If you reach into Warbler’s sonic crayon box, you’ll find a B3 organ, electric and acoustic guitars, banjo, a gamut of analog synth sounds, and, in their own words, “bells and whistles.” With that many sounds, you’d expect to feel bombarded, but Warbler manages to retain open space within their Neo-folk masterpieces. 

Warbler’s music is a stylistic roller coaster: plaintive vocals and intricate fingerstyle guitar give way to disco breakdowns, and dark, heavy folk rock suffuses a cosmic soundscape. It’s the music that might materialize if Elliott Smith, The Flaming Lips, and O’death all did lunch. The Oakland four-piece band is ramping up to release a second record this winter. 

Before hitting the studio, catch Warbler with Oakland’s She Beards and Walnut Creek headliners Wave Array on Saturday, Oct. 6 at Bottom of the Hill. Sadly, this will be Wave Array’s last show for an indeterminate amount of time, due to member Storm Lee’s move away from the area. Give the band a bon voyage worth remembering.

–Gracie Gutman

And now for some corporate-sponsored fun that might be actual fun. 

VICE + JanSport are throwing their final Bonfire Session on Sunday, September 30th at the Fogwatch Picnic Area on Treasure Island featuring psych folk SF darlings the Dodos, the Deli SF’s Artist of 2011 Geographer, and SF/LA project White Fence. LA’s Father John Misty will close the show. Pick up a poster from local San Francisco artist Aaron Bo Heimlich at the event.

Being corporate-sponsored, it’s free with an RSVP here. If you’d rather pay, the Dodos open for Calexico on Oct. 23 at the Fillmore.

San Francisco’s Adios Amigo enlisted local art school student Caitlyn Adkins to create its new video for "Chicken," the single off the Dos EP. Download Dos for free here. The stop motion video shows indie folker John Major playing throughout the streets of San Francisco.

Catch Adios Amigo at Elbo Room on Friday, Oct. 5 with Solwave and Dogcatcher.

San Francisco does the heady, catchy, synth sound well and Maus Haus is among our best in that scene. It’s going to be a busy fall for the band with an extensive US tour (listed below), new EP Light Noise out Oct. 2, and most exciting, playing the Deli’s CMJ show at The Delancey on Oct. 18.

Get a feel for Light Noise by downloading the first single "No More Girls." Maus Haus also premiered a cover of Cinema 90’s song “In Ultra-Violet” on Consequence of Sound today.

–Whitney Phaneuf

MAUS HAUS TOUR DATES

10/2/2012 Portland, OR – Mississippi Studios
10/3/2012 Boise, ID – Neurolux
10/4/2012 Salt Lake City, UT- Kilby Court
10/5/2012 Denver CO Larimer Lounge*
10/6/2012 Omaha, NE – Waiting Room*
10/7/2012 St Louis, MO – Firebird*
10/9/2012 Chicago, IL – Burlington Bar
10/11/2012 Toronto, ONT – Club Nocturne (Indie Fest Toronto)
10/12/2012 Montreal, QUE – Club Lambi
10/13/2012 Québec, QC – L’Agitée
10/15/2012 Winooski, VT – The Monkey House#
10/17/2012 New York, NY – Pianos (afternoon show)
10/17/2012 Brooklyn, NY – Shea Stadium (evening show)
10/18/2012 New York, NY – The Delancey (Deli Magazine CMJ)
10/19/2012 Philadelphia, PA – Johnny Brenda’s^
10/20/2012 Washington, DC – Red Palace^
10/21/2012 Chapel Hill, NC – Local 506^
10/23/2012 Asheville, NC – Grey Eagle Tavern & Music Hall^
10/24/2012 Atlanta, GA – EARL^
10/25/2012 Birmingham, AL – Bottle Tree^
10/26/2012 New Orleans, LA – Circle Bar
10/27/2012 Austin, TX – Holy Mountain
10/29/2012 El Paso, TX – Lowbrow Palace
10/31/2012 San Diego,CA – Bar Eleven
11/02/2012 Los Angeles,CA – The Smell
11/3/2012 San Francisco, CA – Rickshaw Stop

* support for The Dodos ^ support for Generationals # support for The Intelligence

After breaking up San Francisco garage pop duo Girls, former frontman Christopher Owens is taking a break to model.

CMU caught the artist doing his best blue steel for Yves Saint Laurent’s ready-to-wear line, Saint Laurent. Check it out in Vogue, which describes Owens’s look as "very much like Kurt Cobain." Umm, let’s not encourage the drugs or the modeling, thank you.

Remember better days in this performance of "Vomit" from 2011’s Father, Son, Holy Ghost.

–Whitney Phaneuf (with reporting by Justine Fields)

The Bay’s Tricycle Records is giving away some great Bay Area bred music on its latest "Friends of Tricycle Records Compilation Vol. 2," available for free download here. Provide an email address and get 18 tracks from many of the Deli’s favorites bands including Big Tree, Le Vice, Loquat, The Hot Toddies, and more. Find the entire track list below.

While you’re feeling the local love, watch Le Vice get thugged out in its new video for the band’s take on Drake’s "Underground Kings," off the recently released album Neverland.

