NYC’s We Are The Woods (not to be confused with Brooklyn’s band Woods) will release a new album this October. Their previous release was a Deli Record of the Month in 2011. Entitled “Whales & Roses,” the new album features the band’s signature vocal harmonies courtesy of singers Jessie Murphy and Marcia Webb. The vocal duo is accompanied by the band’s ornate instrumentation, which includes, among others, acoustic guitars, strings, flutes and tubas. We Are The Woods will hit NYC this fall at the Rockwood Music Hall September 5th and at the Living Room September 30th. Check out the title track to the upcoming album streaming below. – Read a recent Deli interview with the band here.

Mat Shoare and his band, The Empty Spaces, owe a lot to Buddy Holly, Duane Eddy and The Ventures. On Party Line, the band’s second EP, though, Shoare delivers a little more rockabilly and Replacements with his pop (especially on the brief standout, "Jackie Says"). You gotta give it up to the band, however, for embracing all the slap delay, Ampex tape and Stratocasters of old, without sounding merely like a tribute band. Recording live, the band captures the energy of its live shows. And like any good EP or 45, Party Line gives fans an snapshot of the band, unadorned with studio chicanery.

The EP starts fittingly with the title track, “Party Line,” a good indication of where the band’s headed in the next 20 minutes. The strongest track, "The 1960s Divorce Rate Blues," benefits most from the live recording when it collapses from a rocking 4/4 into a doo-wop waltz. The closer, "B-52’s," pushes the rockabilly envelope farthest. With the rhythm section carrying the song, Shoare has fun with a spring reverb tail louder than his twangy guitar.

With occasional mistakes that seem intentionally left in, these recordings certainly feel live. They could also benefit from overdubbing. Some background vocals or an occasional second guitar part give the listener something to return to. That minor complaint aside, one thing’s for certain, listening to Party Line aptly prepares anyone for an Empty Spaces concert. In the age bands filling out their live sound with auxiliary band members and laptops, this can certainly be refreshing.

Listen to tracks from The Empty Spaces’ first EP Low Noise at their page on Golden Sound Records.

The Empty Spaces will be kicking off a short Midwestern tour to celebrate the release of Party Line on Thursday night at The Brick with Soft Reeds and The Caves. From there, they’ll be hitting St. Joseph (Cafe Acoustic on Friday), Omaha, Des Moines, Minneapolis, Chicago, St. Louis, and Lawrence (The Jackpot on August 4).

–Jonathon H. Smith

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As the clock ticks away, there’s a fragility to every existence that Brooklyn’s experimental quintet In One Wind has captured with an admirable dramatic intensity. Drifting from the aesthetic innovations of their debut towards something more conceptual, they developed for their first EP Lean six narratives built upon an unstable structure, where each voice, with a warm candor, struggles to find its place, and pace itself to the rhythm of the song. Some find a note, a glimpse of a hook on which to rest, if only for a second; some find a partner, and as a solo turns to duet, gain a strength that can settle a tempo, or turn acoustic melancholia into distorted noise-rock; only the poor Drunkard finds nothing, and until the end of his sad tale sways uncertain as a subtle cymbal going crescendo suggests the weight of his time rushing by. Despite nuances of folk, jazz and rock, Lean defines an expressionist world of its own, where the textures and arrangements hold as much narrative power as the words themselves, if not more.  – Tracy Mamoun

The evolution of Vivian Girls’ founding member Cassie Ramone’s other project known as The Babies takes another step forward with the release of the 7" "Moonlight Mile," presented as an appetizer for the band’s upcoming new album. Started as a very DIY psych-pop band, the group in the last year has morphed its sound towards a new, more defined direction, which finds inspiration in the American Roots Rock of the 80s filtered through Frank Black’s odd chord progressions and relentlessly tense pop anthems.

