This past Friday, Brooklyn avant-pop project Eddi Front (aka Ivana Carrescia) released her long awaited, bewitching debut LP, ‘Marina.’ Starting with the piano-chimed opener “Goldie” (streaming below) and including “Sing Sing,” a by turns sedate and lilting track that portrays intense romance with Plath-like fire, the album shows Carrescia as an artist fearlessly venturing into the dark and coming out with sharp beauty. If you missed Eddi Front’s show this past Saturday downtown, keep posted on her Facebook page for future announcements, or check out this mysterious live video for a taste. – Zach Weg 

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

They say that when you meet someone for the first time you decide if you like them in the first few seconds of interaction. That can often be applied to music, and Coaches is one of those bands that hooked us in no time – (aural) love at first sight? With high strung guitars, a subtle use of dissonance, and razor sharp melodies, this band knows how to utilize sonic space, mixing high octane energy sections and then easing into lulling breaks, allowing the tension to build and then blowing it all up with intense guitar riffs. Heck, they remind us a little of the Pixies, but different (this should be taken as a huge compliment). For a show that will get you moving from the get go stop by Palisades on March 15 and get a glimpse of these guys in action. – Adriana S Ballester

Having previously admired Robert Toher’s work in the dark synth-percussive band ERAAS, we kind of knew what to expect from his new project Public Memory, whose album “Wuthering Drum” will be released March 18 on Felte Records with significant tour dates surrounding its arrival.  Recently released single “Zig Zag” presents an ominous buzzing undercurrent with fluidly pulsing percussion that, although mechanical and electronic, gives off the sense of some kind of cosmic tribal ritual. Vocals further enhance this mysterious sensibility, with alien processing and frequent tandem synth lines. Its overall feel is hypnotic, possibly cabalistic, leading to an ultimate unsettling vibe, a perfect soundtrack to a film sequence where the protagonist puts on a fright mask, douses his victim with psilocybin and proceeds to blow their mind.  Initial lead single, "Lunar," and the follow-up, "Ringleader" (streaming) can also be streamed prior to the full-length release.  Public Memory will debut their live show this Saturday 3/12 at Alphaville, with the like-minded Tempers, and play.  Immediately following they head down to Austin for SXSW on Tuesday, March 15 at Barracuda. – Dave Cromwell

Images of California and West Coast chill factors readily come to mind when listening of surf rock infused music. Philly/NYC based band Palmas brings that West Coast warmth and sunshine to the East Coast with their retro croon-pop. With hazy guitars and distant, reverb-drenched vocals Palmas’ sound readily evokes sepia-tinted memories of swaying waves at the beach. Since Brighton Beach’s waters are still too cold to enjoy, come and welcome spring’s much awaited warm weather with Palmas at Berlin on 3.24 as they accompany dream pop Brooklyn band Surf Rock is Dead. – Adriana S Ballester

It’s hard to come by a great, purely rock band. In a scene that is drowning in pop-anything-and-everything The Skins step in to offer a reprieve. The Brooklyn based band, consisting of the Mckeithan siblings and two friends, infuse rock with a pinch of funk and a lot of soul. Through Bayli Mckeithan’s vocals and the alternating guitar warbles of Spencer and Chell the band creates a textured sound with warmth and depth that infiltrates unapologetically the space it surfaces at. Don’t miss them performing at Union Pool on March 25! – Adriana S Ballester

Having met by chance in a recording studio in Bushwick, classically trained singer Elaine Lachica and guitarist Brandon Jaffe bonded over their mutual love of dreamy indie rock/pop bands, which set the foundation for Arc Waves‘ musical DNA. With the addition of bass player Joe Beach and drummer Mike Hodges, the band started forging a texturally layered sound, merging droney distorted guitars, ethereal vocals, and electronic elements with new wave and shoegazer influences. In their most recent release, “Transmission” (streaming) the guitar sputters more enthusiastically than ever before, but Lachicas’ soprano still echoes throughout the song creating a cavernous, enveloping sound. Take a gander below and don’t forget to catch Arc Wave down by South Street Seaport for the annual Out To See Festival on 3.11.

