Oakland-based artist PASTEL GHOST is a synth-pop artist with a shoegazer’s agenda—a combination not often found in the electronica scene. Operating under a genre that she calls “dreamrave,” her music is ethereal and elusive. Her single “POSSESSION” (streaming below) is just one example of how she layers her slippery vocals over driving synth beats to create a seductive and mysterious sound unlike any other. Effortlessly cool and complex, PASTEL GHOST is definitely one to keep an eye on as she works on recording and releasing a follow-up LP to her debut project, ABYSS. She will be making her way down to SXSW this year, with a showcase on March 15th. – Lilly Milman

With the saccharine retro sound that Hot Flash Heat Wave has coined as their own, even the repeating line from their breakout single “Gutter Girl” (streaming below), “I don’t need nothing expect for my gutter girl,” comes off as kitschy, rather than sleazy. There’s just something completely natural about the way the four high best friends blend together fuzzy guitars with recklessly fun harmonies. At its core, their sound is good, clean garage rock, infused with 60s pop sensibilities and a production value that is through the roof. It’s no surprise that they are already gearing up to embark on their first national tour, with several Bay Area dates throughout March and a pit stop at SXSW. Currently at the forefront of the Bay Area DIY scene, they’re one of those bands that actually deserve all the hype they are getting (and then some.) Catch them in San Francisco on March 7th at The Independent, and check out their Facebook page for the rest of their tour dates. – Lilly Milman

A previous Deli SF featured artist of the month, Ellisa Sun is the creator of a breezy brand of acoustic soul that is at once tender and raw. She channels her perchance for vulnerability in her newest video for “Evening” (streaming below), which The Deli SF is proud to premiere this Valentine’s Day. Puppy-lovers be warned, this is not a video for the honeymoon phase.

Featuring a storyline between two women in a relationship, the video takes the viewer through a scenario that any lover would fear: an intense happiness that settles into a frantic anger, and then ultimately indifference. All of this is set to Ellisa Sun’s dynamic vocals, which are filled with a power that grows by the second. Join our lonely hearts’ club and check the video out below. – Lilly Milman

Oakland rockers The Heartlights are all energy on their debut release Oh Dear, a six-track EP with thrashing guitars, fast-paced percussion, and delightfully melodic vocals. Lead vocalist Maggie Aytac has a saccharine voice that layers infectiously over their garage-influenced power pop arrangements to create instant hits like “You’re So Cute (It Hurts)” (streaming below), which comes across as a fuzzier take on classic surf rock. The rest of the EP shows similar influences, combining angst with energy to create a tongue-in-cheek ode to Californiacation. At the moment, their next announced live show is on March 9th at The Octopus Literary Salon in Oakland. – Lilly Milman

The debut self-titled release by Oakland’s RAYS is a fusion of sounds spanning from classic 70s punk, through the reckless pop of the 90s, all the way to the bouncy garage rock that is currently prevalent in the DIY scene. Made by DIY Bay Area vets Stanley Martinez, Eva Hannan, Troy Hewitt, and Alexa Pantalone, the 11-track LP combines the energy of DIY garage rock – via catchy hooks and jangly guitar parts – with the sheer angst and apathy that gave punk its name – most notably seen in Hannan’s detached vocals on tracks like “Lost In A Cage” (streaming below). They are taking cues from the traditional, without making another unoriginal angry punk album. RAYS will be playing live at the Darger Bar in San Francisco on February 10th. – Lilly Milman

There’s a certain cosmic energy that strings together the scenes of the newest music video for the track “Upside 85” (streaming below) by Oakland trio Milk For The Angry; the randomness is reworked into a psychedelic reality quite easily, through flashing images of thrashing, glitter-soaked bodies, a live performance, and lone motorcyclist on the freeway. The grunge-soaked garage rock is heavy with psychedelic influences, riffing off of the surf-sensibilities of the scene. Listening to “Upside 85”—or frankly, any track by the Cali natives—feels like stepping into a wonderfully gritty postcard of the Golden State. Perhaps it has to do with the fact that the band, founded by Dana Windstorm and Matt Kerslake after a chance encounter in a Bay Area drum shop, is essentially a living mythologization of what it means to be a musician in California. Or maybe it’s just something about the reverb. Regardless, it’s difficult to listen to this track without stepping back afterwards and thinking, “there’s something special here.” Milk For The Angry is playing a string of local shows soon, with the next announced date being February 28th at Bottom of the Hill. – Lilly Milman

