The San Francisco based trio, Deep Throats has been a vital piece to the art, queer, and punk scenes in the Bay Area since the ’90s. Their new album, Good, Bad, Pretty will finally see an official release next month after 15 years of being shelved away due to health issues (which inevitably broke up the band).The album was recorded at the Starcleaner warehouse, a popular punk fixture in SF’s Mission District that Jennifer Shagawat ran when Shellshag first started out.

Deep Throats are releasing their upcoming album ‘Good Bad Pretty’ on February 26th via Castle Face Records. Take a listen to the album’s single, Good, Bad, Pretty and pick up a copy when the album is released later this month!

Antique Naked Soul is stepping out to perform on their home turf with two free shows this week. Singer Candice “Antique” Davis and her beat boxing counterparts are using nothing but their vocal chords to bring their audiences to a soulful hip-hop haven.

The team of hip-hop preservationists are putting on a two part event in Oakland on February 5th and 9th bringing together music, film, and activism . They will be performing at the Oakland Museum of California on friday at 7 pm, and at the Grand Lake Theater in Oakland on Tuesday. The latter performance will be accompanied by a screening of “The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution”.

The group released their debut album back in 2013 to an exceedingly satisfied audience, and have since been working on a follow up release due some time this year. Thus far Antique Naked Soul’s formula involves looping and layering vocal percussions and melodies to establish a full base sound, on top of which Antique’s soulful lyrics contribute the crucial layer that beautiful ties together their innovative, distinct, and powerful sound. The leading lady of this ensemble, is not only a talented creative, but also a proactive educator. She teaches the necessity of social and racial justice, both in the classroom and in the studio. This weeks performances serves as a direct example of Antique Naked Soul’s desire to utilize their creativity to inspire transformation in people and culture. –Julia deAnda

Thanks to all the artists who submitted their music to be considered for The Deli’s Best of San Francisco Bay Area Year End Poll for Emerging Artists!

After tallying our editors’ ratings for the Open Submissions stage, it’s time to release the results. Please note that to avoid conflicts no local editor was allowed to vote for bands in their own scene.

Total submissions from SF Bay Area: 50

Jurors: Cody Wright (The Deli Toronto), Michael Colavita (The Deli Philly) and PDG (The Deli NYC)

​Wicked Man​ – (Indie) – 8.167​ ​​​

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Eight Belles​ – (Indie Folk) – 8 ​ ​​

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Future Twin – (Soul/Shoegaze) – 7.83 ​

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​Dangermaker​ – (Indie Pop) – 7.67

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Andy Kong​ – (Acoustic Indie Pop) – 7.67 ​

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Emily Afton – (Indie Rock) – 7.67

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Night Shapes – (Kraut/Psych Rock) – 7.3

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Lost Dog Found​ – (Jazz) – 7.3

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​Soft White Sixties – (Rock/Soul) – 7.3

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Honorable Mentions:

Eliquate, The Humidor​s​, Sarchasm, Rin Tin Tiger, Roem Baur, Teens in Trouble, Sunrunners, Citabria, In Letter Form, Sit Kitty Sit, The Total Bettys and War Cloud.

WHAT’S NEXT: These results end the first phase of the poll. We will soon unveil the artists nominated by our local jurors, and then let our readers and our writers influence the poll with their vote. Keep creating, keep supporting, and stay tuned for your chance to vote! —The Deli San Francisco Staff

The Soft Moon will be making a stop in the Bay Area on January 29th at The New Parish and January 31st at Slim’s. Local bands Mall Walk and Cold Beat will be the supporting artists for the Oakland show and Male Gaze and DJ Omar Perez will be supporting the San Francisco gig with the Los Angeles based post industrial band, Sextile playing both nights. We love to see local bands earn great support opportunities like this!

The Soft Moon’s synthy, gothic album, Deeper is comprised of tracks that expose listeners to the dark imagery that wallpaper a stunning, manic mind. Deeper isn’t just your average dark, Bahaus-esque sound but replicates the kind of darkness that can only be heard miles from lights and civilization- the blackest of the black nights. With creepy, gorgeous layered beats, Deeper’s tracks all have a similar sense of urgency equipped with quick stacatto beats. The haunting, distorted vocals layered with the foggy beats establish an anxious mood that you want to dance to. You’ll definitely want to come out to these shows as The Soft Moon will be performing his intense, dance floor-worthy remixes. Come out and dance into the darkness! –Lindsay Stickney

 

 

Local indie rock band of brothers, Pharaohs, are gracing our ears with a new single! New releases from the group are few and far between, so listen up and enjoy this energetic rock track. Rituals is about a rebel lady and her vices and is a classic hard rock song with a solid base line, simple and catchy chord progressions and full, smokey vocals. This long awaited release strays from the melodic jams that we’re used to hearing from the boys but it’s ok because this track is fast paced with perfectly timed breakdowns. –Julia deAnda 

