Boston band Field Day excels at creating an indie pop/rock sound that’s a perfect soundtrack for a night on the town. Their simple but powerful guitar melodies are built for foot-tapping, and the two vocalists exhibit great chemistry. Peculiar to this band is the alternating of male/female lead vocalists, something that gives each song a different feel, while still keeping the group’s recognizable sound that makes them so enjoyable. This is a band with a cohesive, no frills pop-rock sound with the potential to make you jump, check them out at the Great Scott on 6/1. —Henry Solotaroff-Webber 

On the surface, Queuelbum, the debut LP of Moldovian, NY-based songwriter Serge Bulat, already stands out. His contained experimentalism is striking, as he is able to coalesce electronic textures and keyboard melodies to create a sound that, flirting with influences as varied as post rock, ambient house, classical and lounge, is overall serene, but not without interesting friction.

Queuelbum, though, is more than just its music.  It’s also a concept album about the fluidity of past and present, with a catch—it’s entirely instrumental. Instead of injecting meaning through lyrics, Bulat provides abstract pieces of prose, images and, alongside director Michael Rfdshir, moving scenes of visual art: Serge provides meaningful guides that seek to stimulate the listener’s thoughts about his music and the album’s central theme, time. The music also reflects this: the songs are kept busy enough to make them interesting, while still allowing for enough space for the intellectual contemplation the composer intends to stimulate.

Queuelbum is an ambitious project that can trigger intellectual though or simply be enjoyed in the background. Whichever way you want to approach it, chances are it will be entertaining in interesting ways. – Henry Solotaroff-Webber

With an online presence of only three songs from 2014 to its name, Condor has so far favored quality over quantity. Originating from defunct Mystery Roar, the talented Boston-based synth-pop duo is sitting on nine track album, as they hinted back in 2014, when the trio of singles were originally released. Each song features similar components, with enough variations from track to track to provide the perfect mix of consistency and contrast.  On each song clean acoustic and electronic melodies are orbited by distorted synth textures, while a standard snare pattern keeps the song on track. Hovering above the instrumenation are the singer’s airy vocals, providing a soothing respite for the groovy tempest occuring below. Condor, quite frankly, need to release new music online, as the entertainment brought by the quality of the songs can only be matched by the frustration brought by their lacking quantity.  You can check out Condor at The Plough and Stars on 6/2. — Henry Solotaroff-Webber, Photo Credit: Andrea Morales

It’s always excellent to see a Renaissance person sucessfully blend their disciplines together, and the music of Brooklyn artist SHIRA is a perfect example. A poet, visual artist and musician, SHIRA mixes genres like soul, folk and electronic pop with a painter’s touch, allowing for bold creations while not losing any of the character of the individual components. Her poet’s side makes its way into the music as well, as she injects each track with richly contemplative and abstract lyrics. 

Shira has managed to sucessfully evolve her sound on each project, and her next LP, Subtle Creature, should be no exception. On single "Honey in My Pot," featuring Portland band Joseph, she seems to move her sound out of the sky and instead opts for an earthier approach with a notably more prominent rhythm section. It remains to be seen whether this move will be one that’s consistent across the full length of the album, but there will certainly be no complaints from us if this ends up being the case.  You can presumably catch SHIRA’s two singles off of the new album, and hopefully more, at Cake Shop on 6/6. – Henry Solotaroff Webber

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

Radclyffe Hall’s is set to release their debut album G H O S T S on June 7th via Cleopatra Records. The electronic Boston-based band embraces the darker and more gothic side of synth-pop music. The eerie single “OMG” (streaming below) off their upcoming album is densely layered with flowing synths and smooth vocals from frontwoman and keyboardist Dhy Berry. The track is about a friend of Berry who passed away suddenly from an illness. Her introspective lyrics turn loss and grief into cathartic pop anthems that have enough groove to make them danceable. Radclyffe Hall will be celebrating the release of their album on June 7th at Great Scott where they will be playing in support of Day Wave. – John Honan

Bpston songwriter John Shakespear cut his teeth playing in a number of Boston-based bands. His debut EP No Wires, released in March 2016, features a lighthearted and warm approach to songwriting, and blends together sounds from indie folk, soul, and rock and roll. The track “Settle In” off his debut EP is a slow, quiet piano ballad, while the opening track “Craigslist” is a breezy acoustic song that tackles Shakespear’s young life as he sings about MTV, lunchables, and being raised in the suburbs. His intimate songs seek purpose in life, and examine the different ways we pursue it – companionship, work, and foreign places. Shakespear will be playing at The Plough and the Stars on June 9th. Check out his track “Craigslist” below.

