Taylor Cole, formerly of Nashville’s Chalaxy and Creature Comfort, is back with a new psych pop outfit, TAYLS. Their first single “Pop Tart (Queer Boy/Small Town)” was released earlier this year, highlighting Cole’s soaring, Beck-like vocals over a grooving and swaying pop track bringing to mind the likes of Grouplove. “I want to change the way Nashville views music and art,” Cole states. “I want to make you forget about your real life, make you feel like you’re back on the playground.” If what is to follow carries the same sense of carefree joy as their first offering, TAYLS are going to be a welcome change to Nashville’s already diverse scene. Make sure to catch them playing a Halloween party at The East Room October 27th at 9 PM along with Spaceface, The Subnovas, and TWEN! – Chris Thiessen

The 7-piece Americana band, Blackwood Row, was formed nearly two years ago by ambitious songwriter and vocalist Raquelle Blackwood shortly after starting her first semester in college. From early on it was clear that the band would be destined to achieve significant recognition in the Americana/Folk community; a premonition that seems even more achievable with the release of the band’s debut EP, “Werewolf.” The project combines insightful songwriting with lush instrumentation, where story-like verses seamlessly transition into howling choruses. From the opening track, “Broken Bone” to the consoling closer, “Little Time,” the project masterfully captures a contrast of perspectives on sensitive experiences and self-reflection.

Go listen for yourself on Apple Music or Spotify, and be sure to catch Blackwood Row’s next show here in Nashville, November 11, live at the Black Lodge!

Basic Printer  and Del Florida have brought us anything but ‘basic’ music.  With this latest release titled "Good Weird," we get funky melodies mixed with electronic beats and jazzy harmonies.  It’s REALLY good…in a weird way!  Changing the world with this track, Basic Printer is donating $1 per Facebook share of their latest video to a charity called "Free For Life International" – a non-profit that saves victims from human trafficking.  I love to support a band with an awesome agenda, and this is one I can get behind!  While this is a band who has a truly unique sound, they’ve been influenced by Tobacco, Radiohead, and Elephant 6 Artists.  So go share their video to break Basic Printer’s bank!  – Christine Harazim

With its groovy instrumentation, and killer lead vocalist, the young and infectious talent of the Broomestix will have you up on your feet ready to dance, in no time. Fitted with incredibly well arranged originals, the band members produce a sound reminiscent of funk/soul legends like Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, and Aretha Franklin. The groups up-and-coming success not only stems from its original content, but also from its exalted high-energy live performances, taking place in the Nashville area and dozens of states along the east coast. The group has released two albums, jam-packed full of quirky horn riffs, fat chords, insightful lyricism, and smooth vocals; both are available on Spotify for your pleasure.

Catch the Broomestix live at the Douglas Corner Cafe, October 12 at 8:30 PM!

NYC’s minimalist, psychedelic pop outfit, Zula, released “Anything For You” last week, a politically relevant single from their forthcoming EP, 6 Passes. The track blends ethereal synths, atmospheric guitars, and poignant lyrics about the effects of white male domination on the collective psyche.

The structure of the track feels cyclical, with twinkling piano riffs and fuzzy bass runs sprinkled over a looped and textured beat that creates the sensation of running in place. Zula combines the emotional sentiment of cultural and political stagnation with the drudgery of modern life on this number: soul-molesting technology, environmental despair, nauseatingly ubiquitous convenience, and a general lack of human connection. In the larger indie music context, “Anything For You” proves unmistakably unique. At the moment, there doesn’t seem to be any group in the circuit that has managed to insert their own sense of sonic experimentation, atmospheric creepiness, and political insight into a single track as well as Zula has.

6 Passes is out via Forged Artifacts & Inflate Records on October 13^th and is available in cassette tape and digital format. You can listen to “Anything For You” below: 

-Andrew Strader

The solo act out of Nashville, PORTSMOUTH, brings down an avalanche of sentimental reflection with lyricism that speaks from experience. Intricate rhythmic guitar, chock full of ornate suspensions and hammer-ons, beautifully compliment the artist’s subtly ambient, yet commanding, vocals. Popular emo themes of loss, past mistakes, and the never-ending search for self-improvement are beautifully embellished with spaced vocal phrasing that often builds to hard hitting choruses. Do yourself a favor and throw some PORTSMOUTH songs into you "in my feels" playlist for maximum self-empathy, and look out for upcoming shows around the Nashville area. – Michael Simpson 