The opening track, Even Before I Learned to Write is like the exhale of a lengthy drawn-out drag, armed with a cold beer and your best friends sitting in a circle discussing how weird life really is. Sun Valley Gun Club’s self-titled album generates a yearning for those authentic, unassuming moments that you don’t truly appreciate the beauty of until it’s gone. Consistent with the energy of the album, Sun Valley Gun Club’s self titled album is casually addictive. The album is so good, you can catch yourself naturally mouthing the lyrics, floating home from work half-dazed after the long day. SVGC is reminiscent of the vocals of your favorite classic 90’s jam and at first listen could be mistaken as simple Indie revival rock. However, the most surprising and incredible element of this album is the heartfelt, powerful 80’s guitar riffs that decide to make a pleasantly surprising appearance at the most unexpected times. What is initially perceived as a simple, rock album reveals itself as a unique, fresh sound that draws itself from the highlighted elements of two classic musical eras that when combined create a sound that is as nuanced and innovative. Drop the needle on It Came From the Moon, light one up and start again.

 – Lindsay Stickney

 

The San Francisco based band, Still Flying has released a new song from their fourth upcoming album, Perfect Future. The new album is entitled Love Both Sides!

Still Flyin‘s Sean Rawls had a child at the end of 2012, a few months after their most recent album (On A Bedroom Wall) was released, which spelled a day job and no more world tours. In his words, "My identity as ‘dude in a band’ turned into ‘new dad who used to be in a band.’" Once an endless tinkerer who crafted songs constantly, he suddenly found himself with little time for any of that. He ended up having to carve out songwriting time between his son’s naps, and one of these short bursts of songwriting resulted in three of Perfect Future’s tracks ("Get Out of My Car", "Navarone" and "Tea Leaves").

The band ended up recording in much the same way — all of the basic tracks were bashed out in three days of recording, which was much quicker than they were used to. Keeping with the general theme, the record was mixed very quickly by Phil Manley (Trans Am), and the result is raw, immediate, unedited and undeniably fun!

It is yet again an honor and a pleasure to premiere music from another great Bay Area band! Check out the newest music video from the San Francisco based indie, prog rock band, Lords of Sealand!

Architect is a track from the band’s second EP, Found Fiction. Lords of Sealand are known for their haunting lyrics, dynamic rhythms and poetic storytelling. The music video for Architect is the culmination of their aural explorations brought to life in a visual medium. The video explores the conflict between creative freedom and the constrictions of modern societal norms. The video features Bay Area artists Allison Kane of Vanwave and painter Leslie Lambert. The video also includes life models Alexi Belchere of the band, The Y Axes and Carmen Caruso of Capybara.

Lords of Sealand will be hosting a video release show at Brick & Mortar in San Francisco on Wednesday January 13th, 2016 with Ghost Parade headlining and Cash Pony opening the show. The show starts at 9:00 PM with doors opening at 8:00 PM. The show is $7 in advance and $10 at the door.

Foxtails Brigade’s Time Is Passed is like a cohesive compilation of adult lullabies for the broken-hearted romantic. With beautiful instrumentation and soft, delicate vocals, this album will resonate with the nostalgic lover in you. The San Francisco based band- Weinbach (lead vocals, nylon guitar), Anton Patzner (violin, electric guitar, percussion), Joe Lewis (bass), Dominic Mercurio (drums, percussion) and Joshua Pollock (electric guitar, vibraphone) are known for their interesting orchestra ensemble and complex layering of instrumentation. Laura Weinbach’s quirky lyricism coupled with Victorian-reminiscing guitar plucks, provide a unique sound with unexpected tonality and variation. Listeners can expect whimsical songs like “Lost” and “We’ll Always Have the Moon” to pull them into a jazzy, adult fairytale. Although they aren’t currently touring, you can catch Foxtails Brigade in small venues all around the Bay Area. –Lindsay Stickney  

PLUSH and Pardoner, local heroes, are back out on the town playing support for a show at Know Lodge Gallery in Oakland on January 7th, and y’all better not miss it! Both bands have been making their California rounds debuting recently released albums from 2015. PLUSH’s April release Pine is the perfect blend of classic San Francisco garage-y riffs, fuzzy reverb-ed pop sounds, and soft vocals that the quartette has dubbed “sob rock”. These talented young ladies and gent have been playing in Bay Area bands over the years, but only recently came together to create the dreamy sound of PLUSH. Pardoner brings a similar shoe gaze vibe with both of their 2015 EPs, but they pack a much more noise-punk punch, don’t let their soft intro’s fool you. Out of towners Run Forever and Looming will be closing out the show next thursday with some east coast indie rock. Come early, and bring your pretentious artsy friends (it’s a gallery), music starts at 7 pm. –Julia deAnda

Well, another year has gone by. Local music critic, Lindsay Stickney has made my job so much easier by using her discerning and well honed ear to choose her favorite Bay Area albums of 2015. A lot of these bands are friends and I am certainly fans of all of these artists so I was personally pleased with Lindsay’s choices (which I had NO say in whatsoever).

