Ravens & Chimes showcase the kind of urgency you usually expect to hear from folk frontmen desperately running from a broken heart and delaying the pain of unrealized expectations. Lead singer Asher Lack may share many of these same issues, but on sophomore record "Holiday Life" (out April 3rd On Better Looking Records), he handles it all with deft songwriting and a wandering curiosity that launches this record to some surprising places. Filled with sudden stops and orchestral interludes, "Holiday" is very bit a symphony as much as it is a Baroque pop classic. Like them or not, one thing you have to respect about these five NYU grads is how demanding their music can be. This isn’t a group to leave on while cleaning the dishes. Their latest single ‘Night’ contains the kind of contradicting multitudes Whitman might have been proud of. The influence of Asher’s downtown artist dad Stephen Lack must be rubbing off… Check out ‘Night’ below and see them when they play in Zurich, Switzerland on March 6… or just wait until they come back to New York at WNYC Greene Space on June 1st. – Mike Levine (@goldnuggets)

Mp3: Ravens and Chimes – Night

Most musicians dream to to be recognized and praised by their own musical heros, and that very admiration often triggered their ill advised decision to try the rockstar route. This dream suddenly came true for Brooklyn and CT based The Stepkids when, on January 28, none other than Radiohead’s Thom Yorke posted this blog on the band’s site. Since we picked these guys for our cover in our Fall 2011 issue of The Deli, we also feel like a little dream has materialized… MAYBE THOM YORKE READS THE DELI!?! Here’s the song mentioned in the Radiohead blog – it’s called "La La".

Brooklyn-based folk rock band Jones Street Station will be previewing their new EP, “The Understanding,” this Tuesday (February 14) on Spotify.com for 2 weeks and then will be releasing it officially on February 28th. Several tracks from the EP are accompanied by CJ Camerieri (Bon Iver, The National and Sufjan Stevens) on the horn and the music video for the title track (streaming below, directed by Adam Reid) features Danny Pudi from NBC’s “Community.” The band will also play a gig on February 12th at Public Assembly in Brooklyn with Ben Lovett’s (Mumford & Sons) Communion, David Wax Museum, Trixie Whitley, Julie Easterlin and Aoife O’Donovan. Do not miss! – Chelsea Eriksen

A cohesive theme can be a determining factor of whether a live show is actually a show or just a bunch of performances by different artists thrown together by time and space. So, at first blush, the lineup at Webster Hall on the 10th seems like a mishmash put together by a clueless intern. Funky pop (Turkuaz) with hip-hop (Deathrow Tull – pictured) commencing with folk-pop (Futurist)? That would probably leave those unversed in the actual sounds and energies of each band scratching their heads. But, if we’re assigning physical movements, let’s give whoever put this show together a pat on the back instead, because all three artists work at the fringe of their generic bounds. Turkuaz‘s funk and gospel backing vocals leak over inspirations that pull from the past 5 decades. Deathrow Tull offers spitfire rhymes from a three-headed Cerberus of emcees with a backing band tight enough to do battle with the beast, and Futurist harkens to the past with the sounds of strings and colonial drumbeats, but the underlying darkness meshed with sunny demeanor proves they offer enough light to burn. But what really pulls these bands together is that they’ll make you move. Some shows you go to to be seen, this one you should go to to sweat. If you have no plans this Friday or even if you do, check it out. Webster Hall. $10. 7pm doors. P.S. All these bands were featured in the past two editions of The Deli’s Best of NYC Poll for Emerging Artists – allison levin

Rootsy ensemble Lucius once again exceeded our expectations with this stunning video of the song "Go Home" – the single from their upcoming EP. The band will celebrate its release in style with a show at Bowery Ballroom on February 17. Lucius will grace the cover of our upcoming NYC spring issue of The Deli – a spot they won by placing second in our Best of NYC Poll for Emerging Artists (since winners Caveman already were on a previous cover of The Deli).

I came away from listening to Jack Wilson‘s new self-titled album believing that he truly has a very personal way of coating a rust tinged world with some beautiful colors, and a seemingly infinite amount of them. Trying to distance himself from the idea of making a concept album, he really gave himself the opportunity to sing in many voices. This approach allows the emotional ride of this album to be as unpredictable and varying as the course of any other natural human life, allowing it to breathe. Jack is about to release his debut album on Portland based Fluff & Gravy Records. You can catch him live in Austin at Hole in the Wall on February 18. – Michael H

Deli LA Readers,

After a tight competition, talented pop songwriter Sue Scrofa (in the picture with her band) won our Fans and Readers’ Poll for Emerging LA Artists, with a few dozens vote margin over fast and loud art-punk-rockers Stab City. Let us congratulate both bands, who also deserve a big Deli "Thank You" for spreading the word about the poll. Check out also rootsy pop ensemble Yellow Red Sparks, who placed third. Top ten list below, final results of The Deli’s Best of LA Poll for Emerging Artists (which also include jurors and writers votes) will be announced soon.

1. SUE SCROFA

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2. STAB CITY

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3. YELLOW RED SPARKS

Here’s the final top ten of the fans’ and readers’ poll:

BAND VOTES   1 Sue Scrofa 460 2 Stab City 425 3 Yellow Red Sparks 312 4 Dead Ships 242 5 Ross Sea Party 145 6 Toy Bombs 76 7 Incan Abraham 55 8 Tennis System 51  9 Bixby Knolls 46 10 Sabrosa Purr 37

The Deli’s Staff

It’s kind of interesting to see more and more cultural and publishing institutions embrace the cause of emerging indie bands, but we honestly didn’t see this one coming: Sports Illustrated decided to link their popular yearly swimsuit issue to… indie rock bands. We were rather excited at the idea of semi-nude pictures of young hipsters, but our lustful urge was disappointed. The musical artists are only present in this operation with their music, and we guess it’s better that way. Electro-pop ensemble Selebrities is the lucky band that will represent Brooklyn, and was also booked to play the 2 day, Las Vegas based "Swimsuit Beauties & Beats Music Festival," headlined by The Black Keys. Considering that The Sports Illustrated Swimsuit franchise reaches more than 70 million people annually, and more men 18 to 34 than the Super Bowl, this can only be seen as fantastic news for the indie cause – unless you would have rather given that kind of exposure to Chirstina Aguileira or something… Now go ahead Selebrities peeps, and blow those 70 million minds with your tunes!

Brooklyn noisemakers Life Size Maps will be celebrating the release of their new EP at 285 Kent this Thursday February 9th. The Brooklyn trio will bring their variety of noisy garage rock laden with punky hooks and tinny twists to the Williamsburg venue. The show, hosted by Brooklyn DIY promoter Todd P., will kick off at 8:00. Alex Bleeker & the Freaks, The Babies, Darlings, and Heaven’s Gate round out the lineup. – Corinne Bagish

Today we discovered that Los Angeles’ indie pop sensation Dum Dum Girls are partially based in NYC, since front lady Dee Dee currently calls The Big Apple home, while the rest of the band is still based in California. These often bare legged ladies will perform at the Music hall of Williamsburg on February 07 with Deli NYC favorite Widowspeak – a show dream pop lovers shouldn’t miss.