Lead vocals handled this time by writing partner (and Woods’ bassist) Kevin Morby, a cautionary tale is laid out about the perils traveling down an uncertain road. Cassie contributes significantly with the hook-laden background vocals, which at times almost sounds like a horn section. A piercing lead guitar riff emerges, echoing the train metaphor that culminates the song’s lyrical statement. The track can be streamed now and will be released as the first single by the Woodsist label on August 14. The full album titled "Our House On The Hill" will be released in the fall. The 7" release will feature an exclusive B-side and is limited to 1,000 copies. The band will be playing multiple shows in Brooklyn, beginning with Public Assembly on 7/25, Union Pool on 7/28, Secret Project Robot on 7/31, McCarren Park on 8/15 and Union Pool again that same night. – Dave Cromwell

The man behind Seaflower must have listened to at least a little Black Sabbath during his teenage years. Ozzy’s tradition of nightmare guitar riffs and psychotically warped vocals is continued with rare aggression by Jersey native Joseph Biondi’s dizzying brand of hard rock.

But if anything, the solo project of Joseph Biondi is much more to the point than many of his influences. It seems when Seaflower needs to make a point, he prefers the axe to the scalpel. ‘Opossum Dreams’ (streaming below) has a hook and enough dissonance to justifies any amount of blank, while ‘Fuck You, Steve‘ is about well…. maybe just listen to the song yourself. Biondi’s brand of hyper-intense passion is bound to scare off some, for those left behind… it may be exactly what you need after a long week at the office. – Mike Levine (@Goldnuggets) – This bandsubmitted their music for review here.

Editor’s note: Today we begin a weekly Q&A of Kansas City musicians. We’ll be using the same questions each week so you can get to know the artists a little bit better. And if you’d like to be included, please send us a message at kceditor@thedelimagazine.com and we’ll get you in!

This week we’re joined by Jesse Kates, frontman of The Sexy Accident.

The Deli: Gun to your head: one sentence to describe your music.  What is it?

So it looks like Emily Wells (who recently relocated from LA to NYC) has finally let her guard down. After several records spent experimenting with her sample-based mix of chamber instruments and rock attitude, gypsy vocals and even some brief rapping interludes, she has released the first single to her new record ‘Mama,’ and it is something far bolder than expected.

‘Passenger’ contains that rare sort of rapture which is as surprising as it is comforting. With this track, Emily Wells may very well have crafted one of the best songs of the year, while proving the theory that to be a true badass, you have to be vulnerable.

Emily on tour will be supporting Minneapolis folk band Dark Dark Dark, a group that should help let the holy ghost in before Ms. Wells comes out. Join the bands when they return from national tours to play Friday, October 12th at The Knitting Factory. – Mike Levine

Darrin Bradbury (http://darrinbradbury.bandcamp.com/), the front-man for the North Jersey thrash-folk outfit Big Wilson River, will play a solo show at The Studio at Webster Hall on July 31st. In preparation for the show, Bradbury has organized his back catalog to chronicle his eight-year (and counting) career. Included among the traditionally recorded EPs are live tracks and demo tapes. One such demo is “Biscuits and Gravy,” which sounds reminiscent of a long-lost John Prine track. Check out Bradbury at the Studio Tuesday next week, and listen to “Biscuits and Gravy” streaming below. –

Joshua S.Johnson

At a DIY junction between industrial, goth rock and contemporary noise, Brooklyn’s Dolores Boys introduced themselves at the start of the year with a dark self-titled debut (Psychic Mule). Drilling, screeching, rasping sounds, distortion, bad recording and ominous drumbeats, inspired by ‘sado-masochism’ and ‘confusion’… neither techniques nor influences matter much as long as the sum is unhinging. Even ‘Jesus Gave Up On Blues Singers’, filled with silence and minor tones, is somewhat a soft torture of a blues track. Recording in ‘a claustrophobic coffin of a box 6 steps down’ with a balance of pedal effects and odd electronic noises, the duo sustains the angst as the soundtrack to their horror scenario drifts from chaos to eerie calm. On July 19th they played a noise rock party at Xpo929 with Insect, Hot Tub Panorama and Ice Balloons. Tracy Mamoun