I hope you will enjoy her picks as well. Congrats to every single band who put out music in the Bay Area this year. The Deli SF loves you all and we completely acknowledge that this was an amazing year for well produced albums and truly talented artists.

I love you all.
Happy Holidays and Happy New Year. May 2016 be more musically fruitful and inspiring!

The Deli SF Editor,
Jordannah Elizabeth

1. The Stone Foxes, Twelve Spells

Bursting, bluesy-rock vibes that make you feel less like you’re listening to a record and more like you’re singing along to gospel in a church of rock n’ roll, Twelve Spells delivers an experience. With tracks like “Cold Like a Killer”, we’re reminded of how good it feels to effortlessly sway our hips to a single-note piano and how refreshing a vibrating guitar riff can be for the soul.

2. Monophonics, Sound of Sinning

Kings of dark, slinky soul, The Monophonics’ Sound of Sinning is heavily influenced by the psychedelic rock vibes of San Francisco, providing a funky 60’s-70’s sound that takes you through a colorful ride of epic horns and funky, noir beats. Packed with gut-wrenching vocals, hazy harmonies and hammond organs, it’s easy to get lost in this record and drift away to tracks like “Falling Apart”.

3. Lee Gallagher, Lee Gallagher and The Hallelujah

Lee Gallagher’s typical folky, country roots are uprooted and replaced by a much more soulful sound layered with emotional instrumentation and howling vocals. In Lee Gallagher and The Hallelujah, we’re carried back to a delightful 70’s trippy wave of movement that prove that a simplistic sound is sometimes the most powerful.

4. Lila Rose, We. Animals.

Bass. Power. Killer vocals. Power. We. Animals. is like your sweetest nightmare induced with passion, heartbreak, manic, and complexity. With whimsical beats, haunting vocals, and tribal drums, Lila Rose delivers an intense, sexually-charged album that lays its foundation on raw aggression. Tracks like “Tracking” will abruptly awaken the pissed off, sensual warrior in you.

5. Growwler, Even Tenor

Easing in with delicate acoustics and finishing with an aggressive bluesy piano sequence, the opening song “Long Hair, Short Wits” is a true ode to the San Francisco rock n’ roll scene and is a testament to the effectiveness of brilliant, simplistic instrumentation. Even Tenor is like a nostalgic storytelling that makes us miss the moments that we never lived for.

6. Ice Cream, Ice Cream

Sweet, sweet, classic garage rock. Ice Cream’s self-titled album forces us to remember the reasons we fell in love with rock in the first place. Dirty, honest guitar riffs, quick, aggressive drum patterns, weaved into gritty barely-there vocals, Ice Cream is the perfect combination of garage sound and punk attitude that will pour gasoline on that flickering fire inside.

7. Al Lover, Cave Ritual

The great Al Lover does it again. Cave Ritual is in fact exactly how it sounds: eerie, tribal, smoky, and sensual to the extreme. Textured beats layered with staccato samples give the album an imaginative sound that catapults us into a contemporary, psychedelic rock trance. Every track will take you to the sun, the moon, and then back again. Twice.

8. The Union Trade, A Place of Long Years

The Union Trade are masters of melancholy and it couldn’t be more gorgeously displayed than in their album A Place of Long Years. The subtle, aching cello atop the fluid, chilling piano make songs like “Svalbard” an escape from reality into the ethereal landscapes of your most tragic, stunning daydreams.

9. Guy Fox, Night Owl

Guy Fox are a musical enigma: elements of funk, old-school jazz, indie, pop, and rock can all be traced at different peaks in their most recent album Night Owl. Whether it be the use of timely instrumentation or charming lyricism, Guy Fox delivers an indecisive yet addicting sound. Tracks like “The City Line” create a steamy, devious tone portraying San Francisco as a playground designed for the mischievous.

10.Toro y Moi, What For?

Light, energetic beats coupled with smooth, romantic vocals make What For? the soundtrack to your hazy, yellow summer nights. Toro y Moi is known for his synthy-pop sounds, but the release of his fourth album slayed all former musical confinement. Tracks like “Lilly” walk the perfect, delicate line of modern synth and 60’s psychedelic rock, transporting you to a blurry wonderland that you’ll want to lay in for a while.

The San Francisco based "ambient fuzz-rock band", Fellow Wolf has released a crisp new music video for their single, The Bluebird.

"We rented the camera which shot the highest quality slow motion that we could afford. The location is a local San Francisco dive bar. We filled it with friends from close until sunrise. Everyone stayed, but mostly because we didn’t let them leave." – Christopher Drellow of Fellow Wolf

We like this song and the music video is very interesting to watch! Make sure you continue to support local artists and attend their upcoming show at Bottom of the Hill in San Francisco on January 13 with Sea Knight and Ghost Tiger.

Fellow Wolf – The Bluebird (Official Music Video) from Fellow Wolf on Vimeo.