While most of us have some romantic notions about our beloved New York City, few of us go so far as to document our accolades in lyrical odyssey. Well, looks like you missed your chance. In twelve tracks of throwback rock n’ roll sentiment, The Letter Yellow has done exactly that in new record ‘Walking Down the Street.’ Coming across like a late night reflection with the Brooklyn Bridge as a backdrop, singer-songwriter Randy Bergida paints a landscape from ‘Hope Street’ to Harlem and back again. This is a heartfelt love letter to the greatest city in the world, from someone who’s made Greenpoint his hometown (and recording studio). Join the band when The Letter Yellow hosts their album release party this Sunday at Glasslands (9.9). – Mike Levine (@Goldnuggets)

Here’s killing two birds with one stone. To illustrate their latest single ‘Sucker Punch‘ (released mid-July) as well as give us a taste of tonight’s show – which we’ll get to in a minute – Brooklyn-based genre-busting indie hip-hop seven-piece Deathrow Tull is sharing today a third music video. Shaking to the to the beat of that contagiously revolted indie rock/ska-punk/rap sing-along that is ‘Sucker Punch’, a five-minute homemade montage of stage shots, crowds and backstage footage, jam-packed with fun vibes, invites you to join their party. A perfect teaser to get us excited for this evening’s (9.7) Deli sponsored showcase of some of the best local indie hip-hop talent – where Deathrow Tull will be performing alongside Metermaids, Premrock & Willie Green and more – kicking off at 8pm at Bushwick’s Paper Box (info here).

The Hollows, you may remember as recent(-ish) winners of our ‘Artist of the Month’ poll. Just about a year after a debut album, this Brooklyn-based six-piece ensemble of multi-instrumentalists released in June a self-titled EP, where textural guitars and grand harmonies brought a new depth, drawn from roots rock influences, to their multi-layered folk jams. 

The Bottom Dollars – who from the start pulled together a wide range of sounds from southern rock to blues, mixing-up an all-American high-impact burst of indie rock – dropped yesterday a new single, with which they’re introducing the louder road they went down for their new album ‘Good News Everyone’ (due September 18th). In the first stages of a forthcoming tour, they’ll be playing three dates with The Hollows, the second of which will be here in Bushwick at Paper Box (9.15) where they’ll be sharing the bill with the high-energy performers of Mike Savino’s brainchild Tall Tall Trees and Saint-Louis’ Water Liars.

If you think their previous records were insane, this one’s about to blow your head off. On September 25th, Providence based (but constantly associated to the Brooklyn DIY scene) noise-rock duo Lightning Bolt will be dropping a seven-track compilation of some favorite unreleased recordings, ‘Oblivion Hunter’ (Load Records), which they’ve introduced with King Candy (streaming below). Nerve-wrecking explosion of gritty basslines, aggressive drums and howling vocals reminescent of Japanese noise aesthetics fusing from beneath the chaos, the track fully captures the furious energy of their sets, and opens an EP already much anticipated, with some teasingly tasty alliterations in the titles (Fly Fucker Fly or World Wobbly Wide) and a strongly suggested ‘not for the faint-hearted’ label. Currently on a tour which started in DC on Tuesday (8.21), the duo will – prior to the release – be shaking up Brooklyn’s 285 Kent on September 20th.

Allegedly The Men don’t care much for labels, but so far they’d remained close to the punk arena – even the title track of their new record ‘Open Your Heart‘, if nothing as rough as what we found on their two previous albums, still races feverishly along the lines of an ‘Ever Fallen In Love’ with more angst, fast and deliciously enthusing. ‘Candy‘ though – which you can download for free below, courtesy of the band – is a different story. A laid-back twangy alt-country jam picked up only by its steady drumbeat, unfamiliar echoes and strange backing vocals merely reaching the surface; a sweet song it its own awkward right, confirming that the Brooklyn quartet isn’t intrinsically hostile. Just determined to stay away from any routine. The band will be setting off on tour at the start of September, from West Coast to Europe (check their blog for dates) with Buffalo, NY as a first stop back on US soil on November 8th 

Natureboy does that impossible thing that people cutting their teeth exclusively on kosher diets of classic rock n’ roll will never be able to understand: re-imagining rock into something that sounds entirely new. Natureboy is the brainchild of Sara Kermanshahi, a first generation American of Iranian descent. None of this matters when you listen to the music of course, but it might help explain some of the magic that Natureboy brings.

