Selling out the Bowery Ballroom is probably one of the top dreams of most (if not all) indie musicians familiar with the beautiful Lower East Side’s venue, and it’s very satisfying to see that, in an era obsessed with the latest and newest acts, this was accomplished by a band that’s been around (while growing in popularity) for 3-4 years like Savoir Adore – we are referring to the June 22 show. Led by a singing boy/girl duo Paul Hammer and Deidre Muro, Savoir Adore’s charming electro pop has been evolving in a dreamier direction, as testified by the new EP and video (streaming below) appropriately entitled "Dreamers." – Read a Deli 2009 interview with Savoir Adore here.
On The Beat with Bernie Dugan
This week’s edition of On The Beat features multi-faceted drummer Bernie Dugan of The Brannock Device, Cher U.K., and The Quivers. He’s a busy guy and a gear head. How does he do it? Catch the beat right here!
On The Beat is a weekly interview brought to you by drummer Sergio Moreno (of Hillary Watts Riot and Alacartoona), and features some of the many talented drummers in the Kansas City area.
NYC band on the rise: Manicanparty
What strange frequency does Manicanparty exist on? Not an easy question to answer. With singer/songwriter Jessica Corazza overlaying obscure references on top of ethereal imagery – and of producer Patrick Morrissey’s endless interventions – the group seems to create their world anew with each song they add to their site.
Just check out the intensely chanted gymnastics of ‘Monarch,’ and you’ll wonder if a new tribe has formed somewhere in Brooklyn, and you’re the last to know about it. Latest track ‘Animal’ – a Miike Snow Cover – takes the Brooklyn duo one step further. You will most likely find it impossible not to fall in love with Jessica as she takes on all manner of shapes and suggestions in the track’s just-released video. Animal, human or otherwise, this is a band that beams all of its music down to Brooklyn from another place entirely.
Manicanparty played BMI’s New Music Seminar’s showcase at the Gramercy Theater yesterday (June 19) – Mike Levine (@Goldnuggets)
NYC post-punks Relations release debut EP at Matchless on 06.28
New York City’s Relations revive the intense aesthetics of post-punk’s heydays through an eclectic set of four tracks exploring the unsettling contradictions of the genre’s heritage. Only steps away from the explosive 1980s wave of uptempo self-loathing, old-time friends Terrence Murren and Michael Sanders build – upon head-bopping offbeat rhythms and rolling bass lines – a fast-paced narrative, tinted with nostalgia and that effervescent angst of young love. Get ready for a disturbingly pleasant journey to the center of their minds as the duo celebrates the release of the eponymous debut EP with a show at Matchless on June 28. In a refreshingly dark alternative to the gleeful connotations of most synth-based acts, their screeching guitars and dissonant dialogues bring a twist to unforgettable Factory & Co influences. Tempted? Sample or purchase the EP on the 100mrecord store, you’ll get the gist. – Tracy Mamoun
Up and coming NYC Soul diva: Orly – live at The Blue Note on 07.13
Mary J. Blige sounding too contemporary for you? Try Orly, a young diva who could rightfully be described as the soul throwback Queen. The Manhattanite’s fixation with vinyl groove soul shows her capably belting out funk jams (‘Now’s the Time’), love weary power ballads (‘Get Together With The One You Love’) and ladies’ night anthems (‘It’s Alright’) the way you remember them best from dad’s record collection.
Utilizing a timeless blend of virtuosic singing picked up when studying voice in Australia, coupled with revealing lyrics in her debut LP ‘Distraction,’ this old soul is breathing new life into a genre too often distracted with gimmicky props, when really all that’s needed is the right singer to bring it’s grooves to life. Orly will smooth even the most frazzled of Sunday morning nerves, and get you moving at the same time.
See her when she plays The Blue Note on July 13th, and check out ‘Distraction’ here. – Mike Levine (@Goldnuggets)
Conveyor celebrates full length release at Mercury on 06.28
Brooklyn’s avant pop band Conveyor presents a sonic palette composed by an intriguing blend of styles and influences, combining the percussion of afropop with moody electronics and rhythmically patterned vocals. Many of the songs in their upcoming self-titled album are the result of a collaborative writing process, resulting in intricate arrangements reminiscent of Animal Collective’s more melodic experiments. Time signatures out of the 4/4 mold also reveal musicians not content to rely on the safety of familiar patterns. The band will celebrate the release of their debut full-length (under Paper Garden Records’ wing) with a show at The mercury Lounge on June 28. Recommended! – Dave Cromwell
Violens debut new video for “When to Let Go”
We’ve always had a weak spot for Violens. This brand new song and video "When to Let Go" marries their light shoegazer sound with some kind of new-romantic aesthetics from the 80s.
Album review: Gemini Revolution – Other Side of Yesterday EP
“Can you picture the armada of Hello Kitty spaceships?” -Gen. Marsupial Takahashi
Someday, Japan is going to send people to Mars. It’s true. I’m pretty sure Gemini Revolution will provide the soundtrack while the astronauts will kick it during their long journey through space.
