NYC

Moonmen on the Moon, Man – EP release party at Cake Shop on 02.03

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Moonmen on the Moon, Man, the lo-fi project involving Cake Shop owner and booker Andy Bodor, will be celebrating their debut EP release with a show on Friday February 3, at the Ludlow Street venue. The band blends punky guitars, lo-fi attitude and girl vocals accompanied by a somewhat crooked choir of backing vocals.

NYC

Thieving Irons play Monday residency at The Rock Shop

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Nate Martinez’s brain child Thieving Irons recently released this video of the song "So Long," which sent us flat out on a trip to the early 2000s, when The Beta Band was our favorite band in the universe. This music’s most peculiar quality is that it manages to be haunting and melancolic but at the same time also fun. The band will be playing a Monday February residency at The Rock Shop, we recommend indie pop seekers to make plans to catch at least one of their shows.


 

NYC

Austin Year End Poll SonicBids submission winners: Holy Wave

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There’s a very simple way to describe Holy Wave‘s music: the Austin based group sounds like a shoegazer version of early Pink Floyd (the awesome ones still under Syd Barret’s musical influence). Barret’s unpredictable but haunting songwriting and his band mates’ knack for droney experimentation are revisited here and taken to the sonic extremes proper of shoegazer music. Psych rockers from every corner of the universe will surely be happy to get lost in this (interstellar) ocean of sound. Holy Wave qualified to the final phase of our poll through SonicBids.

NYC

Vacationer releases “Gone” EP + plans 2012

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As the bleakness that is post-holiday winter in New York stretches endlessly ahead, the phrase, “I need a vacation” rings all too true for many. If you can’t get the time off, look no further than Vacationer’s “Gone EP” set to drop on the last day of the month. Members of electronic collective Body Language plus Kenny Vasoli, formerly of The Starting Line, bring lush waves of ambient indie pop stacked with beachy melodies. The Brooklyn and Philly based band’s dreamy sound is bound to transport souls to a hazy, thoroughly tranquil parallel world. While their music may be quintessentially mellow, Vacationer certainly won’t be relaxing much in the next few months. After they release their EP on the 31st, they’ll be supporting The Asteroids Galaxy Tour, playing shows throughout the US as well as several dates in Canada. In March, Vacationer comes out with their “Gone LP” and will be joining Naked and Famous on another tour. – Corinne Bagish

NYC

Snowmine lands February residency at Pianos – every Thursday

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Brooklyn-based five-piece band Snowmine will be curating and headlining four nights at Piano’s beginning on February 2 and continuing every Thursday for the remainder of the month. Each night will feature three supporting acts and be co-presented by a different partner including ExFm (2/2), The Wild Honey Pie (2/9), our own The Deli Magazine (2/16), and the creative agency Pulp Lab (2/23). The shows are sure to be unique events each time, and will serve as essential hometown showcases before the group heads out to SXSW in March, as well as an upcoming tour in the South & Midwest. The band’s sound embraces an imaginative brand of psych-pop with emphasis on echo pedals, tribal beats, electro-acoustic soundscapes and classical orchestrations. Snowmine is fronted by composer Grayson Sanders, whose vocals have been compared to Robin Pecknold of Fleet Foxes, and Jim James of My Morning Jacket. – Dave Cromwell

NYC

Caveman wins The Deli’s Best of NYC Poll 2011 for Emerging Artists

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Deli Readers,

After a month and a half long painstaking process, we finally have the overall results of The Deli’s Best of NYC 2011 Poll for Emerging Artists.

Congrats to Caveman – who won the poll after being featured on the cover of the NYC Summer 2011 issue of The Deli. This fantastic band received a record number of votes from our jury of NYC scene makers (see list here), which sealed the deal since the early stages of the poll.

—

Lucius

Congrats also to Lucius, who will be featured on the cover of our Spring 2011 issue, since we never give the most coveted glossy page of The Deli to the same band more than once. Lucius – a female fronted alt-roots band we highlighted and booked several times in 2011 – earned the cover by winning the Readers’ and Fans’ Poll. But make no mistake: they fully deserve this prize, just go see them live tonight (01.25) at The Mercury lounge and you will understand why.
—

Widowspeak

Well done to dream-pop masters Widowspeak for their third place, sanctioned by lots of love from our jury and writers. Their stunning debut album on Captured Tracks Records was The Deli’s Record of the Month in August 2011.

