Fantastic bill on Friday 08.05 at Prospect Park with some of The Deli’s favorite NYC bands ever. You should know by now that we have a VERY soft spot for Buke & Gass (7pm), the avant-indie duo of music instruments inventors that sounds like no other band out there, and which we featured on our NYC magazine cover back in 2008 (cover feature here). The band officially entered the Olympus of the NYC music scene when they shared the stage with Lou Reed at The Stone eaerlier this year. Delicate Steve (on stage at 8pm) has been also covered and cuddled by The Deli in our recent print issues – we also booked him/them for both our SXSW 2011 show and our B.E.A.F. fest in NYC. The man plays really inventive instrumental music. Headlining this bill will be Ra Ra Riot, a band we featured in print back in 2007 (interview here), just before they conquered the world.

A few days ago, we mentioned Aviation Orange’s release on Friday, but there’s no way we’re letting this weekend go by without hinting of another record release from Finding Fiction, same night and same place, just a couple sets later (11pm, PIANOS, 158 Ludlow at Stanton). Finding Fiction is for those who like The Getup Kids, Summerteeth, Wilco, and "Pablo Honey"-era Radiohead, although some of their latest tracks have deviated from the sound they’ve always played – in this regard, see if you like Weathermen, a song from the band’s new album featuring prominent percussions, and a pointillist use of the guitar. The single Migraines & Sheep is streaming down here. – Caitlin Clive

Having trouble finding your bong? Maybe if you smoked, you’d remember that it’s under your Bob Marley tapestry! Of course requires some heady vibes, and this is exactly what Technicolor Lenses has crafted for you. The beats gently coax your eyelids open wider than you thought possible, and MC ApoSoul laces the tracks with well- delivered earth-conscious raps. Spiced with techno and jam-band elements, the Lenses craft a sound all their own. Soul searchers need look no further, their debut "New Eyes" is the key to a truly visionary rap experience. – BrokeMC

If I was making a post-apocalyptic film I would cast Jason Anthony Harris.  I’d put him in a cornfield.  
The leading lady suffers from hallucinations.  She runs through detritus, over shattered neon.  The bottom drops out.  The hallucinations recoil.  She finds herself at the edge of a vast expanse of field.
As she weaves her way through the ghostly husks, poly-rhythmic blurbs pulse in and out.  She follows the sound, the clouds pass over too quickly, Jason Anthony Harris sits amidst rotten cobs, a single soul surgically bound to a fusion of loop station, vocoder, decades of effects pedals welded together, banging his microphone into dry earth and crooning a twilight monologue.  Amplified fuzz settles behind him and retorts, blistering, as a chorus of 100 looped voices swallow time.  She is mesmerized.
He doesn’t see her.  He continues tweaking the corn husks, banging the mic, discovering enhancements to this improvised loop, voice magnificent and morose, lost in a world of single being in performance.  She kneels to catch his gaze, to no avail.  The music grows frantic, the looped chorus relapses into a single, flat-lined tone.  He utters something with his gently immaculate British accent but we can’t make out what he’s saying as the hallucinations have returned, violently raining antique tea cups, pieces of scone, all of it looped and oddly beautiful.  Our leading lady is running, running through the cornfield, Harris’s opus tripping her, heavy, dance-worthy beats and a gritty pool of sonic potential, waiting to be tapped. – Valerie Kuehne

LA/NYC based alt-folk duo Pink and Noseworthy (who placed 64th in our Best of NYC 2010 poll for emerging artists) takes the traditional collaborative dynamic of male/female singer-songwriters and adds a dash of dream-like alternative-pop. Their music has an air of 70s simplicity thanks to Mark Noseworthy’s perfectly balanced instrumentation, serving Shanee Pink’s honest and moving voice. The songs "She" and "Something Better" (amongst our favorites) create a perfect balance of intimacy, tension and melody reminiscent of early Leonard Cohen. "Light Feather" – another highlight – blends twangy guitars, playful piano parts and soft percussions, slowly building, one pretty melody after another, towards a beautiful looping finale. The band has upcoming shows scheduled both in NYC and LA: Sullivan Hall (NYC) at 10pm on Aug 3rd and Hotel Cafe (LA) on September 8th. Highly recommended. – Christina Morelli

"Forever", the debut LP from Austin-based Stefanie Franciotti (out on September 27), is a record of pastoral psychedelia, swirling texture, and unforgettable vocal strains, combining both synth landscapes and pop architecture to create an unfolding sense of yearning. Her voice weaves in and out of brethren synth and guitar timbres, unfolding over time outlined by minimal drum machine pulse, creating tape-saturated pop gems and ominous moments of synth shimmer that recall both dream pop and industrial urgency. Her synth work tends towards the warbly atmospheres – they bend and fuse like crusts of dried REM tears – and the songs have a dusty arc, with stark melodies that recall the spacious melancholia of Julee Cruise. Forever possesses an earthy, melting quality, reflecting Stefanie’s Texan roots in HD – hi-fi meets lo-fi, night meets day.

Austin-based singer-songwriter Lex Land will play Eastside Showroom on August 13 to support her sophomore release, "Were My Sweetheart To Go" (out 8/16). Lex, who has a classically trained, beautiful voice, creates rootsy pop gems reminiscent of a less experimental, more straight forwardly pop version of St. Vincent.

Frontwoman/guitarist Somer Bingham’s Clinical Trials’ follow up EP "Bleed Me" is a dark detour into the fringe regions of rock music – a tense, daring and unpredictable departure from the much more straightforward pop-rock tracks of "In the Wake of the Digital Afterlife" (January 2010) – we like what we hear. As the title may suggest, the tone of the EP is self-assured and challenging, sexual and a bit morbid. The EP release party is at Union Pool on 08.03. Unmastered mixes of the songs are being posted on the band’s SoundCloud page.

NYC uber-poppy collective The Orion Experience just released the video for this Motown sound inspired song "NYC Girl".
 

The energetic and punky stylings of New York/New Jersey’s The Static Jacks are amplified
to even more pressing levels on their newest record and sophomore release, “If You’re Young”
due out August 30. To celebrate the upcoming date, The Static Jacks will be joining the Escape
to New York Festival August 5 in Southhampton. The first preview of the new album,
the second track, “Girl Parts,” is available for public consumption and characterizes “If
You’re Young’s” slamming drums, frantic pace, aggressive and howling vocals, and overall,
consistently boisterous attitude. Other album highlights include a revision of “My Parents Lied,”
drawn from their EP, “Laces,” a gentler tune, “Sonata (Maybe We Can Work It Out?),” and
freewheeling “Blood Pressure.” “If You’re Young” demonstrates The Static Jacks’ growth as
a band and the establishment of a more identifiable and relatable sound. – Meijin Bruttomesso