If this newly-arrived winter weather has got you down, don’t succumb to SAD—join the RPM challenge. RPM (Record Production Month) is an annual event established by The Wire (arts & culture magazine based out of Portsmouth, NH) in the month of February. The rules are that an individual (or group of individuals) must write and record an entire album’s-worth of material (ten songs or 35 minutes) in the month of February. All entries are compiled by a committee of volunteers and displayed at a special “listening party” (usually held in Portsmouth and the surrounding areas) where every entrant has a chance to have one song of theirs played for the public. All submissions must be either mailed or physically dropped-off at the RPM headquarters (on or before 12 noon, March 1, 2012. For more details and to sign-up visit rpmchallenge.com.–Daniel McMahon

Making a solid record is like creating a “perfect storm” of music—all the instruments must be precisely aligned and in time, with the vocal performance cutting through and above the instruments, tying the whole project together. In Like Lions latest album, Through Red & Blue, harnesses all of those qualities to forge a truly impressive collection of pop songs. The record, set to drop this Valentine’s Day, is a unique combination of Top 40 pop sound, soul, and R&B, with a splash of rock n’ roll added for good measure.

The album opens with an ethereal, spacey instrumental that is highlighted by drums that sound like they are straight from a Fine Young Cannibals track. This piece flows perfectly into the next song, "Far Away," a soft rock number that showcases lead-singer Troy Ramey’s vocal abilities. Ramey’s vocals are the driving force behind the record, adding a dynamic and powerful element to each track.

"Honey" is the stand-out track on Through Red & Blue, complete with up-tempo guitar riffs and a hook so catchy you’ll be singing the words long after the song is over. I found myself drawing comparisons to the Counting Crows throughout the entire album, but “Honey” is one particular song where Ramey’s similarities to Adam Duritz are quite striking.

Overall, I was pleasantly surprised by Through Red & Blue. In Like Lions have found the formula for making great pop songs and seem poised to make a huge impact on the Boston (and New England) music scene with this latest release. Check out the band’s Facebook page or inlikelions.com for more music and updates about the band and don’t forget to grab a copy of Through Red & Blue for you or a loved one this February 14^th.–Daniel McMahon

Back in December, The Suicide Dolls won the deli’s Band of the Month poll. However, due to the crazyness of the holidays, a hectic schedule, and an upcoming CD release, they forgot to hit "send" on the e-mail with their interview. After a few laughs and apologies, we here at the deli finally got things coordinated with the band and are happy to report that we are now ready for the fans to read their interview. Even better, next week on Tuesday, Jan. 31, the Suicide Dolls will be releasing their latest album, Prayers in Parking Lots.

Tomorrow night, Saturday, Jan. 28, The Suicide Dolls will be performing at the Hygienic Art Rock Fix, which is being held at the Crocker House Ballroom in New London, CT. They go on at 10:15.

Click here to read the deli’s interview with The Suicide Dolls.

–Chrissy Prisco

Photo credit: Adam Campos

Monday night, Jan. 30, is the final night of Lilia Halpern (Incinerator)’s residency at PA’s Lounge in Somerville’s Union Square. Halpern is going out with a bang — the lineup is Scarce, Chris Colbourn (Buffalo Tom), Brendan Little (The Painted Lights).

As an added bonus, if you go over to the Incinerator bandcamp page and the Scarce Soundcloud page, free downloads are available.

Click here for an interview the deli did with Halpern a few weeks ago.

Lineup:

10:45 — Scarce
10: 00 — Incinerator
9:30 — Chris Colbourn
9:00 — Brendan Little

Doors 8pm, 21+, $7

–Chrissy Prisco

Bodies of Water Shows / Boston Hassle presents…

The Boston Underground Summit IV
When: Saturday, Jan 28
Where: Cambridge YWCA
7 Temple St. (Central Sq.)
Cambridge, MA

ALL AGES
$5-$10 sliding scale suggested donation
7:30pm

The Boston Underground Summit IV is a 10 band ***round robin performance by the following bands:

Guerilla Toss
Needy Visions
MMOSS (pictured above)
White Pages
Night Fruit
Broken River Prophet
Skinny Vinny
Magic Magic
Robot Death Kites (NY)
Vulture Shit (NY)

***What’s a round robin show?

It’s when 10 or so bands set up all at once. They set up a few pas, and the bands take turns playing songs one after another. Then, after all the bands have played a song, the loop repeats, until the show ends.