 
Artist
J
OS
W

F
TOTAL
 
1
Caveman
13
2
 
0.023
15.023
2
 Lucius
4
 
2
3
9
icon
3
 Widowspeak
6
 
2
0.012
8.012
icon
4
 Friends
7
 
 
0.015
7.015
icon
5
 Monogold
4
1
1
0.128
6.128
icon
6
 Ski Lodge
6
 
 
0.003
6.003
icon
7
 Big Wilson River
3
2
 
0.234
5.234
icon
8
 Ava Luna
3
 
2
0.014
5.014
icon
9
 The Denzels
5
 
 
0.009
5.009
icon
10
 Apollo Run
3
 
1
0.203
4.203
icon
11
 Kung Fu Crimewave
3
 
1
0.101
4.101
icon
12
 Tall Tall Trees
3
1
 
0.077
4.077
icon
13
 Ambassadors
3
 
1
0.033
4.033
icon
14
 Fort Lean
4
 
 
0.013
4.013
icon
15
 Arms
3
 
1
0.007
4.007
icon
 
 Grassfight
1
3
 
0.007
4.007
icon
17
 Body Language
4
 
 
0.005
4.005
icon
18
 Stephie Coplan & the…
 
1.5
 
2.5
4
icon
19
 Starlight Girls
 
1.5
2
0.007
3.507
icon
20
 Hurrah! A Bolt of Light!
 
2
1
0.239
3.239
icon
21
 Black Taxi
 
2
1
0.052
3.052
icon
22
 A$AP Rocky
3
 
 
0.041
3.041
icon
23
 The Can’t Tells
3
 
 
0.017
3.017
icon
 
 Yellow Ostrich
2
 
1
0.017
3.017
icon
25
 Spirit Family Reunion
3
 
 
0.011
3.011
icon
26
 The Men
3
 
 
0.009
3.009
icon
27
 Diane Cluck
2
 
1
0.008
3.008
icon
 
 Zambri
3
 
 
0.008
3.008
icon
29
 Devin
3
 
 
0.007
3.007
icon
30
 North Highlands
2
 
1
0.006
3.006
icon
 
 Skaters
3
 
 
0.006
3.006
icon
32
 Hidden Fees
3
 
 
0.003
3.003
icon
 
 Illuminator
3
 
 
0.003
3.003
icon
34
 Brothers
1
 
 
2
3
icon
35
 The Bottom Dollars
 
1.5
1
0.113
2.613
icon
36
 Field Mouse
 
1.5
1
0.027
2.527
icon
37
 MiniBoone
 
1.5
1
0.008
2.508
  
38
 Futurist
 
1
 
1.5
2.5
icon
39
 Merrily & the Poison Orchard
 
1.25
 
1
2.25
icon
40
 Exemption
 
2
 
0.213
2.213
icon
41
 Mal Blum
 
1
1
0.196
2.196
icon
42
 Deathrow Tull
 
1
1
0.17
2.17
NYC

Sandy Dickerson Experiments on Fifth Ukelele-Centric Solo Album

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At once progressive and rustic, Sandy Dickerson’s solo forays with the ukulele are far from what you would expect from such an apparently simple instrument. From the opening chords on his fifth solo recording, Songs from the Cold Coast, Dickerson shows that the perceived limitations of the instrument won’t prevent him from creating complexly layered folk tunes. He explores its possibilities, making each of its four strings work. Dickerson may be known around town as the bassist for a handful of other bands – the Panda Conspiracy, Big High, Missing Players and the Subdwellers – but with another album, High Seas, on the way in March, this project is hardly sitting on the backburner. Accompanied by drummer and percussionist Steven Barci, and Chris Poage on flute, accordion and clarinet, his commitment to his solo work shows in the thoughtful composition and varied products on each of his albums. Songs from the Cold Coast balances understated, unconventional sounds with accessible language, and its songs run the gamut from upbeat to somber. Sparse melodies on tracks like “This Room” provide a backdrop to Dickerson’s whispery vocals and quietly disconcerting lyrics, while the four-string twang on the comparatively lively “3 or 4” underscores the song’s – and the album’s – alternately assertive and confessional tone.

