If there’s anything to be said about the bands coming out of Exploding in Sound Records, it’s that they know how to avoid the traps of over-conceptualizing; they say a lot with a little. LVL UP has been an especially fun band to watch rise up.  Having first experienced them at their home college of SUNY Purchase almost a year ago, it was the wonderfully bright energy that they brought that night that put them on my radar.  Their new single, "Soft Power" (from their upcoming full length Hoodwink’d, out in September), has a crystal clear and equally strong message that I interpreted as thus: trust your friends, and don’t fall victim to the fake mother fuckers that are going to make you think they’re interested in what you do, something that everyone in this cut-throat music industry experiences. "There’s nothing wrong with being nice/Unless it’s just a front to get yourself right/And I can tell/So what the hell".  LVL Up is a band that’s going places not because they’ve got some crazy gimmick which we all fall victim to way too often, but because their music has a soul, and something important to say. – Jake Saunders

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

Don’t mistake Ratking for one of your run of the mill hip-hop groups.  They’re a live band, and it’s their performances in and around the underground venues of New York that put them on the map.  Ratking has gathered a significant following in the five boroughs, and despite their lack of typical hip-hop ethics, have proved to be major innovators in the rap game.  Wiki’s incredible agility and aggressive energy is something truly remarkable to witness; combine that with Hak’s contrasting smooth-like-butter flow, and you’ve got an impressive melding of minds.  Add Sporting Life’s eclectic beats into the mix and you’ve got one of the sickest live rap groups in the city right now. On top of all that, they release their music and support their compatriots through their own record label, Letter Racer. They’re playing at SOB’s next Monday (8/04), don’t miss the show.  – Jake Saunders

Eula is bringing us an insane lineup for their EP release party tomorrow night (07.31).  On the bill they have New England rockers, Pile, and the current Deli’s band of the year, Big Ups.  Opening up is Courtship Ritual, whose debut album, Pith, is a promising work of dark bedroom pop.  Simple harmonies combined with unexpected warbly guitar hooks provide an interesting combination; it’s as if slacker-rock met L.A. pop and had a baby in Brooklyn. The show is at Palisades this Thursday (7/31) – check out Courtship Ritual single ‘Ancient Drip’ below. – Jake Saunders

Nytyly is an electronic indie pop group out of Brooklyn lead by Natalie About El Hessen.  Their music is based around pop structures, experimenting with unexpected melodies and strange turn arounds.  Stream their recent single, "Love Will Wait", below.   -Jake Saunders 

Jesus on the Mainline (pictured) is a 15 piece act of amazing musicians who offer an impressive mixture of RnB and soul mixed with blues and indie rock. Check out their single Sister City, Brother Bone  below, and the cover of Nirvana’s Lithium here, as they turn the famous grunge rock masterpiece into a massively groovy jam. They’ll be playing Music Hall of W’Burg on August 25.

Noelle Tannen weaves soul, jazz, and rock and roll to into amazing compositions of rich and beautiful strength.  Her vocals are powerful, driving each song further into diverse and compelling energies, and it’s not a surprise that she grew up singing in churches.  

These artists submitted their music for coverage here.

Northern Spy Records has a consistently solid lineup of bands that seek to push sonic boundaries.  Bands like Zs, Aa(Big A little a), and PC Worship focus on improvisation as a mode of expression, and with the use of the insane musical technology that exists today, the sounds that these bands are utilizing brings fusion music into a whole new dimension. One such band is NYMPH and their trance inducing music. The group expands upon long and drawn out jams which ultimately develop into complete worlds of their own.  The instrumentation is always alternating, and although the sound never fails to evolve between each song, a signature mood can be found in each track off their most recent album, New Millenium Prayer.  Jazz, drone rock and eastern music are very much a part of their sound, as themes and motifs are used as catalysts for each song, churning the sonic waters until a musical consensus is gathered, whether it be in consonant fruition or dissonant chaos.  NYMPH will be playing along with The Ghost of a Saber Tooth Tiger at the Mccarren Park Summerscreen series tomorrow (7/30).  – Jake Saunders

Noise-rock trio ADVAETA utilizes a static-ridden ambience to create otherworldly sonic soundscapes.  On "Gold Thought Exit" (streaming) we are acquainted with Amanda Salane’s voice, a presence as strong as the expansive atmosphere that surrounds them.  Her vocals are in part reminiscent of Andrya Ambro of Talk Normal (a band we featured on the cover of the 22nd issue of The Deli back in 2010); both feature an attitude that seems to add extra layers of meaning to what is happening lyrically or sonically.  The band’s energy is remarkably original and daring, and among the wash of reverb and distortion, complexities are revealed through dissonant melodies and creative structures. You can see ADVAETA live tomorrow (07.29) at The Silent Barn. – Jake Saunders

