Photo Source: The Fruiting Bodies

The Fruiting Bodies will unveil their latest release coming up this Thursday, July 19th at The Comet Tavern. Their first and only prior release was 2010’s simply titled EP.

The two songs on their upcoming 7" – which is named Wilderness Pill – continues their catapulting efforts of instrumental-only precision. The eponymous track "Wilderness Pill" has echoes of a Torche song if the vocalist completely slipped from view; moreover, The Fruiting Bodies concentrate their energy with an experimental-bent that makes the guitars sound soaring and curious.

"Battle Stag" carries flashes of rock ‘n roll, post-punk, and progressive rock. The interplay of melodies on this song in particular demonstrates their propensity for brewing their own intelligent amalgamation of rock frenzy and stop/start rhythms.

Check out The Comet Tavern this Thursday the 19th to see The Fruiting Bodies, as well as My Best Fiend, By Sunlight, and Pranyx. Show is at 9:00pm for $8. Wilderness Pill is already available digitally to stream; listen to "Battle Stag" below and continue onto their bandcamp for more.

– Cameron LaFlam

Shaking Through is a music and video web series featuring emerging independent artists in the recording studio. In their latest episode – curated by Twin Sister – they filmed Deli NYC issue #30 cover band Ava Luna while finalizing a new song in the studio. You can hear to the results below, and see the video/article about that experience here. – Photo by Emily Raw

Noosa is for those late nights where for a variety of reasons, be they heartsickness, dance exhaustion, drugs or all three, you have come to occupy a dream space where you’re no longer entirely sure if the music you’re hearing is coming from your head or from the DJ. Singer/retro-knob twirlers Sky Barbarick and Matt Buszko occupy this space perfectly. Their hypnotic first single ‘Fear of Love,’ while coming pretty much out of nowhere, has stuck like glue to the meatpacking district since it first arrived back in March. Now the mysterious pair have just released a strong self-titled EP, and songs like the volleyball game-ready ‘Sail’ (streaming) and the folksy ‘Mirrors in the Moonlight’ give us a surprising breadth of material that work well against ‘Fear of Love’s’ colder electronics.

A confident start from a ambitious group just beginning their journey. – Mike Levine (@Goldnuggets) – This band submitted their music to The Deli for review here.

I wish all smart people made music like No Shoes – rather than getting too serious about it. Listen to the first minute of ‘Sharkjaw Beartrap’ (streaming below) and you’ll no doubt be amazed by some serious acrobatics, their insistent drum lines and overactive fret tapping guitar action. But while focusing on the band’s technical proficiency, you’ll also probably ask yourself why these guys are screaming about sharks… and what is that weird five-eyed monster doing drinking out of a straw on their bandcamp? While these are probably questions best left unanswered, you have plenty of other things to keep you busy here. No Shoes is a band in such lockstep that even the vocals are all sung in time like a tenacious chant repeated in unison throughout most every song from their new EP ‘Cow Drawings.’

Being smart is one thing… but still making sure your music is fun and raucous enough to make you want to learn all the lyrics to songs about ghosts and lightbulbs ‘Hopscotch (and Tumbling)’ – is quite another. And dammit… that’s what they’ve managed to do. – Mike Levine (@Goldnuggets)

Secret Beach is life distilled to its purest essence: emoticons (‘kiss/wink emoticon’) and being out of school (‘unlearning’). For a band already on their third full-length, it’s amazing how new their unadorned material sounds with each repeated listen. Like John Darnielle of The Mountain Goats, Matt Magelof and Nicole Zumpano possess a simple urgency to their jams that transcend their otherwise lo-fi origins.

So don’t expect any studio sheen here. Theirs are lo-fi jamborees that begin as spontaneously as they end, and I don’t think it would sound right any other way. The straight ahead guitar and voice of this group of friends comes together beautifully imperfect. With so many endless things to think about in life, Secret Beach celebrates all the small moments, with the people surrounding you that make them all possible. – Mike Levine (@Goldnuggets) – This band submitted their Music for review to The Deli here.

On September 21st, 2010, Ra Ra Riot headlined the Bowery Ballroom in New York City for the first time with little known (at the time) fellow Phantogram as their opening act. Wow, how I wish I had 10 bucks and a time machine.

What Ra Ra Riot and I have in common is a past in Syracuse, New York. This is a large reason why I take great pride in them and have for a while. Their success, much like Carmelo Anthony’s and Aaron Sorkin’s, is mine as well. Syracuse was once described as a place where the rapture hit 20 years ago, and I don’t think whoever said that was too far off. So even though Ra Ra Riot was only there for 4 years, they are "ours."

But on June 28th, 2012 they belonged to the only people any band wants to, their few-hundred biggest fans, at The Box on Manhattan’s Lower East Side. For 5 dollars a pop at a venue usually reserved for sexually-charged dance recitals that take place from 1am til dawn, any fan of RaRa Riot who acted fast enough could see their favorite band at the most intimate venue they have played in New York City since that night with Phantogram, almost 2 years ago.

