A joint effort between underground electro-fusionists No Surrender and psyched-out local supergroup Dead Tooth released earlier this month, “I Hate the Precedent” is the first fruit of an ongoing collaboration. Intro’ed by a slithering bass groove over ominous electronic textures, Dead Tooth vocalist/guitarist Zach James entreats a certain “ol’ blubber leper [to] please spare your rod” (portrayed below wearing what looks like a Michael Myers mask painted orange). Enter the catchy dance-rock hook and lyrical refrain: “I hate the president / and the precedent that he sets.” Following a volley of staccato guitar outbursts the second-verse vocals are taken over by No Surrender’s Darius VanSluytman–“my brother’s a stranger / in his very own land”–until all involved ride out the refrain to the end. More succinct and funkier than a filibuster, one hopes this track will inspire more musical crossovers between Brooklyn artists. (Jason Lee) 

From its opening moments this collabiration between Lake Ruth and Listening Center—released over the summer with proceeds benefitting the NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund—immerses the listener in a gauzily seductive yet apprehensive vortex of sound: "Don’t sit and wait / there’s no hiding here / unsubtle acts / rule the landscape that you know." Here is a song that acknowledges Law and Order are not the synonyms they’re often assumed to be (Allison Brice’s lyrics are clever enough to apply either to relationships or to politics even if the latter is to the fore). In the familiar music-crit parlance of “If You Like X, Why Not Try Y,” fans of Weyes Blood will likely respond to the layers of chiming guitars, wavering synths, and Grimms’ Fairy Tales vocals. But Lake Ruth conjure up a dark cloud of psych-pop perfection all their own. (Jason Lee)

A resident of Brooklyn via Bogotá, Ela Minus cut her musical teeth playing drums in a Colombian hardcore band before moving to Boston to attend the Berklee College of Music, double-majoring in Drum Set and Music Synthesis. Today she’s an analogue electronics auteur whose musical horizons are seemingly endless. On her debut full-length Acts of Rebellion (Domino Recording Company) Ela alternates between propulsive grooves and floating ambient soundscapes–the latter Eno-esque instrumentals given evocative names like “pocket piano,” “let them have the internet” and “do whatever you want, all the time.” These titles reflect Ela Minus’s lyrical approach elsewhere where she advocates for self-determination, empowerment and the search for one’s own natural rhythms. Speaking of which Acts of Rebellion makes for ideal late-night listening (“I never feel more myself than when it’s dark” she sings at the end of “dominique”) projecting a womb-like warmth onto the listener. (Jason Lee)

It was just over a week ago that Pure Adult played a raucous set on BABY TV, the socially distanced version of indie venue Baby’s All Right, and this writer is still recovering. The Brooklyn-duo-turned-live-foursome is known for filtering adult concerns–e.g., late capitalism, social control, granny panties–through a childlike impulsiveness whose end result is a big wonderful mess of burbling synths, stuttering drums, gratuitous guitar pedal abuse and brief spasms of strutting rawk. Pure Adult’s mix-and-match aesthetic is not unlike a kid let loose with a 128-count box of crayons, fresh piles of Play-doh and a prescription of Ritalin. The set below opens with the band’s as-yet-unreleased “Ain’t I A Woman” (shout out to Sojourner Truth) segueing into “The New Guillotine” (see underwear fetish above), a track from the band’s debut EP S/T (self-titled, that is). In these five minutes you get a pretty good idea of what they’re about: a feral Foucauldian funhouse ride that’s equal parts “queasy listening” and raw ecstatic rush. (Jason Lee)

On March 6, 2020, right on the verge of quarantine, Brooklyn-based Frida Kill released their first two songs, recorded live in January 2020, when we could all still attend concerts! Frida Kill describe themselves as “making noise about the dystopian nightmare we are currently stewing in.” The album’s excellent lyrics and cohesive sound are anchored by the strong musicianship of Lily Gist, Maria Lina, Jeanette D. Moses, and Gabriela Canales. In this time of turmoil, Frida Kill provide a refreshing voice and perspective in the Brooklyn scene.