How did Friendly People start?

A little over a year ago, to the day, a bunch of us saw Pat playing some of his tunes at All Asia in Cambridge, MA at a sweet weekly songwriters circle that used to happen there called Monkey Rock. After that performance…click here to read the rest of the interview with Friendly People.

Sometimes I wonder if all musicians have truly lost their minds and I worry that dub-step and “wobble-bass” will overtake the music world like a modern-day Bubonic plague. In the midst of these thoughts, I occasionally hear a record that pulls me back into reality and reminds me that not every musician has gone insane and that people are still perfectly capable of making rockin’ music. All Day, Alright, the newest release from Bunny’s A Swine, is one such record.

Bunny’s A Swine manages to capture a 90’s indie rock vibe a la Modest Mouse/Sonic Youth and infuse it with a liveliness that catches the listener’s attention. I found the guitar work on this record to be excellent; I was particularly intrigued by the incorporation of what the band describes as a “three-stringed guitar,” which, as you may have guessed, is a regular guitar with only three strings. This exhibition of unique musical ingenuity is reflective in their sound. I thought the opening track, 630/430, was an excellent choice to start off the record. It really sets the tone for the rest of the album with its upbeat guitar riffs and R.E.M-esque feel.

Winter Song/Spring Version is another favorite track of mine from this release. The addition of the distant yelling for the backing vocals adds to the intensity and urgency of the song.

Overall, All Day, Alright is immensely entertaining. The band is able to establish a high level of energy and emotion at the start of the record and carry it all the way through the end, making All Day, Alright incredibly hard to turn off after only one song (or one complete listen through, for that matter). This album, along with a collection of their other works, can be streamed and is available for purchase on their bandcamp site. If live music and real human interaction is more to your liking, head over to Western Mass. on March 1 and check them out in-person at the Sierra Grill in Northampton.–Daniel McMahon

Somerville alt-folk singer-songwriter Kirsten Opstad’s latest release Fear of Swimming bursts with plucky, quaint acoustic tunes. Following a few solo albums as well as a release from The Crazy Exes from Hell — the folk-punk band consisting of her and Steve Subrizi — Fear of Swimming is Opstad’s first professional full-length collection.

Opstad, like many artists, turned to Kickstarter to help collect funding for the project, and she kept friends and fans updated on the fundraising progress as well as the recording process itself on her blog. While Kickstarter allots 30 days for a project to raise its fundraising goal, Opstad reached (and exceeded) her goal of $5,000 in just twenty days. The album was recorded at Interstellar Records in early November 2011 and was released on January 10.

Magic Eye provides a sunny opening and sets the tone for the majority of the album. Opstad’s chirpy voice and quirky, acoustic, simplicity make it seem like she could easily win over fans of Kimya Dawson. The majestic, Medievally-tinted Unkeepable Oath best demonstrates Opstad’s springy, cute songwriting. Meanwhile, the bond between her and an injured bird attests to her earnest, sweet spirit. Her lyrics are tongue-in-cheek almost as often as they are heart-on-sleeve. Along with all the peachiness of the album is the sense of vulnerability she admits to, in the album title and elsewhere in the lyrics.

