Bucking the trends and uniting disparate genres in an unlikely marriage, native Brooklyn band Indian Rebound have proven you don’t have to trade in your balls to get down with surf rock, and have done all our ears a favor in doing so.
Singer/Guitarist Ethan Levenson & drummer John Kallen have discovered a sweet groove lying somewhere between nuggets-style garage rock and last year’s beach pop craze, proving you can sound sweet and pretty and still pack some heat. It’s like At The Drive In started listening to Real Estate, dialing down the ‘epic’ a bit while keeping all the charm intact.
Check out their self-released debut EP at their bandcamp and head on over to Party Xpo this Saturday at 7pm to check them out. – Mike Levine (@goldnuggets)

Like many current bands, Afghan-American singer Zohra Atash’s project Religious to Damn is inspired by the sound of the 70’s and 80’s. However, the influences on this record are far from typical. Religious to Damn’s music doesn’t have anything to do with those dancey Motown tunes, glam rock, or electro-pop. Instead, their album "Glass Prayer" references dark and sophisticated artists like Japan, David Sylvian, Siouxsie & The Banshees and (in the poppier choruses) queens of cool Blondie and Kate Bush. The best songs on the album are "Drifter", a track built on a super simple bass line that develops quite surprisingly towards celestial openings and the title track "Glass Prayer" (in the video), which alternates a verse that’s almost a tribute to late Japan with a chorus as beautiful and voluptuous as Kate Bush’s best songs. Infused with exotic sounds and atmospheres, the record features a good number of ballads and mid tempo numbers, but things seems to get more interesting whenever the BPM go up, as evidenced by the Morriconian "The Wait", and the tense and apocalyptic "Let The Fires Burn". (This CD was submitted through our digital CD submission system).

We keep going through the 107 local artists that made our latest Best of NYC Emerging Artist Poll, here’s on of the 3 that tied on 102nd position:

Many bands are about being brash, about sending a message with a single power chord – Mary Halvorson and her Trio (and occasionally Quintet) have chosen a much more subtle approach. There are no lyrics, long works and dramatic pauses. There are titles with numbers after them that seem to signify deep thoughts. Halvorson and her team leap across generic definitions, a baroque piece here, more experimental jazz there, and something that sounds like it came from 1930s radio off in the distance. What ties it together is superb control of the instruments and a deep trust in your fellow musician. And it works. – The band will be touring Europe for most of April. – allison levin

The two boys of Jay Kill & The Hustle Standard (Jake Hill and Charley Hustle) are at it again. This time collaborating with filmmaker and creative force Robert Bailey (Rogue Wild Productions) in their latest music video, featuring the song "I Don’t Share"; the third track on JK&HS’s first EP New Men Old Boys. The EP is available for free on the group’s website.- (as posted in The Deli’s Open Blog – post your band’s entries, videos, and Mp3s here).

C. Gibbs has become almost an iconic figure in the Brooklyn scene, playing guitar among others for Modern English and Foetus back in the days, and more recently putting out records solo and with his rootsy band Lucinda Black Bear, which is still active. Here at The Deli we can’t forget that he played our very first mag benefit party in 2004! C. announced today his new project called The Droves and the debut album "Out Of Herself" which will be released officially with a live show in the back room of The Gutter in Brooklyn. Compared to Gibbs’ more recent output this sounds more electric and poppy, in an indie way of course. We detect occasional references to Pavement and Tom Petty.

My final official day at the annual SXSW closed with what felt like a 5K. Arriving at the Filter Magazine Cultural Clash party in the Cedar Street Courtyard, I once again caught Norway’s jumpsuit-wearing dance crew, Datarock, who played until they were “thrown off” the stage, followed by New Zealand’s soft alternative quartet, The Naked and Famous (top picture). An attempt to see Surfer Blood ended quickly at the first glance of the mile long line, but LA’s new wave- meets- psychedelic rock act, Superhumanoids, and Toronto’s solo electro-pop act, Diamond Rings provided a soundtrack for the ideal spring day. A trip across the Congress Bridge led to folksy sensation, Bright Eyes (picture below), at the Auditorium Shores, where thousands flocked to enjoy the mini-festival atmosphere fraught with food stands and light sabers.

The trek back to downtown landed me at the Texas Rockfest’s “Roial” stage, a chic rooftop space where Black Taxi played amongst a roster of metal bands. Around the corner at the Speakeasy, Austin’s The Frontier Brothers’ energy radiated to the crowd and dragged people out of their exhausted state and had them jumping for joy. One last hike to the “Roial” roof ended my evening with Austin’s very own hard rock trio, Chronolung (picture below). SXSW 2011 had officially come to a close.

Injecting their Lo-Fi approach to indie rock with various influences including Modest Mouse, Pavement, Sonic Youth and (in particular in the song associated with this video) Jane’s Addiction, Radical Dads is one of the most interesting new names coming out of Brooklyn’s DIY scene. Their next show is on March 23 at Coco66.

On my third day of SXSW, I was showing clear signs of slowing down (temperature in the 80s hasn’t helped). Despite my zombie state, I sauntered over to Beso Cantina for the Moheak Radio party, a station for whom I DJ, to show support; there, Austin’s Tony Scalzo and the Familiar Strangers were crooning convincingly. Next, was the Baeblemusic Party at The Phoenix.