– Kate Shepherd

NYC

Interview with The Will To Survive: DC Deli’s Band of the Month (January)

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VA’s indie rockers The Will To Survive not only were nominated for best emerging band of the year, earlier this month they were voted by you as our Band of the Month. And with the rad EP The Chattering Teeth Demos, upcoming tours, and an ever growing fanbase, its not a shocker. So we wanted to know more about TWTS, and got a hold of Adam Blackburn (Guitar/ Vocals,) Jared Tampa (Guitar,) Ben Stivers (Bass,) Nic Carchietta (Drums,) and Austin Claywell (Guitar). Here they tell us about basement shows, delay pedals, and their plethora of recordings coming out this year. Now onto the interview…

Check out their awesome track "Drab as a Fool" below, and catch them live next in Richmond VA at the Canal Club on Feb. 8th! –Dawn

NYC

Best of Austin 2011 for Emerging Bands Submission Results: Gashcat, The White White Lights, The St. James Society + More

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Awestiners,

Our Deli jurors just finished rating all the bands that submitted to be considered for our Year End Best of Austin Poll for Emerging Artists – and here are the results for you to check out! The artists in this list will qualify for the next phase of the poll, starting early next week, and will be added to the bands nominated by our jury of local scenemakers.

1.GASHCAT

Gashcat‘s music is a stunning carnival of sounds and influences, ranging from folk-rock to what we like to call avant-indie. Their tunes reveal a rare songwriting talent, paired with imagination in the arrangement department, where horns, synths and strings alternatively accompany the omnipresent power-rock instruments. Fun and musical craft amalgamated in one convincing package.

—

2. THE WHITE WHITE LIGHTS

In the convoluted but somewhat predictable mind of an indie music lover, white light naturally recalls white heat, so we were expecting a very, very, very hot sound from a band called The White White Lights. Well that’s exactly what we found. These guys play some of the most energetic, creative and tense post-punk we stumbled upon in recent times, and their front lady has a voice to die for. Check out this track if you don’t believe us.

—

3a. THE SAINT JAMES SOCIETY

The Saint James Society is not for the faint of heart. Brooding, tense and dark, these guys’ songs draw inspiration from semi-goth bands from the new wave of the early 80s (early Echo & The Bunnymen, Joy Division) and develop them in an entirely new sonic direction, which flirts at once with stoner rock and apocaliptyc drone-rock.

—

3b. WHALERS

We always like it when rootsy music sounds like new again. Whalers achieve this effect in the song "Cheat on Each Other" by introducuing some kind of early Beatles vintage-pop element in this otherwise tratidionally constructed tune, delivered with convincingly raspy vocals. But Whalers are not just that: their latest EP "Paddle Easy" showcases a band able to convey a wide range of emotions and styles.

—

These runners up will also qualify for the next phase of the poll:

4a. EMPIRE MACHINES

—

4b. QUIET COMPANY

—

4c. TIGER WAVES

—

7. BLACK BOOKS

—

8. AUTO BODY

The Deli’s Staff

NYC

Weekly Features: Hunters play Terminal 5 on 02/11

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The raw, punk authenticity of Brooklyn noise-rockers Hunters is something many aim for, but few pull off quite as memorably. The band’s sound is unrefined and visceral. You can almost hear the grit and dirt on their instruments as they bash out their grungy, feedback-drenched riffs and almightily-whacked drum loops, while the desperate yelps of lead vocalists Derek Watson and Isabel Almeida add extra frenetic energy. According to the band, the makeshift way each track was constructed was a beautiful accident, more a product of circumstance than design. – Read Dean Van Nguyen’s interview with the band here.

NYC

Weekly Feature: Alec Gross

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Like a lot of folk singer-songwriters, Alec Gross paints a specific time and place for the experiences that his character (Ron Avery) makes his way through. Most of these aren’t happy times, and this comes through loud and clear on songs like the haunting ‘Burning Grounds,’ inspired by Alec’s trip to the Holocaust museum in Jerusalem and a poem he saw there by Anatoly Kuznetsov.
Most tracks are quiet and moody impressions of an imagined idyllic existence, from the Irish ballad ‘Be Not Jealous of the Sea,’ to the tormented ‘Looking Glass Lies.’ It isn’t until barnburner ‘Strip the Lanterns’ that we hear Gross really cut loose, but it’s well worth the wait through the record’s more even-tempered and traditional sections. – Read Mike Levine interview with Alec Gross here.

NYC

b.FUNK opens for Phife Dawg at B.B.Kings on Feb 23rd.

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To be or not to b.FUNK? It’s a silly question, really. Tis more noble to spit fly rhymes about outrageous fortune than to effuse a sea of wackness, and by opposing the forces of weak lyricism and poor stage presence, to rise – to sleep no more. b.FUNK is a charismatic MC with a natural talent for engaging lyricism and enthralling energy. Even Shakespeare is rumored to have kept him on regular rotation in his ipod. He’ll be opening for the Legendary Phife Dawg at B.B.Kings on Feb 23rd. Bring your lute. – BrokeMC