The Other Side of Yesterday EP is hacky sack music for Asian hipsters. It reeks of patchouli and mirin equally. This is the weird Asian record the Doors would have made had they lasted long enough. It’s kinda jammy, pretty psychedelic, and superbly spacey.
Gemini Revolution takes the Taj-Mahal Travelers playbook, cut out the boring extreme avant-garde randomness, and pop it up a bit. The slow building, eventually lush arrangements feature a mostly free-form rhythm section that provides enough randomness to contrast the layered cheap keyboards. The reverb-maxed vocals come and go sparingly, adding a textural component to music that is clearly focused on the other instrumentation.
The stand out of this EP is the title track “Other Side of Yesterday." Reminiscent of Modest Mouse, the song goes through many variations of stripping down and being built back up. It also utilizes the vocals the best of any song in this batch, with a pleasant back and forth during the choruses. Mix in the melodic bass work, the Kenny G-esque saxophone keyboard doodling, and the random percussion introduced throughout, and you’re left with a song that tows the ADHD line, yet ends up accessible and groovy overall.
Some might say this sound is dated, but Gemini Revolution has a very specific thing they are going for. It is refreshing to hear a group of musicians just doing their thing, regardless of what is dictated by the musical trends around them.
-Zach Hodson
| Zach is a lifetime Kansas City resident who plays multiple instruments and sings in Dolls on Fire, as well as contributing to many other Kansas City music, art, and comedy projects. He is very fond of edamame, treats his cat Wiley better than he treats himself, and doesn’t want to see pictures of your newborn child (seriously, it looks like a potato). |
Editor’s note: Gemini Revolution released the follow-up EP to Other Side of Yesterday on June 14, entitled Sizuka. We’ll have a review of this album to you very soon!
Found in our digital submissions: Isle of Rhodes
Like My Morning Jacket and affiliated supergroup Monsters of Folk, Isle of Rhodes succeeds in combining the musicianship of groove-based jam bands with a folk core that reminds you these guys don’t just know how to play, they’ve got something to say too. For the band’s just-released debut full-length ‘All Rivers and Oceans,’ singer/Rhodes obsessive Rob Farren digs these dreamy statements into some seriously washy reverb treatment, drawing on topographical references to illuminate the thrill of new love in ‘Young Love.’
But his heart really seems to lie in the freedom of life off-shore. From opener ‘Oceans’ (streaming) to the stomping ‘Eyes Like The Sun,’ Farren paints a world of surf and sand where one experience melts into the next, and innocent pleas against change get washed away with the next tide. Wherever Isle of Rhodes take you, it’s usually an elevated place to match the screeching alto Farren has mastered.
Check out their new full-length here and see the band when they play at Don Pedro on June 23rd. – Mike Levine (@Goldnuggets) – Isle of Rhodes submitted their music for review here.
Daryl Shawn plays all NYC Boroughs in one day for Make Music NY
Daryl Shawn is one of those acoustic guitar gems that can seize you and drag you along with him in an erratic dance in the pick of a string. Blending African, Andalusian and European classical influences acquired in his early years of musical exploration, San Francisco born Daryl Shawn’s vocal compositions bring an unsettling touch to the soothing sounds of his guitar solos. It is clumsy in a Syd Barret kind of way, delightfully disharmonious, and only gets better as the stories unfold in angst and precipitation. The tempos clash as the voice nonchalantly tells the colorful tales of a West Coast white boy, while the instrumentals get carried away in an exotic adventure of their own. Currently based in Brooklyn, Shawn is working on a range of new material which he will be presenting during a tour of the US West Coast this fall. But for now he’s training for a personal musical marathon which will take him to play 5 shows in NYC – one per borough – during Make Music NY on June 21. He picked a hot day for a marathon! Watch out for updates, and in the meantimes, treat yourself to some of his work, both vocal and instrumental, on the website. – Tracy Mamoun
The Deli Kansas City is born!
Deli Readers,
In our plans of constant expansion of our coverage towards new music scenes, admittedly Missouri wasn’t the top priority, but since we found some seriously committed partners over there (the awesome people at the Midwest Music Foundation) we decided to launch a Deli Kansas City web page! While working on the site we have actually discovered a very lively scene with some really cool bands. Go ahead and explore it!
The Deli’s Staff
Talk Normal signs record deal + announces album + plays Glasslands on 06.22
When a band that graced the cover of one of our NYC print issues signs with a record label, it’s always cause for celebration here at The Deli. Brooklyn based female duo Talk Normal inserts itself in the NYC tradition of noise worshippers started in the early 80s by the Brian Eno blessed No Wave movement, and maybe even earlier by Lou Reed’s most uncompromising experiments both solo and with the Velvet Underground. With their previous debut full length released in 2009, a new album by these rad ladies is now overdue, and scheduled for release in October – it’s title "Sunshine". If you can’t wait to get your ears abused and your brain melt by Talk Normal’s dissonant and uncompromising tunes, you can go see them at Glasslands on June 22. Streaming below, the single "In A Strangeland" from their debut album "Sugarland".