The Rural Alberta Advantage, Toronto’s indie trio, soothed the audience with dreamy harmonies. The Boxer Rebellion, whose members are from Tennessee, England, and Australia, engaged with their rock with a twang, and warmed the crowd up for Norwegian headliners electro-rock band, Datarock (top picture), who pranced about in matching red sweat suits and sunglasses, promoting their new single, “Catcher in the Rye.” After a taco break at Chupacabra, I hailed a cab to the 21st Street Co-Op, a group of dorm-style quarters with rooms dedicated to live performances. I paid a visit to virtuosic Brooklynites, Apollo Run and hopped downtown again to Club De Ville for LA’s Gram Rabbit (picture below), whose twists on cowboy get-ups and interpretive dancer wearing a bunny suit, combined with their danceable and echoing electro-rock, consistently make them a band to note.

Another trip to the Co-Op landed me mid-set for NY’s duo, Hank and Cupcakes (pictured below) and my night’s closers, Black Taxi. An “early” 1am evening seemed like a good idea in anticipation for the following day, the last of SXSW. – Meijin Bruttomesso

I don’t think singer songwriter Melati Melay was being entirely serious when she posted "ghettotech" as her genre on Myspace. In fact, of the three genres listed, only "tropical" seems somewhat descriptive of her music and… life. Malay, originally from Indonesia, lived in Australia, Singapore and a whole bunch of other places before finally settling in New York, and the international influence resonates throughout her tracks. The songs we hear on her myspace profile are quite clearly split in two: rather traditional, intimate but tense ballads with bluesy overtones on one side, and more orchestrated, lush and sophisticated tracks like "Big Potential" on the other – we guess this is a new direction in her sound, which we like a lot. All her music though conveys this overwhelming feeling of an intensely sunny day with a breeze…albeit a breeze with a bite. Windbreaker weather. – allison levin

St. Patrick’s Day at SXSW 2011 was unlike any March 17th I had ever experienced. The Deli Magazine teamed up with Brooklyn Lager, GAT5, and Black Knight Productions to showcase thirty bands, eight of which I was proud to present, on three stages at Hotel Vegas/Volstead Lounge in the heart of downtown Austin at the Brooklyn BBQ. My day began with The Gay Blades, who are becoming a household name. Unfortunately, the set was cut short by a loss of diesel power. The crew quickly replenished the generator for the outdoor stage, but TGB unleashed some mega-phone free-styling, a resourceful and entertaining solution to the unexpected events.

Fueled up, Fan Tan (top picture) hit the stage, while speed metal, Goes Cube, shook the indoor “Dive” stage. Bouncing between stages, I encountered Butcher Bear Soundsystem with Charlie who included a man in a yellow bear suit, pretty painful for the 86 degree Texas temperature. Following the plush performer was reggae-tinged rock quartet, Deadbeat Darling, special guests, fashionable and punky The Vandelles (pictured below), and ethereal Dream Diary.

As the sun set, the crowd grew and feasted on BBQ , enjoying on-the-house beverages (during the last quarter of ever hour), and one of NYC’s top artists, soothing, bass-driven, The Dig, outside, while piano accompanied poet, Emily Greene (pictured below), played the acoustic “Volstead” stage, and The Wicked Tomorrow’s sultry sound stopped attendees in their tracks.

Continuing the rock duo them, The Courtesy Tier echoed throughout the “Dive” space, followed by guitar-heavy Blackbells, and simultaneously, in the backyard, Black Taxi drew the crowd into a dancing frenzy. The ear-catching melodies and moving vocals of Brooklyn trio, Apollo Run, pulled the audience indoors before the last, but not least, dynamic and rhythmically complex decibel., closed the BK BBQ with a bang, literally, as the duet landed in a pile atop the drum kit. All in all, the day was a memorable and proud twelve hours for New York music. – Meijin Bruttomesso

"Baltimore four-piece Ponytail is gearing up to release their third full-length, Do Whatever You Want All the Time, due for release on April 12 on We Are Free. In the meantime, Ponytail member Dustin Wong has compiled yet another fantastic music video of various mash-up clips that go along with portions of each song on the album. Sort of like an album appetizer. The video complements the colorful cover art that was designed by EYE of the Japanese rock band Boredoms." -Courtesy of Big Hassle Media.

Do Whatever You Want All The Time from WEAREFREE on Vimeo.

Technically the second day of SXSW 2011’s music week was my first day (although Tuesday is kind of a half Music day realy), and I certainly made up for lost time. My third SXSW, the festival’s 25th anniversary, I celebrated with eleven bands and a huge dose of venue hopping.

After being rejected by NYC’s Shilpa Ray’s show at the Austin Convention Center (“badges only, no bracelets!” – "WTF?!?"), I meandered down 6th Street to the “British Embassy,” where a Welsh showcase was beginning, and I was privileged to see synth-rockers, We//Are//Animal (top picture ), and dance-y electro-pop trio, Bright Light Bright Light. Only steps away at The Parish were Brooklyn’s quirky alt rock quartet, Black Taxi, and Austin’s synth rockers, The Frontier Brothers, and wacky dance-rockers, Bright Light Social Hour. A long walk to the Buzzbands LA Party and an extended sound check ended in a short sample of orchestral Other Lives.

A coffee break and pedicab ride were followed by Washington D.C.’s indie-pop Jukebox the Ghost at the Empire Automotive Shop. Back to back, I explored LA’s alternative electro-pop/rock foursome, Hell & Lula (picture above), at Emo’s Annex, New York’s retro-rock outfit, Blackbells, at Fado’s, and my favorite new band of the day, Oklahoma City’s hard rock showmen, The Pretty Black Chains (picture below), at the Oklahoma showcase at Friends.

The day came full circle as I was denied entry to The Black Angels and Queens of the Stone Age at La Zona Rosa, but I closed my first Austin night right with the soulful sounds of NY’s Kendra Morris (pictured below, who also played the Deli sponsored Music Tech Mashup Party earlier in the afternoon) at the Scoot Inn before heading home to prepare for an even bigger second day!