On new record ‘The Sweep,’ Kermanshahi channels her border-crossing background toward ecstatic delivery, guiding her spirit through erupting waves of vocal intensity in tracks that cover all the bases, from ‘Blow to the Head’ to ‘Head to Toe.’ On this record (and especially when seen on stage), it’s obvious Natureboy means every word. As proved by this artist, sometimes you only need to listen to someone outside your Spotify playlist to understand what’s really possible for music. You can see her when she plays Joe’s Pub on September 16th – Mike Levine (@Goldnuggets)

Like some kind of critical exercise, or perhaps only for the aesthetic nuances, Howth took their music to three different spaces, from the studio to ‘Blake’s place’ to the stage, to expose through the recording of their latest EP Secret Goldmine the differences in textures, effects and ambiances that occur from one environment to the next. A heartfelt declaration may seem somewhat sterile when compared to the intimacy of a home recording, the sound of the live will lose in depth as it bounces further away, etc. Every track finds its own strength. Having spent the last month on the roads, touring the US to promote this new record – their second EP, closely following a second album they released in May – the band will soon be heading back to Brooklyn, where you can catch them for their homecoming show at Cameo Gallery on Saturday (8.25).

Has New York stumbled upon our own verson of The Swell Season? A City On A Lake is taking a stab at providing us with that special dialogue particular to the young and in love. A soft meditation on lessons learned and love found, Alex Wong’s latest song ‘Oceanside‘ will gently rock you back and forth through its lilting violins, lullaby harmonies, and moonlit rhythms. For the song, singer/songwriter Wong recruited Mexican rocker Ximena Sariñana to provide the tune’s opposite voice, and the pair perform beautifully together. Check out the new video below & see him play this Thursday (8.23) at Rockwood Music Hall – Mike Levine (@Goldnuggets)

Featured in our latest Deli NYC print edition (here!), art pop quartet Conveyor released a couple of weeks ago a first self-titled full-length album; one of those rare records that can display so wide a range of sonic experimentation without ever seeming to find the process self-sufficient, Conveyor is a deliciously rich combination of lush harmonies and offset rhythms, flowing gracefully whilst leaving you on a constant vital edge. Any second the tingling melody could turn to roaring freakout, an acoustic introduction could pull you suddenly into a shimmering fusion of electronic sounds… Long story short (you can find out more in a recent Deli interview with the band here), to watch the magic happen on stage, don’t miss them tomorrow evening (8.22) for their homecoming show at Brooklyn’s Glasslands Gallery! 

Looking back, The Due Diligence‘s debut album ‘I Will Wreck Your Life‘ seems like a delicate mise en bouche for what the band had in store, a raw power (so to speak) they unleashed as they let their music flow harsh, unpolished on the five tracks of their follow-up EP ‘Let It Be Already‘, which they released mid-July. Harsh perhaps, but no lo-fi soup, none of that ‘noise for the sake of noise‘; instead, a jam-like tease of a rock’n’roll record, casually swaying over soul and folk undertones, one to get you hooked at ease on the screeching guitars or the dandy, hiccupy rhythm of a boogie, just rough enough to strike below the waist; after all, rock’n’roll… it’s about getting the crowds off, isn’t it? Speaking of which, any new shows coming our way guys? – Tracy Mamoun

Having worked and re-worked its baggy-psychedelia cocktail, Brooklyn-based trio Dinowalrus set off in March towards its best efforts to date with ‘What Now‘, pulling the droning vocals out of the washed-out depths of their reverb’, picking up the pace with some fast steady drumbeats and glorious effusions of synth and guitars. Dropped five days ago, the shimmering ‘Grounded‘ pursued this fuller, more fluid sound, only slower, so very laid-back that one can’t help but notice the confidence they’ve gained over the last couple of years. If we’re going to extrapolate here, there’s a bigger and bolder Dinowalrus to be expected from their album to come (produced by Jorge Elbrecht).

The band will be playing this Friday (8.24) at Public Assembly, for a show introducing Ken Griffin’s latest project August Wells and headlined by Variety Lights, Chicago-based duo featuring ex-Mercury Rev David Baker. All of this and more (including a Dj Set by Spacemen 3’s Rosco) courtesy of the lovely Lady Bree.

Chris Riffle could be New York’s unlikely mellowcore champion of the year. A mix of folk authenticity and offbeat sentimentality, Riffle has just released his second full-length ‘Another Dream‘ that charts many of his unrequited hopes for love, with topics ranging from his wishes for the shapes of stars, to his wishes for the names of stars. In songs like ‘Kiss On The Cheek‘ and his fantastic cover of ‘And I Love Him,’ Riffle proves New York is still a home for hopeless romantics at heart. Like Bright Eyes and M. Ward, Riffle’s tenor brings home passionate urgency to matters of the heart. See the troubadour when he plays this Thursday, August 23rd at Spike Hill. – Mike Levine (@Goldnuggets)