Elizabeth and the Catapult are back with their charmin rootsy pop and a video on the lines of the Beauty and the (sad grey little) Beast. You can see them live at Music Hall of Williamsburg on 01.15.

Doveman is one of the artists who best incarnates the Deli-invented genre of "Mellow Core" – see our Top 300 mellow Core chart here. His songs are too slow and moody to be affiliated with the simple "Pop" genre, but too sophisticatedly poppy to be categorized under the "Singer Songrwriter" label. One thing is out of doubt though, they are mellow – very mellow for that matter, but with an edge. Now, isn’t "core" a word that has come to express some kind of edge? There you go then, Mellow Core! (Way better than Soft-Core that kinda porny…). The bird man is actually in very good company in the Mellow Core NYC "niche" – featuring other incredibly talented artists we love like Lia Ices, Chris Garneau, Dark Dark Dark, and Twin Sister.
Doveman just announced that he will be taking part to "The Burgundy Stain Sessions" at Le Poisson Rouge, a monthly series of collaborative concerts featuring Doveman and friends. These shows will be a forum for the artist and his friends to try out new material, showcase new bands, explore new collaborations, and drink. Each month there will be a different set of guests (although there will be plenty of repeat performers) a completely new show, and as the series goes on, expect to see not just other musicians, but writers, filmmakers, visual artists and more.

P.S. By the way, while I was writing this blurb for some reason I ended up Googling "Mellow Core" to discover that… Reverb Nation now has it among their genres!!! Not only, there is a website called "mellowcore.com"; a band on PureVolume.com says that "they helped pioneer the latest musical genre, Mellow Core" – say what? There’s even a band called "Mellow Core" – although they say they are a mellow punk band – that’s no "mellow core" according to the inventors of the genre, punks!

We stumbled upon this NYC trio Invisible Days this morning and… welikey! The group (formerly known as Beloved Rogue) just released this new single titled "Solitary Time" on Toilet Records. Recorded in Brooklyn at 282 North Henry Studios and co-produced by David Dill, Solitary Time marks the first release by the Brooklyn band since their debut EP Paularora. Solitary Time is a moody, psych rock mid tempo gem featuring interesting guitar sonic texture involving a heavy use of delay, and a beautiful haunting vocal melody. Think something between Rain Parade or any of the mellower Paisley Underground bands of the psych rock renaissaince of the 80s. The 3 songs on their previously released EP showcase a heavier shoegazer influence. Check them out at Glasslands on 01.12.

The Silver Liners of D.C. have just released a great new self-titled EP.  They currently have one song, "Runnin’ Through My Head" avaiable as a free download here!  Expect tracks full of well-produced pop-rock hooks that might be the only thing that can possibly get the most annoying of the Christmas songs out of your head this holiday.  If you’re in New York City celebrating the New Year, stick around and check the band out at Union Hall in Brooklyn on January 9.  If not, then stay tuned to The Deli for more show updates in 2011!  (There’s a rumor about a Black Cat show in January…) – Jarrett

The Silver Liners – Just Like The Rest from The Silver Liners on Vimeo.

Deli-rious readership,

We gave bands a week to apply for free to our Year End Best of NYC 2010 Poll, but submissions aren’t closed – we are now still accepting them until 12.31 HERE, through SonicBids, with a $5 submission fee. It’s the first time we charge musicians for anything, but these polls take so much of our time that we needed to find a way to offset some of the personal effort we put in them, we hope you understand.

The Deli’s Polls’ mission is to highlight the best local bands that emerged in 2010 in the 10 scenes we cover – the full list of cities we cover can be found here.

Our polling system (based on the votes of a local jury of scene makers and partially on our readers vote) has rewarded in the past artists like Local Natives, Yeasayer, Girls, Chairlift, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, Freelance Whales, Sleigh Bells and Neon Indian (among others) before they hit it big.

The summary of last year’s polls (each city’s top 3 + readers poll winner) can be found here. A full explanation of the polling system can be found here.

We hope you’ll submit your music, because the more bands submit, the more accurate our poll is – we will consider any band!

Good luck, and… we swear that we will listen to your music!

The Deli’s Staff

David Byrne’s label Luaka Bop had a very good 2010, with the raise to semi-stardom of their signees Javelin, and the end of year "buzzification" of Delicate Steve. The Terror Pigeon Dance Revolt! is the third NYC based band recently signed by the ex Talking Head, which promises to have an interesting 2011, when they are scheduled to release their sophomore album. This collective of musicians shares with Javelin and Steve a similar DIY attitude, but has a scruffier, "post-punk-ier" approach to music, alternatively reminiscent of a drunk, chanting version of Animal Collective and The Pogues stripped of their Irish music influences. Their shows are like a big party, so if you are looking for a fun night, head to Silent Barn on December 18.

It’s really amazing how these days indie and even DIY bands are literally infiltrating quality music into many aspects of the entertainment and art worlds, in particular in NYC. This phenomenon is perfectly exemplified by the 2 day "Rock and Roll Circus" event, which will take place at Lincoln Center on January 3 and 4 and involve the Big Apple Circus together with many fantastic emerging indie bands including NYC’s own Japanther, The So So Glos, Electric Tickle Machine, Amazing Baby, and Nick Zinner from Yeah Yeah Yeahs playing with LA’s Aska. Japanther’s fun DIY pop aesthetics, as you can see from the video below, seems an especially good fit here.

With the release of their debut album, MIRRORS, Washington D.C.-based U.S. Royalty delivers on capturing the volatility and explosiveness that define their live performances. Early comparisons have been made to Local Natives, The Black Keys, Fleet Foxes, Band of Horses, and early Kings of Leon.

"With this record we wanted to present a body of work, a complete thought," says singer John Thornley.  To achieve this, the band wrote and rewrote songs for a year, demoing and dissecting while on the road and at home.  John continues, "Because we traveled for about a year and a half before we recorded the album, there is definitely a travel vibe to the record."

In March 2010, the band teamed up with engineer Gus Oberg (The Strokes, Albert Hammond Jr., Bloc Party) and Justin Long to begin recording the album.  The band recently released the first single off the album, "Equestrian," and set a release date for the debut album, January 25th 2011.

Catch U.S. Royalty live at the 9:30 Club on Dec. 17.

Equestrian by usroyalty

Deli readers,

The new issue of The Deli LA is out! Lots of articles, reviews and interviews with awesome LA based artists, plus a hilarious piece on "How To Become a Rockstar" penned by We Are Scientists bass player Chris Cain. Check out the pdf version of it here.

The Deli Staff

Los Angelinos and Los Angelinas,

The new issue of The Deli LA is out! Lots of articles, reviews and interviews with awesome LA based artists, plus a hilarious piece on "How To Become a Rockstar" penned by We Are Scientists bass player Chris Cain. Check out the pdf version of it here.

The Deli Staff

Brooklyn’s The Nico Blues released their first music video for the song "Living Proof" and celebrated with a neighborhood show at Bar Matchless on Sunday night. The video was directed by acclaimed film maker Jacob LaMendola and was the culmination of hours of DIY hard work and various creative minds. The Nico Blues helped build the set and got by with a little help from their friends. The song is off the band’s new album "Blame the Boredom, Blame the Basements" and can be downloaded at the official website of the Nico Blues here.