On New Year’s Eve 2014, Brooklyn folk project yours are the only ears (aka Susannah Cutler and JongMin Lin) shared the intimately hushed “fire in my eyes” (streaming below). A lovelorn request for company from a bruised soul, the drum-clasped track doesn’t just showcase Cutler’s striking poetic ability to speak volumes with just a single phrase, but quietly conveys the precious calm that a lullaby such as this can provide. Yours are the only ears plays at Palisades on March 18 as part of their forthcoming mini-tour. More details can be found on the band’s Facebook page. – Zach Weg 

Back in August, Middleboro, Massachussetts-based rockers Black Beach unveiled the sweetly ferocious “Self Portrait” (streaming below). Sounding like something a grunge-loving Dorian Gray would listen to, the drum-pounded lead single off the band’s forthcoming ‘Shallow Creatures’ album relentlessly portrays the inner turmoil of a frantic mind yet, buoyed by by lead singer Steven Instasi‘s voice, allows for the catharsis that pain ultimately brings. Black Beach plays at Middle East in Cambridge, MA on Thursday (3/4). – Zach Weg

Last week, new Brooklyn act Yoke Lore shared its celestial electro-pop debut song, “Heavy Love” (streaming below). Soaring over drum thuds, finger snaps, and vocals that almost cry for love, the lead single off project mastermind Adrian Galvin’s forthcoming debut EP ‘Far Shore’ does nothing less than quietly calm the restless. While Yoke Lore doesn’t seem to have upcoming shows listed, keep posted on his Facebook page for future announcements. ‘Far Shore’ is due May 6 via B3SCI Records.- Zach Weg 

Post Punk and Shoegaze are genres that have found a fertile ground in the DNA of the NYC scene (in particular the Brooklyn DIY one). Locals LADY blend the two genres in their recent EP ‘The Washer,’ which ranges from slow and almost introspective to bouncing-off-the-walls energetic. With songs like “Things Are Wrong” and “Creatures of the Night” you get a progressive build up of reverb laden guitars and distant pleading vocals, speckled with intense cymbal crashes and the steady pulsing of drums. Then in contrast you have “Chuta” and “Can’t Stay,” which give you a high octane punch right off the bat with the jittery, energetic guitars rolling along thunderous drum beats, and vocals that sound like hot wax slowly dripping over the composition. If you wish to give into these guys’ wondrous sonic assault don’t miss them this Sunday, 2.28, at Palisades, with Dumb Wolves and Fraidycat. Check out their track "Things Are Wrong" below.

– Adriana S Ballester

Brooklyn based band Psychobaby broke into the NYC scene with an unapologetic banger in “Baby” and its accompanying video in December of 2015. A few weeks later, the band won our Best of NYC Readers’/Fans’ Poll for Emerging Artists in the Slacker Rock category (even though they are not really slackers, but it was the best fit by approximation). With the release of their new EP, "Rough Start," (premiered below) we are introduced to two new songs that give us a better idea of this group’s sonic spectrum: second track "Believer" dabbles in dream pop territory, with Juliet Garrett’s polished vocals delivering her most uplifting melody to date. "Flower Hat Man" explores  post punk atmospheres through dissonant guitars and a more aggressive attitude, but doesn’t come across as natural and accomplished as the first two tracks, which paint a picture of a band with potential. Psychobaby will be performing these and other songs on March 3rd at The Gateway in Bushwick, go check them out! – Adriana S Ballester

Sleepwalker, Long Beard’s debut album, is aptly named, for listening to each song feels like maneuvering through the hazy edges of your most melancholic dreams – both here and there, warm, and cool, so close and yet so distant.  Perpetually teetering between sleep and awake, the album opens up with an instrumental track that sounds like it’s being played backwards, slowly leading into “Porches,” a song of desire and longing where Leslie Bear pleads “who do you love?/ Who do you love?/ And is it enough?” The album climaxes at "Dream" – before the vocals start disintegrating, becoming almost indiscernible, with the looping electronic textures folding into themselves – as if the silhouette of those gentle songs disappeared into a shadow and then became nothing more than a film blanketing the early hours of dusk.

“Please don’t forget/ You’re something I listen to/ When I’m not sleeping.”

Don’t miss Long Beard performing at Baby’s All Right with Emily Yacina, Yohuna, and Crosslegged on 2.29. – Adriana S Ballester