High Tides, we know despite their relative mysteriousness in the internet realm, is the lo-fi, psychedelic, and highly captivating new project of Aeris Hennings, Aaron Diebold, and Xavier Bond. They explore a sonic niche relying heavily on guitar work, one that could easily be compared to indie rock greats like early Real Estate or Tennis. The group’s instrumental work is complimented by a series of synth and lo-fi samples that might well work as spaceship noise in a sci-fi movie. Not all their work is so far out, however. Their earliest songs showcase acoustic fingerpicking interwoven with electric guitar work that creates an expansive atmosphere in contrast to close, crisp acoustic strings. There’s no voice attributed to High Tides, but this only seems fitting. The group trusts their own sense of melody enough to let the instruments speak for themselves and the result is the creation of intimate arrangements that feel uniquely inuitive. High Tides is a band with work that predicts a fruitful and authentic future. Be sure to catch their next show with Dream Wave at Drkmttr on Thursday, May 25th. 

-Andrew Strader

Little Racer‘s jangly guitar hooks and intricate percussive elements sound distantly familiar, as if the band had been making music for decades. Is it Talking Heads? Is it a band from the ’60s that opened for The Byrds? The trio’s concocts a sonic cauldron of influences that, though inspired by past musical traditions to the point of being downright nostalgic, perfectly represents the current state of indie rock. If you want to understand what I’m talking about, you can catch them in Brooklyn at Lantern Hall this Saturday, May 13th, or at Rough Trade on June 6th. – Andrew Strader

Mouth Reader takes a hybrid approach to constructing their sonic niche. They harness the timbre of fuzz rock classics like Dinosaur Jr. to create massive sounding psychedelic power ballads reminiscent of slow-moving but powerful shoegaze bands like Slowdive. The percussion is big and reverby and the vocals are belligerent in their tone, making for a band that sits perfectly in the dive and basement venues of Nashville and Murfreesboro. Their work is tastefully lo-fi, with production developed enough to be accessible, but carrying the kind of DIY nature that makes you wish you had made the songs yourself. Be sure to catch their next show on June 6th at Ddrkmttr.

-Andrew Strader

Sharing members with popular Nashville psych outfit The Pills, Promweather harnesses the kind of garage rock sloppiness that garnered the early work of bands like Dinosaur Jr. and modern derivatives like Car Seat Headrest so much attention. Dissonant guitar chords provide layers of sound that drone in key, odd television samples usher the songs in and out, feedback layers swallow otherwise empty sonic space. This band loves noise, but not in the blissed out psychedelic sense. The drums are tight. The guitars are close and dry, cutting through layers of feedback and chaotic noise. Promweather brings us raw form and raw energy straight from the garage. They’re as interested in raw fuzz rock power as they are in delay and reverb and all the conventions of psych. Making dissonant, supposedly undesirable instrument noise beautifully contribute to songs is Promweather’s surest talent and they certainly deliver it in their live shows. Be sure to check them out the next time you see them on a bill in town. You won’t regret it. 

-Andrew Strader

LPR Presents will present another night of The Hum, the curatorial, programming, and production child of Rachael Pazdan. A night of "womanly" collaborations will be held this coming Monday at Greenpoint venue Good Room.  The lineup is of particular importance to us here at The Deli because it features some favorite artists we’ve covered in the past including Buscabulla, Ela Minus, Beverly, Escort, Novelty Daughter and NOIA. You can purchase tickets over at the LPR site and we’ve created a playlist of our favorites while you wait for the festivities. 

-Andrew Strader

PPL is a three-piece outfit from NYC that has dragged the shoegaze aesthetic from its late 80s/early 90s heyday right up into the present. They play extensively with dynamic shifts, layering feedback, using delay to create dronescapes, soaking guitar hooks in chorus and reverb, and providing sudden bursts of carefully crafted sonic walls. For such a bare bones lineup like guitar, bass, and drums, it’s genuinely impressive how massive this band can make itself sound. Every noise they make is meant to serve the song. The sonic textures they design prove remiscent of My Bloody Valentine while the arrangements of songs often carry alternative rock and pop sensibilities that bring 90s classics like Weezer to mind. Be sure to catch their record release show for their self titled EP Post Personality Loss on May 24th at Union Pool. 

-Andrew Strader