The staggeringly beautiful stylings of Providence, RI group Arc Iris have been brought to life in their new video for “Kaleidoscope,” a single off of their upcoming album “Moon Salon.” The three piece ensemble, which includes former Low Anthem member Jocie Adams, uses tantalizing vocal melodies, mysterious cello lines, emotionally-charged drum beats, and lush harmonies to create mesmerizing performances, both acoustically and visually. The new video is no exception – it features a blended interaction of dancers, musicians, and light for a psychedelic display, reminiscent of Joanna Newsom, Fleetwood Mac, and Animal Collective. The video takes you on a fantastic journey through their sound, which is unique, compelling, and enchanting. You can catch Arc Iris’ enchanting aura this July at their C’mon Everybody residency in Brooklyn, starting on July 5, and in New Haven, CT on July 21. – Dan Rome

The solo project of (Deli celebrated) Celestial Shore’s Sam Owens, Sam Evian showcases the transformation of a quirky, talented songwriter into a more mature, original artist. Latest single “Sleep Easy” (streaming) features a more linear sound, without giving up the songwriter’s beloved odd tempo changes, which are almost randomly – but very organically – disseminated throughout the song. Sam’s experimental urges, though, don’t distract from the song, a mid tempo ballad venturing into dreamy territories not entirely foreign to the sound of Celestial Shore, although folkier and twangier than anything ever released by the Brooklyn band.  Check out the video here. The track is off debut album, ‘Premium,’ which will be released soon by Saddle Creek Records.

Music fans have different tastes, we all know that, but it’s rare to find somebody who can’t relate to pitch perfect vocal harmonizations. That’s something NYC folk-pop quartet Bailen delivers with flair. The group might have recorded just one song so far ("Something Tells Me," streaming, released at the beginning of the year), but that was enough to open several doors, including the Rockwood Music Hall ones (where they’ll be performing on June 30th) and the… Taipei, Taiwan ones! Yes, the band is scheduled to perform four July shows in the Asian island, supporting local hero Yen-J, before embarking on an East Coast tour that will take them right back to Rockwood Music Hall on August 26th. The video for the single gives us an obvious clue on why Bailen is getting fresh buzz in a scene as crowded as NYC: they are really good performers, and their music is extremely reletable and sincere. Don’t miss the Rockwood show on the 30th!

Gillian‘s frontlady Kym Hawkins’s vocal phrasing revisits the style of 80’s icons Lene Lovitch and Missing Person’s Dale Bozzio as much as modern counterparts Gwen Stefani of No Doubt and Karen O of the Yeah Yeah Yeah’s. While the joyous pop-funk groove of opening track “Eau to Be” stomps to clever lyrical word play, it’s the ultimate hook “we play our danger game, we found our danger fame, how did we get into this life?” that will stick in your head for days. Their new EP’s “Strange Candy"’s title track “Strange Candy” merges electronic pulses and rock guitar hooks with Hawkins’ deliberate enunciation. Slower track “Sue My Mood” wades into the copyright law debate (an interestingly rare subject for a rock song!) suggesting there should be limits on what can be litigated regarding creative control – check out the video here. “Radio Clock” returns to faster tempos, relying on an angular jazz-funk style with tandem male-female vocals. The song was inspired by the novel Suttree by Cormac McCarthy, as was following track “Windfall,” describing a win win situation with the lyrics “we both got high and we both got laid.” Final track “House Boat” (also inspired by that now must-read book) has Kym singing tragic hero fantasy lyrics like “brave warrior, raise your sword” with a stylized accent and cascading structure reminiscent of Liz Fraser’s work with The Cocteau Twins. The Deli is exclusively streaming Gillian’s new EP below. – Dave Cromwell

Pinegrove, who recently moved from Brooklyn to Montclair, NJ, is one of those rare bands that make things happen by perseverance and self development, which – in today’s music industry – requires monstrous levels of discipline and faith. The group has been releasing a bunch of records since their 2010 ‘Mixtape One‘ debut. Their latest, entitled ‘Cardinal,’ is one of their best. The eight track mini-album blends element of American traditional music and indie rock (think Modest Mouse at their peak, but with more nostalgic and rootsy tendencies). Although electric guitars are still dominant, banjo and pedal steel sneakily insert themselves in some of the tracks (like streaming single ‘Old Friends’), adding texture and evoking the rustic warmth of Americana. The band is about to experience a summer on the road, with over thirty dates booked touring with Sports (Ohio), Half Waif (NYC) and Ratboys (Chicago). Their kick off party was canceled because of Palisades’ (hopefully temporary) closing, but the band decided to do something anyway at 73 See Gallery in Montclair – here’s the Facebook Event page. They’ll be back at Market Hotel on August 6.