Listening to the slippery, psychedelic folk rock of Sacramento’s four-piece Honyock is like looking at an old picture of the city that they hail from. Their Demo E.P., which begins on the explosive track “Heather” (streaming below), is a fully-fleshed ode to folk with stoner-rock sensibilities heavy enough for them to accurately brand themselves as “Peyote-Tonk.” The surreality with which they paint their music – audible in the classic, and surprisingly dynamic, psychedelic guitar distortions – is combined with an unexpected edge that is impossible to get enough of. They recently joined indie veterans Surfer Blood at the Blue Lamp for a show. Keep an eye out for their next live show announcement here at The Deli. – Lilly Milman 

The precision with which Oakland indie rockers The Lovemakers attack the often butchered genre of 1980s inspired synth-pop is almost unbelievable. The opening track on their double single Cassingles, entitled “Lost and Profound” (streaming below) is high-energy, hypnotic pop at its finest, slapping listeners across the face with its nostalgic sounds and advanced production value. In one breath, founding member Lisa Light’s vocals are feminine and fatalistic. It is safe to say that The Lovemakers are masters at crafting sultry, summery synth-pop that hits hard on record and even harder live. Catch them playing next on February 14th at Great American Music Hall. Until then, just put your headphones in and put Cassingle on repeat because that’s what we’ll be doing here at the Deli. – Lilly Milman 

When listening to the debut full-length LP Fish from the Sky from San Francisco-based E.G. Phillips, also known as Ducks With Pants, the first words that come to mind are ‘whimsical’ and ‘charming.’ The words ‘incredibly good’ also slip into the mix. Compiled of ten short tracks that blend quirky singer-songwriter pop with folk sensibilities, the album is Phillips’ “motley collection” of tracks he’s put together while living in the Bay and “haunting the various open mic venues in coffee houses and bars that the city makes available.” The opening track, “Tall Girls In Love” (streaming below) is the perfect example of what makes Phillips project so accessible. Apparently inspired by an episode of "Leave It To Beaver," the tongue-in-cheek lyrics absolutely refuse to take themselves too seriously (“the boys are intimidated / they hafta look up to see her eyes”), while the stripped down arrangements bring a certain intimacy one could only attain in the type of open mic night that Phillips describes. He will be next performing at Neck of the Woods on February 15th. – Lilly Milman 

Sheetal Singh knows what it’s like to fall apart and have to pick up the pieces again. After her previous band—early 2000s San Francisco indie darlings The Stratford 4—fell apart, she returned to school and even started her own family. Now, she’s returned to music in the form of a new project called Forest Bees—an indie electronica act with intensely feminist overtures. Today, The Deli has the privilege of premiering the opening track “Independence Day” (streaming below) off of the forthcoming self-titled debut EP. The track explores Singh’s experience as a wife and as a woman, which are themes that reoccur throughout the rest of the EP. The rest of the record will be released on January 25th at The Hemlock. – Lilly Milman 

In a DIY scene that often acts as a caricature of angst, anger, and disinterest, indie folk pop duo Loveangelists are fighting back by killing with kindness. The duo, made up of songwriters Nathan Dennen and Lisa Young, specialize in light, melodic ballads about empowerment. They seek to uplift with their music, with lyrics about loving more openly and coming together to make change—a message that comes across through supple harmonies and acoustic riffs. The Oakland duo just kicked off 2018 with a show at Hotel Utah, and are planning on playing more live shows as the year unwinds. Their next booked show at the moment is on January 25th at Neck of the Woods. – Lilly Milman

Listen to our favorite track “Love Out Loud” below. 

UT Kirin’s full length LP Wry Side of Paradise is unique in the sense that it describes in intimate, flurried detail exactly what it feels like to experience college (and California) for the first time. The concept album uses each song to describe a semester of the songwriter’s undergraduate career at UC Berkeley, taking the listener on a whirlwind journey that covers every experience from first love to loss of innocence to intellectual fulfillment, and everything in between. The album begins with the fast-paced and frenzied “General Chemistry” (streaming below) that opens the album up with the lines “I spent 17 years in a coma in New Jersey / and I went to high school where few people liked me / got taller, still skinny, California, no kidding / I now throw computers through windows for a living.” It is safe to say the album comes full circle when it ends on the more controlled, and somber lines “I’ll always remember the joy of not knowing / and the thrill of it all out before me / blink four times, it’s over” on the track “I Read Murakami.” This is an album to be enjoyed by anyone that felt they could’ve fallen apart in college, but somehow survived. UT Kirin plays various live shows around the Bay Area, so keep your eyes peeled. – Lilly Milman