Anya Skidan is a young Brooklyn based singer songwriter who’s not afraid to charge her tunes with melancholy and sadness. Haunted with emotion, her voice floats on a layer of sparse, dreamy tracks. In the first song off of her LP ‘Shine the Brightest,’ her raw, natural voice has an eerie vibe reminiscent of a darker Kimya Dawson. The track, “Spiritual”, sets an interesting tone for the whole album, and showcases Skidan’s knack for portraying deep emotions and drastic tones. "Hidden Treasures" (streaming below) and “Soft and Gentle” have a more up-tempo feel, while “Summer is Gone” sounds like some kind of nightmarish litany where the singing-in-the-round technique is used, in conjunction with a an arrangement full of mallets and other percussions, to enanche the loss of the warm season. This is a budding artist we should keep an ear on. Anya Skidan will be performing on July 26 at Bowery Electric in New York, NY.

(pictured above: The Brannock Device)

There’s no rhyme or reason for what took place. 

No explanation that the normal human mind can calculate.

But it takes those elite few who bring sounds and experiences into our being. Doing the very things our brains only attempt to wrap themselves around.

There are those moments that you find yourself entranced by what you’re hearing. Saturday night at Davey’s Uptown was one of those nights.

The strangely odd but fitting combination of Steady States, The Brannock Device and The Ants was an evening of music for musicians. Three bands with decidedly different styles but conjoined by a passion for the placement of each beat or the merging of each intricate melody.

(pictured above: Steady States)

Steady States began the evening early with a heavy kick to the teeth. There’s no question that this 4-piece group—former members of Mother Culture, Ste. Simone and Last Call (New York)—has a definitive hardcore sound with a quirky sensibility. 

Compared to the bands that followed them, Steady States is relatively new to the scene, only playing in town for the past year. Nonetheless, this resulted in a 35-minute massacre of brute force, knowledge and style. Frontman Joel Shields gives off the mild-mannered vibe of Clark Kent, and explodes out of nowhere with an Ian McKaye sort of intent. At the surface, they have a raw noise post-punk sound. But as the name suggests, each screeching guitar note or yell continually creates another element as it expands and comes into itself. Steady States are unapologetically hardcore punk, with a minute but intelligent invasion of math rock.

Next up, The Brannock Device, a veteran Kansas City group. Watching Brannock can be like going to the symphony. You listen to the congruent convergence of several pieces and attempt to analyze each one in the tiniest of details, whether it be in the machine-like flow of Bernie Dugan’s drumsticks cracking snare hits; Jason Beers’ harmonic bass chords; Marco Pascolini’s ungodly guitar arpeggios; or Elaine McMilian’s theatrical vocal delivery.

The band’s clear connection to one another is evident in each progression. While Brannock’s experimental approach may not be pleasing to every musical palate, there’s an absolute sense of the song composition and execution. It’s a music lesson on how to bring a glowing warmth to each low tone and a melodic depth to each dissonant note. A performance by Brannock brings forth an inner study on how to play music and how to derive satisfaction from creating the exact part you want to create. One that fits together while simultaneously existing on its own plane.

(pictured above: Chad Bryan and Sean McEniry of The Ants)

Rounding out the evening was The Ants from Lawrence, a band fully adept and bent on making music on its own terms. Much like the bands that preceded them, The Ants played their own peculiar brand of music and had a hell of a time doing so. The group has been around almost as long as The Brannock Device and has been crafting its own signature sound ever since.

Frontman and guitarist Chad Bryan knows how to captivate an audience simply by writing bizarre licks and entertaining lyrics. But he goes further by singing with a purely honest vocal style, injecting The Ants’ overall personality. The music is progressive Americana, and never apologizes for being such. Like all of the other bands of the evening, The Ants played exactly what they wanted to, with vigor and expertise. Each song had a sway-inducing quality, often steered by a jangly guitar and just a touch of country swagger. 

At the last song of the set, The Ants invited Marco Pascolini to the stage for a long jam session. From ripping punk notes to disjointed but oddly connected guitar riffs, Pascolini and Bryan performed a battle of wits and wizardry set off by an eccentric expression laid out on keyboard, bass and drums.

This final scene showed us exactly what we had seen that evening: a group of musicians coming together to showcase what they loved, and entertaining and educating its fans at the same time.

–Michelle Bacon

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