–Whitney Phaneuf

Friends of Tricycle Records Compilation Vol. 2:

Big Tree, “Storm King”
Mister Loveless, “Wild Summer”
8th Grader, “Heavy Without You”
Le Vice, “Find You”
The Hot Toddies, “Boogie Nights”
Loquat, “Simple Song” (Shins cover)
Birdmonster, “Living”
Sioux City Kid & The Revolutionary Ramblers “Darlin’ Darlin’"
Rich Girls, “Sink Like Stones”
Fake Your Own Death, “Reindeer Games”
Paranoids, “Astronaut”
I Am Animal, “Just You Wait”
Here Come The Saviours, “Tomorrows Version Of Me”
Magic Fight, “I’m Not (Going Back)”
Teenage Sweater, “Oceans and Seas”
The Union Trade, “Everyday Including Holidays (Remix)”
Lilofee, “Girls on My Brain”
Vows, “OurBrethren’s”

After releasing Paper Diamonds and last year’s Heatwave, San Francisco indie pop darlings Ash Reiter are at it again with a new full length album, Hola. There are only 37 hours left to contribute to the band’s Kickstarter campaign to support the cost of pressing Hola, which will be available in limited edition red vinyl and CD format. The band offers some fun rewards including singing telegrams and a “choose your own adventure” option that offers a variety of fun activities like a hot air balloon trip, skydiving, river rafting or recording a tape split album with the band.

“This album was fun to make. We did a lot of really playful and experimental stuff-mostly in our home studio. Some of my favorite moments were captured while working in pairs, to get a wild sound that only four arms could achieve, with one person manipulating effects pedals and another playing an instrument. It made the editing/mixing process fun and challenging too,” says Ash Reiter. 

Hola also marks the beginning of the band’s new line up with brothers Scott Brown on bass and Drew Brown on guitar plus Anthony Ferraro on keys. While Ash Reiter’s critically praised “honey and whiskey” voice is still present, she is now accompanied by rich background vocals and lush instrumentation sitting somewhere between the classic sounds of the Beach Boys and the more psychedelic feel of Animal Collective. 

Hola was recorded at Oakland’s New Improved Recording (tUnE-yArDs and Thao & Mirah). With the release, the band will embark on a national tour beginning in early fall. Check the band’s website for dates.  

A month ago we told you SF’s City Tribe were one to watch with their vocal harmonies and mountain jams, and on Sunday you can watch them live at the unique venue space, Viracocha in the mission. City Tribes will be celebrating their EP release with local folksy groups Warbler and Brother Pacific also on hand for the shindig. The night of three stellar up-and-comers will be brought to you by Lone Wolves. For all the details, RSVP over at the Facebook event page.

The first Tuesday night of every month at Brick and Mortar Music Hall has become the place to see and be seen as of late, thanks to Wood Shoppe. Next Tuesday, September 4th, the free music series welcomes a new entourage of acts along with drink specials and a great vibe. For this showcase they’ve “gone country,” though “gone country-ish” might be more apt. SF rock trio The Ferocious Few, Oakland soulful group Tumbleweed Wanderers, Seattle-based country act Brent Amaker & The Rodeo and local (((folkYEAH!))) DJ Britt Govea will be spinning, rocking and countrifying Brick & Mortar.

Show starts at 9 PM. $3 Trumer Pils and $5 Sailor Jerry cocktails all night. For more info check out Wood Shoppe on Facebook, Tumblr, or Twitter.

If you’ve been paying attention to music and San Francisco happenings, you probably caught Wildlife Control’s video for “Analog or Digital” that they filmed on Ocean Beach a few months back.

Though usually split between Brooklyn and SF, the brother duo behind Wildlife Control, Neil and Sumul Shah, will be together on the best coast to play at Bottom of The Hill for this Friday. They’ll be celebrating the release of their eponymous indie pop album debut and will be joined by Mercies and East Bay lads, The Dandelion War. Get a preview of what to expect with the full stream of Wildlife Control below.

Download the Soft Moon’s new track "Die Life" from upcoming album Zeros, out Oct. 30. The Soft Moon is a dark noise experiment from San Francisco’s Luis Vasquez. He’ll be touring in the U.S. and Europe in support of the new record, the follow up to last year’s Total Decay EP.

–Whitney Phaneuf

Bay Area based indie hip-hop band Le Vice classifies itself as Urban-Indie-Rock- Electro-Funk-Hip Hop-Pop, but we just call it good music.

It is easy to fall into the pit-trap of trying to pin down their sound. Le Vice could be described in a myriad of different ways from hip-hop curators to playful grunge revivalist and nothing would sit out of place with its music. They’ve been steadily making music since 2010.

The band’s latest release, Neverland (download here), oscillates between insightful musing on city life and coy jabs at popular culture; the title is in reference to the famous Neverland of Peter Pan. Singer Alex Lee’s lyricism is a straightforward slap in the face. Leedoesn’t miss a chance to flip phrases or slip in a name drop. A stand out moment during one of their more electro-funk songs "Pho Q (We Just Wanna Dance)" is when a line from the bridge "life is too short" becomes a shout out to the rapper Too Short by adding a refrain on the end reminiscent of the rappers favorite word.

To know and love Le Vice is to see the band live. Local tour dates are listed below and on the band’s website.

–Dario Slavazza

09.07.12 | The Independent with Los Rakas | San Francisco, CA
09.22.12 | Luigi’s Fun Garden | Sacramento, CA
10.27.12 | The New Parish | Oakland, CA