have been affected by this law. Each DJ will celebrate a different generation of NYC sound, grounding the event in a historical and educational context. Dancing is part of the fabric of NYC and they want to highlight the absurdity it being illegal to do so.  

Check out the NYC based artists involved in this bill in the playlist below.

We heard talent when we heard Dolly Spartans‘ debut EP by Dolly Spartans in the spring of 2015 – and that’s why we named it our record of the month. We are glad to see other local blogs covering the young NYC quartet: The Wild Honey Pie just posted a very flattering review of their latest single "It’s not Easy" (streaming below). The group just released sophomore EP ‘Time Sides With No One‘ and it’s scheduled to perform at the new Shea Stadium location on June 1st, which we are not entirely sure is defined yet, although the venue recently more than succeeded in funding a Kickstarter campaign for its new spot.

Maybird, a Brooklyn based four-piece band from Rochester NY, recently released their newest single, "Keep In Line" produced by Patrick Carney of The Black Keys. It’s a song that the band’s songwriter’s Josh Netsky wrote about that "feeling of restlessness [felt] when someone you’re used to having around is out being productive and you’re not, but wish you were." A paradoxical thought that ended up becoming a productive one, since it inspired this song. With its plodding tempo and lazy psych-pop melody, the single expresses Josh’s desire to travel and make music. That desire will be soon fulfilled through a short North East tour and a performance at Union Pool on June 3rd.

Brooklyn-based Peaer crafts understated indie rock songs that feel raw and unpolished enough to reflect the types of real-life concepts wrestled with in their lyrics. A highly dynamic band with a lot of heart, Peaer is tight enough to flirt with the wildness of coming undone, without ever succumbing to it. Active since the beginning of the decade, the band in 2016 released a noteworthy 7 track record, one of our favorite within the genre, check out "single Cliff Song," below, and opener "Pink Spit," here. – Olivia Sisinni

We added this song to The Deli’s playlist of Best garagey/punky songs by emerging NYC artists – check it out!

Lost in Society is an alternative rock band from New Jersey that fosters a punk ethos – both sonically and lyrically. Their songs take an almost Marxist lingual approach by critiquing dominant cultural narratives and power structures. “All these people working / just to live check by check / sinking down into a hopeless death” a Linkin Park-esque voice screams in the first verse of the outfit’s most recent release, “I Want To Know”. With the themes Lost In Society tackles becoming increasingly relevant in the authoritarian direction taken by our politics, it’s no surprise they’re starting to gain a lot more local and national attention. What makes this band special is that they refresh a punk tradition with leftist roots by immersing it in the circumstances of the present. Don’t miss their next performance on Thursday, May 11th at the Knitting Factory.

Inspired by the mind expanding sounds of the ’60s, Send Medicine began as the solo project for Toronto based singer/songwriter Julian Hacquebard in the summer of 2012. Now based in Los Angeles and expanded to five members, the band, in last year’s debut album "Scary Aquarius Daughter" honed a sound that updates psychedelic folk to the current times. They just landed a prestigious residency at the Satellite for the month of June, starting on the 5th. Check out their latest single ‘Translucent’ (streaming below).

If you are into guitar pedals, check out this feature where Julian Hacquebard on our sister blog Delicious Audio.

Readers who’ve been sticking around for a while may remember Rachel Trachtenburg from teen indie band Supercute! (active in the NYC scene around 2013), and then also as the drummer of ironic folk pop band The Prettiots. Rachel, who is also an actress and model, has recently formed her own group, called Wooing, which is about to release its debut EP through a live show at Pianos on May 10th. The show is part of a monthly residency that will see the band perform at the Ludlow venue every Wednesday of the current month, starting tonight (05.03). The three songs available online showcase a trio uncommitted to a particular genre (we hear, intermittently, folk, noise rock, dream pop…), but generally inclined to find any good excuse to get really loud and noisy, as you can hear in streaming track ‘Tear World.’

In 2017, folk music is far from being simply a revival phenomenon. In the last few decades, the genre has been undergoing a healthy evolution, incorporating elements from pop and indie rock, often flirting with melodic and "dreamy" components that don’t necessarily belong to its most authentic roots. This process had the effect of widening a sonic palette that started to feel and sound outdated. You can hear all that in NYC songrwriter’s new release ‘Rain on the River.’ Her single ‘Alexander,’ which was included in the April 2017 "New Folk" playlist by Indie Feed Music, is a delicate and passionate folk-pop ballad about ex-lovers and the ageless question "…do you think of me the same way I think of you?" The all-consuming melancholy such thought could induce is tempered by Sydney’s light tone and breezy melody, which makes it sound like an afterthought – at least until everything goes quiet and the crucial issue comes up: "have you found another girl? […] Are you happy now?"

This artist submitted music for coverage here.

We added this song to The Deli’s playlist of Best Rootsy songs by emerging NYC artists – check it out!

We are not sure what led Dan Goldberg of The Spookfish to record his album "Black Hole" in a studio after spending ten years recording his own music in DIY fashion (according to his Bandcamp profile, the man has recorded 10 full lengths between 2010 and 2014!). Whatever the reason, the music of The Spookfish hasn’t lost one bit of its lo-fi character and charm, developing on often juxtaposed and sometimes blended elements of dream-folk and 8-bit space rock. Single ‘Everything is Moving So Fast,’ one of the few tracks with lyrics, perfectly describes the static and surreal mood of the record: "You’re standing slowly, watching it pass, everything is moving so fast." Echoes of early Flaming Lips and Sebadoh give this track a ’90s flair that is though misleading: the rest of the album is a very personal, mostly instrumental – and often quirky – take on lo-fi.

Minimalism and noise rock are two musical waves NYC has proudly fed and bred over the decades; the latest product of their fusion is GOLD MINE, a project led by drummer and vocalist Andrya Ambro of now defunct noise duo Talk Normal (which made the cover of The Deli in our 2010 Best of NYC issue). The band, performing live as a trio since 2014, will be releasing debut LP ‘Nerve’ on June 2nd, and judging from the preview track ‘Easy’ (streaming below), we are in for a suspenceful, tense, unnervingly sincere record. The record release party is scheduled for June 3rd at Alphaville.