Notwithstanding their name, the guys in Best Behavior don’t come across as exemplar human beings – not at all for that matter! First of all, they are said to partake in rambunctious parties during which they play electrical musical instrument, dance incontrollably, and sweat while wearing leather cloths – disgraceful behavior! Some decadent New Yorkers seem to enjoy that, may they find the Lord’s true path. Secondly, they use sexually disturbing images on the cover of their records… we are speechless!! As if that wasn’t enough, take their song ‘Bad Habits‘ for instance (streaming below); it’s a track inspired to sinful music of the ’50s that discusses how bad habits are impossible to destroy… how self indulgent!!! Their 2015 album “Good Luck Bad Karma” includes other hummable songs such as “Magic” and “Buried on the Mountain,” which would be our favorite if we weren’t so turned off by the band’s moral terribleness!

(We are flirting with the idea of catching them live on January, 11th at Brooklyn Bazaar.)

We added this song to The Deli’s playlist of Best punk/garage songs by emerging NYC artists – check it out! (if you hear nothing, turn the widget’s volume up!)

In recent years, West Village venue Le Poisson Rouge has been expanding their booking tentacles to many local venues, and also making an effort (very appreciated by The Deli) to support the most promising local artists with "On the Rise,’ a series of shows involving emerging locals. The series’ upcoming appointment is on February 1st, with a show involving two acts we’ve been following for a while in this very blog (Lip Talk and Dinowalrus), and also a very new singer songwriter that’s about to release her debut album: she goes under the moniker Raia Was, and she has recently performed at National Sawdust’s The Revolution (another series featuring mostly emerging local acts). Single ‘Grant it Cause’ (streaming below), showcases an intimate sound with ambient electronic elements, and an expressive and soulful voice that strives for sophisticated melodies. Looking forward to the record, expected to be out some time in early 2017. – Photo by Samson Debela.

If the election of Trump put you in an apocalyptic mood (anybody?), you owe it to yourself to check out NYC’s drone rock trio VBA and their debut EP ‘Will It Still Be There.’ Brooding tracks like Aisles (hear it below) are inspired by the early post-punk days, and provide the perfect amount of gloom and unresolved tension to inspire your next political (Facebook) fight – or maybe be its live soundtrack! The band toured with Kurt Vile & The Violators in 2013 and hasn’t been very active since the release of the EP in August 2016.

NYC indie rockers Loose Buttons play moody and sophisticated indie pop reminiscent of a hybrid of The Strokes and Prefab Sprout – interesting combination indeed! Their brand new single ‘Milk & Roses’ (streaming) is the most consistently driven track they’ve released in a while, but somehow they still manage to make it sound mellow, which is a pretty cool skill to have. The quartet just announced a new EP entitled "Sundays," scheduled for a Febrtuary release, look out for an EP release party that month.

If you find it strangely uplifting to listen to melancholic tunes during the holiday season, this is precisely the time for you to check out NYC Stello‘s latest single ‘Dog on the Run’ (streaming below); like a Christmas movie, it will take you for an emotional ride towards an upbeat, cathartic finale. But if this song can certainly stir up emotion, it doesn’t do so at the expense of style. The band has a one year old, rather upbeat "pop’n’roll" EP  under their belt (entitled ‘Five Nite‘), but in their two recent singles (Pretty Thing is the other one) the group finds its comfort zone in slower tempos and moodier atmospheres, which allow the lead vocalist – whose name is conceiled online – to showcase his character, presence and versatility. ‘Dog on the Run’ is a rather impressive track, check it out below and don’t miss Stello live at Mercury on January 9th.

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

Active since the beginning of the current decade (calling it the "10s" sounds still kinda weird), Brooklyn songwriter Julie Byrne writes and performs meditative and sparse songs, always accompanied by her acoustic guitar and a fair amount of reverb on her delicately sensuous vocals. Her 2014 album ‘Rooms with Walls and Windows’ did remarkably well, becoming a testament to the power of the song in its most naked format. Julie recently announced a new LP, entitled ‘Not Even Happiness,’ scheduled to drop on January 2017, with a release party at Rough Trade on the 27th. Check out preview single ‘Natural Blue,’ streaming below.