Austin-based dream-pop trio Pale Dian, set to release their debut album Narrow Birth on June 3rd via Manifesto Records, offers whirling melodies and glowing textures reminiscent of unforgettable dream-pop acts such as Cocteau Twins and Lush, although they often enjoy adding a peculiar touch of dissonance to their tunes. Earlier this year, the trio released “In A Day” (streaming below), the first single off their upcoming album, characterized by a uber-celestial melody and big choruses featuring wall of guitars borrowed from shoegazer. Their latest single “Pas De Deux” (also streaming) strips down their sound leaving behind the fuzz of their previous single, and creating an equally mesmerizing atmosphere that allows lead singer Ruth Ellen Smith’s echoey vocals to exert their haunting magnetism. After playing a record release show for Narrow Birth at Swan Dive on June 3rd, the band will be on tour through the end of July with Ringo Deathstar and Stargazer Lillies on select dates. – John Honan

Henry Hall is one of those singer-songwriters that successfully dodges any attempt to pin a genre on him. His discography to date, notably album-less, is filled with tracks that range from light indie pop-rock to harder stuff reminiscent of grunge, but some of his tracks eschew that spectrum (and instrumention) altogether and enlist producers to allow Hall to enter the world of James Blake-esque electronic R&B. Hall’s vocals, though, are always at the forefront of each track, and he demonstrates impressive range that serves as the lynchpin of the diverse melodies present in his music. Hall and his endlessly malleable voice will grace the Mercury Lounge’s stage on June 1st. – Henry Solotaroff-Webber

The New Apollos is a new project from Neil MacCallum who has collaborated and performed with a number of acts including Wesley Shultz of The Lumineers and Nick Bockrath of Cage the Elephant. In the winter of 2016, he enlisted the help of Karen Walker (piano/vocals), Gregoy Morgan (drums), and Isobel Ward (bass). Their music blends the sounds of 90’s alternative acts with a 60’s Rock & Roll flair. Two singles are currently available for streaming from their debut EP: “In The Shade” is a psychedelic mid-tempo that integrates plodding, funky based pop tunes (reminiscent of early Beck) with psychedelic openings inspired to the ’60s, while “Echo Echo” (streaming below) is as a more intimate number that gradually picks up pace, characterized by a flirtacious mood set by soulful, harmonizing male/female vocals. The New Apollos will be celebrating the release of their debut EP the Mercury Lounge on May 30th. 

New York’s B Boys will not be breakdancing when you see them live – as their name might suggest. Instead, they will be bobbing their heads to their frenzied, punk inspired songs that bears resemblance to early Devo and the slacking post punk of their buddies Parquet Courts. The track “Get A Grip” off their latest EP, No Worry No Mind (out on Captured Tracks), demonstrates the feverish nature of the trio’s music, and is complete with gang vocals and vibrant guitar lines referencing the ’80s. It’s dense, fast and anxiety inducing music, also because of the sudden introduction of odd tempos in the song’s chorus, without mentioning lyrics like “Oh no, I can’t get a grip!” sung with the urgency of mad men. The trio just finished playing a string of shows with Parquet Courts, including a sold out one at Webster Hall on May 20th, and will be performing next at Alphaville on May 27th. Stream their track “Get A Grip” below! – John Honan

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

Featuring vocals and production as smooth as they are stirring, New York R&B outlet Lowhency Pierre has the potential to go places.  Named after its vocalist and with a sole EP to their name, the R&B group demonstrates a musical and lyrical maturity rare for a group as young as they are. On each track the vocalist plays singer and poet alike, crooning profound messages about his experience as well as the human experience in general. Backing him up is impressive R&B production that pulls from a variety of influences including hip-hop, funk and neo-soul.  Not afraid to flex this diversity, the band often switches up the beat multiple times within songs seamlessly.  You can catch them at Pianos on 7/9. – Henry Solotaroff-Webber

Based on the mix of influences, nothing about Home Blitz’s Foremost and Fair should work—except it does, and quite beautifully. At its core, this 2015 record is an emo pop-punk album with heavy slacker overtones – and a good one at that – but its the unique bells and whistles of the project that make it really intriguing. As the castle on the cover suggests, the record is filled with musical sequences that you would expect to find in a historical drama or a fantasy RPG, but definitely not a punk inspired LP.  This makes for a ton of enjoyable WTF moments across the full length, none better than single "I’m That Key," boasting baroque keyboard parts reminiscent of The Stranglers, or opener "Seven Thirty," where a flute part subtly integrates the track’s catchy guitars. On "Betton Hill," and "Tell me There" these throwbacks get pushed to the forefront as oddly catchy, courtly piano sequences that make up a good chunk of the tracks’ melodies, along with the singer’s never too whiny vocals. Foremost and Fair then bows out with "Cutting the Cross," a catchy finale, where twangy guitars and upbeat keys mingle to send the album out on a very high-note, while still retaining the overall (extremely) vintage feel. Seamlessly integrating these archaic elements into a punk record seems like something that would require nothing short of magic, but Home Blitz pulled it off, and in the process innovated a genre that some may think had reached its limits. Don’t miss their live show at Union Pool on 05.24. – Henry Solotaroff Webber

We added "I’m That Key" song to The Deli’s playlist of Best punky songs by emerging NYC artists – check it out!