Most of the songs are paced similarly, sharing a bright and chipper mood, but that’s not to say that the tracks blend one into the next. And while Fear of Swimming begins with sunshine, it ends with Back to Sleep, a bittersweet lullaby in which Opstad sings, “And I can’t sleep / Knowing you’re out there without me / And I can’t move / Knowing that you’re moving on.”–Sarah Ruggiero

There is a strange and almost contradictory type of freedom that comes with the label of pop music. While the title is sometimes thought of as the enemy and opposite of free expression, there are those who take the term as a simple standard of accessibility in their art, a sort of mantra that says “Art is anything that makes people enjoy life more.” In this new age of free media, electronic everything, and D.I.Y ethics becoming more of a necessity than an ethos, pop music has been the favorite vehicle of a large caravan of duos combining programed loops and live instrumentation in order to create a new series of dance music.

Now, in the wake of this mostly New York boy/girl boom, comes New Haven, CT’s own brother sister duo Megan and David Keith and their project Mission 0. The first full length offer from the siblings Keith comes in the form of Bruises on the Map, a ten track spectacle of smart pop structure and electric/trance vibe.

Bruises on the Map acts mostly as a showing of Sister Keith’s vocal ability along with the understated, but extremely well-constructed instrument arrangements of drummer/producer Brother Keith. The album’s tracks act as two sides of the same coin, trading off track to track between 90’s influenced power ballads and trance dance numbers, working as a good  ofwhat the duo is capable of. Bruise’s lyrics work mostly to carry the Sister Keith’s melodies and the tunes are best implemented as mood music rather than for hardnosed analysis. Anyone who is a fan of the boy/girl duo movement being populated by Cults, Matt and Kim, Sleigh Bells, or going as far back as The Eurythmics, would be well off adding Bruises on the Map to their collection and checking the duo out when they blow into town.–Anthony Geehan

Mission 0 — Heavy Boots

How did The Emergence start?

The band began in 2004 when we first recorded a two song demo. A year later, three of us went to school in different locations around the world, whilst two stayed back home in Bogotá, Colombia (Our Hometown). Three of us finally reunited last year in Boston where two of the members (Andres F Echeverry/LeadGuitar and Julian Ferreira/Bass) attend school. Ever since March of last year… Click here to read the rest of the interview with The Emergence.

The Emergence — First Attack

Susan Kaup, has been heavily involved in the Boston music scene since moving here from Nebraska in 1994. She runs numerous websites and also spends her free time taking photographs and shooting video of local bands. Since 2010, she has hosted "Soozapalooza" at TT’s to coincide with her birthday. It’s a night of fun music, dancing, djing and even some karaoke.

9pm
Somerville Symphony Orkestar (pictured) – an Eastern European punk funk band from the Slavic heart of Greater Boston

10pm
Phil Aiken Army – indie pop superheroes led by singer + songwriter + keyboardist Phil Aiken

11pm
Good Night, States – guitars, vintage synths, indie quirks — from Pittsburgh, PA

Midnight
The People’s Karaoke

And DJ Rory Stark between bands! Playing 70’s glam and party rock favorites.

Tickets: $10 ADV, $12 at the door. Buy your ticket online here.

–The Deli Staff

Amory Sivertson’s latest release, Human, is a wonderful mix of pop melodies, soothing piano lines and beautiful  vocals. Sivertson, an Emerson-college student, is signed to the student-run Emerson record label, Wax on Felt Records.

Drawing on influences from such artists as Feist, Regina Spektor and Ingrid Michaelson, Sivertson manages to craft an album that is at once familiar and yet entirely unique and original. The opening track on the record, Wrap My Arms, is reminiscent of a blues number, infused with gospel and soul. The song, an acapella-style round, displays Sivertson’s vocal range and dynamic capabilities.

The entire album demands a listen, but the twelfth track, Compelling, is one particular instance where Sivertson’s brilliance really shines through. It begins slowly, meticulously building to a Feist/Florence and the Machine-style bridge with plenty of stops and dynamic shifts to get anyone moving up and out of their seat.

Overall, Human is a fantastic collection of songs. Sivertson’s songwriting and orchestration are of a caliber one rarely finds in independent music. Human is streaming (along with her earlier recordings) and available for purchase on her bandcamp site. Act fast – if Sivertson continues to make music sound this good, her songs won’t be available for five bucks for too much longer.–Daniel McMahon