NYC’s soul act and visual artist Brittany Campbell, who was featured on the cover of The Deli’s issue #45 back in 2016, when print was still a thing, unveiled this animated video for the song Matter, dedicated to the BLM movement. "I wrote the song when the protests started happening nationally for this resurgence of the Black Live Matter movement" – says Brittany – "I was creating a lot of art, at the time, (both visual and sonic) in tribute to Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery etc…A lot of the visuals used in the video are those very same pieces. The song was brought to life by producer Sam Hoffman (Mereba)."

Brooklyn’s Knot raised from the ashes of Boston’s Krill, and offer a tense mix of nervy post-punk instrumentation and ’90s slacker vocals that perfectly blend two genres that have stood the test of time in the constantly evolving sea of rock’n’roll waves. The single Knot, streaming, is included in their debut, self titled LP out on August 28 on Exploding in Sound. 

I never did a proper introduction when assuming role of Managing Editor of The Deli NYC, but, hello — my name is Connor Beckett McInerney, and I’ve served as editor for the Deli’s NYC blog since November of last year. Today is my last day. 

I hope you’ve enjoyed the music that we’ve highlighted on this blog since my tenure began in late 2019 — much like my predecessor Paolo De Gregorio I sought to highlight the city’s experimental, independent, and often overlooked artists to the best of my ability. 

The Deli was one of the first publications to pay me for my work as a critic when I first arrived in NYC several years ago, and stepping down feels a bit like "the end of an era" in a personal capacity. Nevertheless I am incredibly grateful to Paolo for giving me this tremendous opportunity. If you’ve enjoyed the music I’ve spotlighted on this blog, feel free to follow my personal Twitter account (hyperlinked above) and check out my radio show, LOCAL BOPS, which airs every Tuesday night on KPISS.fm. 

As a final note, I want to say thanks to everyone who submitted music, read the blog, or passed along a word of encouragement. I hope to see you at the gig someday.

Kindest regards,  
Connor
 

“Opulent Field,” the latest video by NYC experimental quartet JOBS, feels simultaneously complex and minimalistic. Utilizing repetitive instrumental elements (namely guitar and cello), in tandem with a tightly-wound electronic percussive overlay, JOBS’ sound is hypnotic yet never overindulgent, relying upon precise interweaving of acoustic and synthetic parts to craft dreamily distant indie rock. Moreover, the band’s give-and-take approach to performance and the decision to keep their sound grounded makes for an intrepid-yet-quiet listen — stream it below, and keep an ear out for the band’s forthcoming endless birthdays, out August 7th.

The music of Brooklyn-based indie pop duo Tallbird is a consistent blend of idiosyncratic and sincere, marked by joyful subject matter expressed in a manner that’s warm and, occasionally, fluorescent. Take new single “Battery” as an introductory smattering of the band’s colorful approach to sound collage — bombastic horns, a marching rhythmic core, and sweet vox by Erica Marchetta-Wood converge in maximalist fashion, yet the sound is never overwhelming and feels ever-familiar. It’s fitting then that the song’s subject matter deals with having an extremely extroverted friend who can be, in a sense, a “bit much” at times; give it a listen below and keep an eye out for Tallbird’s forthcoming record Lost Pet Poster Temple out September 25. Photo by Erica Marchetta-Wood

There’s something endearing about nakedly bearing one’s heart on your sleeve, and Jonathan Something captures a bygone 80s pre-sadboy bravado in new video “I Tried To lose You But I Don’t Know How.” Forlorn melody and plucky Yamaha synths bring a vintage aesthetic to the forefront (as does the quasi-VHS grain of the visuals), but Something really sells it in his panache, both in physical movement and vocal prowess; his pop vocal delivery occupies the liminal space between camp and classic, equally evocative of both James Murphy and George Michael. Tongue in cheek and deceptively catchy, watch the video below, and stream his new record Cannibal House Rules, out now via Solitaire Recordings. Photo by Mike Boyle