 Justin Sherburn’s compositions sound like incomplete stories; with enough detail to imagine a landscape, the pieces are tactfully designed to leave enough room for imaginary characters. Like vignettes, they are short, elegant, and timeless. Expect to become a part of the story when listening to these beautifully crafted soundtracks. Empathetically constructed, the pieces foster our human inclination to seek out foreign experiences and emotions. Listen to "Sparrows" from the Yakona soundtrack and you’ll find yourself wandering an alternate reality. Sherburn’s sextet, Montopolis, has performed live shows at SXSW and will debut his newest project inspired by the classic silent film, "Man with a Movie Camera" at the North Door TONIGHT July 25th at 8pm. -Rebecca Blandon

Johnny Azari makes thick delta blues songs out of Brooklyn.  The most obvious comparison is Tom Waits; Azari’s vocals are rough, expressive and fierce, accuratley delivering the grim and depressing messages in his music.  "I used to be a contendor/Now I’m just a bummer/I used to be somebody/But now I am no one," he wheezes on "Bitter" off his recent album, Road-Dog’s Teeth.  The song is tastefully combined with Jamie Elizabeth’s crispy clean harmonies, adding an extra modern tinge to the elemental roots.  You can catch Johnny Azari at The Rockwood Music Hall on August 1st.  Stream "Bitter" below.  -Jake Saunders

This band submitted their music for coverage here.

"Lost Dog", the single off the upcoming EP by a band called Greasy Hearts is a seriously good jam.  It’s got everything you need in a good garage-punk song: Fuzzy, howling vocals, a foot-stomping rhythm, and enough distortion to stick your cat’s fur straight up.  We always breath a sigh of relief when I come across a band who seemingly is doing the garage-rock shtick right; it’s not easy to work within a genre where basically every possible riff and rhythm has been used before.  Nevertheless, Greasy Hearts pulls it off with "Lost Dog", and now you’ll have to check them out live to get the full picture.  They’re playing The Silent Barn TONIGHT (7/24), and The Rock Shop in October.  Stream "Lost Dog" below.  – Jake Saunders

This band submitted their music for coverage here.

Journalism is a fresh Brooklyn band that we’re sure is going to catch some ears in the coming years – at least if they keep making music like the last couple singles they’ve released.  We got a chance to sneak a peak at their upcoming debut EP, 1324, and it is indeed a contender.  Their first single, "A Thousand Pricks", has this infectiously catchy guitar melody that inducts a beautiful underwater vibe, but each song has something unique about it that’s worthy of the head-tilt.  Influence from bands like Real Estate and Spoon are present, but there’s not much to say other than that this band has got some great jams and some really catchy grooves.  Their release show is TOMORROW (7/25) at Palisades with a killer lineup including Turnip King, Onwe and Honduras. – Jake Saunders

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

There is a growing connection between the up and coming grunge rockers out of New England and a select few New York City bands.  Artists like Krill, Ovlov, and Pile have been taking and doling out influence from and to NYC bands like Bluffing, Big Neck Police and the focus of this review, The Gradients.  The last time I saw The Gradients was at the Living Gallery in Brooklyn last summer, so when I witnessed the solid crowd of followers that the band had amassed at Hot 97.4 this past weekend I was excited to see how their sound had evolved.  Indeed The Gradients have come a long way; their songs contain powerful, driving melodies complete with an exciting, New York City-themed frustration.  Their use of lazy harmonies is especially effective on their new single, "Growing Pile," where the chorus becomes layered in raspy vocals of that good, sweet teenage angst we all know and love.  You can check out The Gradients next week on July 29th at Palisades with Washer, Palm and The Doozies.  – Jake Saunders

Releasing an EP is a classic step for new bands to get their name on the scene, but the electro-pop trio BUHU decided to up the ante. Each of the four tracks on their new release went through a lengthy creative process, with every part staged, recorded and filmed separately. What we get from their labor of love is a four-part audio-visual dance party.  They opted to spread the release out over their July residency at Swan Dive, bringing in other great local acts and releasing a video from the project with each week’s show. The fourth and final video is set to premier there this Friday, July 25th, along with performances from SIP SIP, Total Unicorn, and Slomo Drags. To put it simply (because BUHU won’t), you can expect a good time. –Written by: Marie Meyers