Like an unpredictable sonic time machine, NYC’s collective NO ICE manages to channel several decades of music within one record: Jesus and Mary Chain, The Ramones, Tom Waits and the Beach Boys are only some of the influences that come to mind when listening to the band’s debut album ‘Come On Feel The NO ICE,’ released earlier in 2016. From the doo-wop backing vocals of “We Get High Together” to the droney post-punkness of opening track “The Cemetery” (streaming) NO ICE conquers an exceptionally diverse vibe, covering a wide range of sounds and emotions, also thanks to lyrics that tackle topics such as getting high and/or drunk, breakups, love, and the other highs and lows of life. You can catch NO ICE live on January 6th at Shea Stadium, where they’ll be celebrating the physical release of ‘Come On Feel The NO ICE.’ – Jocelyn Hoggler

With a sound both meditative and gothy, Brooklyn duo Surf Rock is Dead pairs sunny melodies to melancholic tinges, ala the Drums. Their guitar sound, although not distorted, has heavy shoegazer leanings, a genre that’s tightly connected to the use of stompboxes. Since guitarist Kevin Pariso confided us that he often gets asked about the secrets behind his uber dreamy sound, we just thought we’d give him an opportunity to come clean in this Delicious Audio Interview. – photo by Michael Cooper

Formerly known as the ska group “Eli Whitney & the Sound Machine,” Cold Wrecks is a Brooklyn pop punk band whose impassioned, buoyant tunes are bound to trigger comparisons with Blink-182 as well as the scene’s current favorites, Modern Baseball. With its multi-faceted guitar work ranging from bright, Husker Du-style open chords to rhythmic power chords and even arpeggios at times, their debut album “Breaking” (released in July 2016) is a collection of catchy, energetic songs that combine a strong dose of riffs with heavy, yet relatable lyrics tackling topics such as loss, rage, and grief. Describing themselves as a “punk band full of sad songs and good times,” these guys are sure to bring both energy and awareness to their next two local shows at Muchmore and Sunnyvale, respectively on January 21st and February 15th. – Jocelyn Huggler, photo by Kaitlyn Laurel McGann

‘Tis the season of the ‘Best ofs’ and this year we’ve got a pretty sweet one for you, directly from out 49th print issue of The Deli NYC – yes, in case you weren’t aware of it, we exist in the tangible world too!

If you didn’t stumble upon a copy of our magazine (we put it in all the alternatively musical places we know in lower Manhattan, Brooklyn, LI and NJ) check out the full article digitally here. And DO NOT DARE to miss the playlist of said article, streaming below, because it’s not available in print!

P.S. The tracks are organized in order of Soundcloud popularity.

Ever wish all songwriters were actually songRIDERS – i.e. they focused on taking us for a ride, rather than just… writing songs? This neologism works well for Brooklyn’s Magana, the indie pop/alt folk project of Jeni Magana, who released her haunting and slightly eccentric debut, four track EP ‘Golden Tongue‘ this past October 2016. In it, Jeni takes us on rides of the mental variety, and since we are brainy New Yorkers, we are feeling right at home. Two songs stand out to our ears: ballad "The World doesn’t Know," with its elegant melodies, trembling guitar and sophisticated chord progression, is dream folk perfection; its lyrics, through Magana’s heartfelt vocals, find the ideal form of control a lover can have over the loved one: an imaginary one. "Get it right," as moody and only slightly faster, also deals with thought process and relationships, focusing instead on how the right words, but only the right ones, can change minds. (Incidentally, that’s a lesson we all need to learn if we want to win the next elections). We stream both tracks below. Magana will be performing live at Manhattan’s FIKA on January 6th.

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

The Rolling Stones got it quite right that time, when they said "it’s only rock’n’roll, but I like it." And even though the genre itself is not of the pretentious variety, it still requires specific instrumental skills (to sum it up, punch and tightness) and as much flair as possible. oh, and good songwriting is always a plus! NYC’s Wyldlife deliver in all these departments with their own spirited punk’n’roll. The band is about to release their third full length ‘Out on Your Block’ in early 2017, and to support it they will be touring the east coast. The tour’s final date will be in Brooklyn at Union Pool on January 27 (also the record’s release party). Before that, though, they’ll be performing at Bowery Electric in Manhattan with veteran NYC punk rockers The Dictators on December 30th.

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