On this night, the opening act (the always-amazing Lissy Trullie) was breathtaking; the crowd was hipsterful, the beer was $8 a bottle and the two girls behind me would not shut the fuck up (how could they afford to get THAT drunk?) Although, they only played a short set, the Ra Ra guys and girls played one of the most well rounded nights I have ever heard from them; this is From me and the 30 Ra Ra diehards I talked to after the gig: it was a fantastic set. – Max Lefkowitz – Read Ryan Henriquez’s 2008 Deli print feature on Ra Ra Riot here.

 Photo Source: Kyle Johnson

Pollens are the newest addition to Tapete Records, a record label based in Germany. Their appearance at Capitol Hill Block Party on July 21st ought to really bring home the excitment of this announcement.

The group began as a project between Hanna Benn and Jeff Aaron Bryant in 2008; through periods of musical experimentation and a self-released EP, they have expanded to their current six member lineup.

Pollens has three songs available for streaming as a preview for the album – entitled Brighten & Break – to come. "Helping Hand" is guided by a mellifluous, repetitive vocal melody that hooks you in with its multi-layered approach. The rhyhtmic patterns are fluid, entrancing, and will induce bouts of blissful swaying.

"Motion King" leads in with a bouncy riff and a subdued beat before gently blending into choruses and instrumental breaks. Their music maintains a quality of purity and vibrancy, uplifted by their powerful vocal ensemble without becoming maudlin. Live, the band pulls you with their energy – genuine and inclusive, but controlled.

Brighten & Break is due for a September 21st release date. Until then, give Pollens’ tracks a listen and find yourself spirited away. Listen to "Motion King" below and the other songs on their bandcamp. They will appear on the Neumos Stage at 3:00pm on Saturday, July 21st at the Capitol Hill Block Party. Be there.

– Cameron LaFlam

The Numbs has its first cassette coming out this Sunday, July 15th. The record – entitled People – will be released courtesy of Couple Skate Records. 

It is a one-man project, engineered by Jeff Johnson, the artist who is one half of the experimental and enigmatic duo U. The only track available for streaming right now, "Freaks Easy," syncs with its name perfectly. It swoons like a minitature soundtrack to someone’s odd carnival.

The sounds are peculiar, but ineffably tinged with a light and happy spirit. Almost if he were reimagining an instrumental track for Olivia Tremor Control. There are accordion-like noises, a door creaking, a small locomotive – and other repetitive, fragmented sounds which coalesce to form a twitchy, wordless song.

Stream "Freaks Easy" below and see how easily it sinks into you. Check back at Couple Skates Records website to purchase People soon.

– Cameron LaFlam

Check out the new video from Clay Hughes, called "The Love I Gave Ya" from his upcoming project Four. The track was originally released last year on Hughes’ collaboration The Whether Machine with JKR70. 

Hughes is a part of Sharp County Records, a local label founded by Lennon Bone of Ha Ha Tonka. 

Four will be available on July 24. Until then, you can catch Hughes at Saints in Lawrence on Friday, July 13 and The Granada on Saturday, July 21, when he opens for George Watsky.

Are your ready for a weekend of beats, rhymes, and mayhem? Dust off your flyest kicks and your Cazale shades, because it’s summertime, and there’s rap in the air. New York boom-bap demigod El-P (video below), who recently released his 5th solo studio album on Fat Possum Records, “Cancer 4 Cure,” will rock Irving Plaza this Friday the 13th. If post-apocalyptic jazz-rap is not exactly your bent, then you can skip over to the Mercury Lounge for a heavy dose of Funky with Brooklyn’s dance-rap outfit Deathrow Tull and funk-damentalist Bernie Worrell (P-Funk, Talking Heads). Saturday you can revisit your roots at the 8th Annual Brooklyn Hip Hop Fest. You’ll see a diverse array of new and old-school artists including Maya Azucena, Freeway, and the mighty Busta Rhymes. Later Saturday night, test your mettle as east village gem NUBLU hosts the bombastic Underground Horns in what will surely be a sweat-drenched carnival of hip-gyration and swagger. After a rejuvenating Sunday afternoon BloodyMary-soaked brunch, saunter over to Brooklyn Bowl at 6pm where Queens legend Pharaohe Monch (pictured) will be rocking alongside Olamide and J Ross Parrelli as part of a fundraiser for MORE THAN ME, a local non-profit which builds schools for orphans in war-torn Liberia. Monday, unfortunately, you might have to go back to work. -=brokeMC

The brainchild of Brooklyn based programmer Bonnie Baxter, Shadowbox offers dark electronica reminiscent of some wonderfully grieving and rather damaged 4AD records of the late 80s/early 90s – This Mortal Coil in particular. Matt Kliegman’s video of the song "AM" (see below) visually translates Bonnie’s troubled tune by focusing its attention on a mysterious man, who looks like what could be the child born from a genetic experiment mixing the DNAs of Neo from "The Matrix" and Alex from "A Clockwork Orange" – the type of guy you may not want to meet when you are alone in a subway station: kind of scary, but very cinematic! Shadowbox will release the EP Haunted by Colors on July 24.