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

Born in Moscow and raised in Alaska, Olga Bell is a classically trained pianist, composer, producer and performer based in Brooklyn. Unafraid of venturing into unfamiliar sonic territories, her musical career could be interpreted as an effort to defy cliche’. That’s how her latest album ‘Tempo’ can be portrayed, since it was composed using typical EDM sounds, but the final results is nowhere near that genre. Olga recently unveiled the video for the record’s second single ‘ATA’ (streaming below) and also played her first headlining UK dates. Our sister blog Delicious Audio asked her a few questions about the making of ‘Tempo’ – link below.

Q&A with Olga Bell about her creative process, synths and gear.

Brooklyn’s Las Rosas have come a long way since releasing their first two EPs of lo-fi rock songs, little more than rehearsal space recordings served as invitations to check out their live show. After building some buzz through a fair amount of gigging and some touring, the band is about to chrystalize their psych garage pop repertoire in their debut full length “Everyone Gets Exactly What They Want,” set to drop this summer via Ernest Jenning. Recorded at Mitch Easter’s Fidelitorium in Kernersville NC, the LP’s first single “Cops” can be heard below. Las Rosas has three NYC area shows coming up, with the first on July 1 at Rough Trade in Brooklyn.  Later that month they play Rippers in Rockaway Beach on July 23, and then back to Brooklyn for a show at Baby’s All Right on August 5. – Dave Cromwell

The brainchild of singer songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Dan Arnes, Leapling plays a brand of indie pop that’s at once subtly quirky and gently touching. The young man surrounded himself with local musicians to complete the project’s second full length album, a "mid-fi" home recorded work whose release will be celebrated at Sunnyvale on June 18th. The record, entitled ‘Suspended Animation,’ defies categorizations without resorting to fireworks, offering the contrasting interplay between the edgy arrangements and Dan’s serene melodies and vocal delivery. Check out our favorite song "Shakin’" – streaming below.

Brooklyn B Boys came seemingly out of nowhere in March 2016 with debut EP ‘No Worry No Mind‘ (on cult local label Captured Tracks). The album caught immediately a lot of attention (certainly ours) also thanks to the promotion the band received from touring with Parquet Courts soon after the release. The three gentlemen would have found themselves at home in Ohio around 1977, when seminal bands like Devo and Pere Ubu were making music so cool that semi-forgotten by God places like Akron and Cleveland became suddenly the epicenter of the rock’n’roll world. B Boys blend those influences with a sound that flirts with the reverberations of surf music and the gritty fuzziness of garage rock. In line with the DIY scene’s ethos and budget, the band’s guitarist Britton Walker has a few, trusted, mostly borrowed pieces of gear, we asked him a few questions about them in our blog Delicious Audio (link below). Check out their second official single ‘Seagulls’ below.

Q&A with B Boys about guitar pedals

As you may have noticed The Deli likes to organize music by genre – there are just too many darn bands these days, and we decided that genres are our friends in organizing this scene’s output – besides, regular Delis do that with food too, separating cheeses from meats from canned goods, so… maybe there’s a reason for that!). That’s why we are happy to promote a mini-fest like Pizzafest III, scheduled in three Bushwick venues from June 23rd to June 25th, that’s laser focused on surf, punk and garage rock. The event is organized by local label King Pizza Records, more info about the three shows can be found here. Check out below the playlist featuring all the NYC artists performing at this event!

Brooklyn’s Big Thief is the exemplification of what can happen to a band in one year when uncommon talent is matched by a great record, hard work and compelling live performances. The group, led by songwriter Adrianne Lenker, in just one year went from playing your usual Brooklyn venues in front of a few fans, to becoming one of the most talked about new indie acts out of NYC. Currently touring the US, Big Thief will be back in NYC on June 23rd for a live performance at the Prospect Park Shell within the Celebrate Brooklyn Fest. Later in September the band is also scheduled to open for Lucius at Central Park’s Summer Stage. If this is not an emerging band with buzz, we don’t know what is!
P.S. We are very proud to have premiered their video for single Masterpiece last year! 

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

Changes are often friends of inspiration: new experiences, new instruments, new influences, new collaborations, or even just a new creative approach, are all things that have the power to unleash renewed curiosity and creativity. The story of Kristin Kontrol‘s debut record X-Communicate can be seen (and heard) from this angle: after a great six year run with her drone pop band Dum Dum Girls, whose songs were inspired by legendary electric psych bands of the ’90s like Jesus and Mary Chain and Mazzy Star, Dee Dee (aka Kristin Welchez) decided it was time to mix things up a little, and start anew. The Kristin Kontrol debut album was devised through a new collaboration with Ice Choir programmer/producer Kurt Feldman, and veers decidedly towards the synth-pop sound of the ’80s. You can see KK live at Baby’s All Right on June 22.

Check out this Q&A with Kristin Kontrol in our Delicious Audio blog.