Sparse to the point of flirting with silence, or plodding on top of groove-less drums, all Center Divider’s songs have a very distinct signature in their pace. When in this sonic scenario the band introduces simple string or brass drones, or slow plucked parts, magic happens – see the song “Madam S”. The lead singer’s dark vocals, reminiscent of Leonard Cohen and Morphine, are full of confidence and drowned in feelings (that perfectly suit the music) like acceptance and moderate hope. The band is scheduled to play the Tuesday 19 Deli CMJ party upstairs at The Delancey with Waking Lights, Mama Bear and Pearl and the Beard among others.

Every Cock Lorge song is guaranteed to be as raunchy as Woody Guthrie is political. This reminds us what folk music’s all about: singing what the man tells you not to, or in this case what your mom tells you not to. It’s fresh to hear music that doesn’t take itself too seriously and invites all it’s friends to play on the record. “The Leading Role,” a second release from Cock Lorge, is mostly a review of winners from their first album, “Rise.” The band forges their musical empire at Piano’s “Thank Cock It’s Friday” variety show every first Friday of the month. For a change of scenery, Cock Lorge will be hitting The Mercury Lounge on October 13. – Jenny Luczak

Blair is an interesting singer songwriter that recently moved to Brooklyn from the LA area – although she’s originally from the south. Her songs are more than "just" folk songs, there’s a dreamy quality to them that recalls the sound of mid 90s female fronted bands like Blake Babies and Belly, but also an often quirky experimental edge (did we ever tell you that we LOVE quirky?) The overall atmosphere of the tunes is rather soft, which suits Blair’s warm, expressive voice, but the electronic and percussive arrangements add a playful touch to the tracks that makes them more interesting and enjoyable. This lady is gathering some buzz and this is not the only reason why you should check out her music. She has a bunch of very interesting CMJ shows planned, with Beach Fossils at The Rock Shop on 10.20 and Francis and the Lights at Mercury on 10.22.

You hear people say that since MTV has become a regular TV channel, music videos aren’t that important anymore. We respectfully disagree… if properly done, for music blogs like ours, they are a MUCH better way to present music than streaming mp3s. Check out this one by Xylos for the "Not Enough" – a beautiful pop song that may warm up your day.

We have been covering Suckers since they were a sparkle on their mothers’ eyes – they weren’t the fastest growing kid, but it was worth waiting for them… here’s their first video, premiered on IFC.com!!! The band is currently on a US/Europe tour with Menomena first and Yeasayer after.

It looks like NYC’s own I Love Monsters have been around for quite a while – they have a bunch of releases under their belt, and a lot of "proper" videos and music placements for an emerging band. This here is the latest official one for the single "Satellites". The band, whose sounds can be described like a less dark, more "west coast sounding" version of Interpol, will play with Pillow Theory on Saturday 10.09 at The Mercury Lounge. They recently released a new EP, entitled "Everything Is Gonna Be Alright" – available for free download at their Myspace page. The band has also landed a November Residency at Ace Hotel – which has recently started hosting indie shows.

On Septemer 23, New York-based Emily Greene performed The Living Room on Ludlow. Singer/songwriter Greene sat poised at her keyboard, occasionally switching to the venue’s baby grand, leading her band of three gentlemen into selections from her debut album, “Is This What You Had in Mind.” Greene’s soulful voice filled the oversized coffee shop, and her emotive and nuanced demeanor infused every aspect of her performance, from her vocal dynamics down to her facial expressions. In between songs, Greene revealed a lighter side of her personality, cracking jokes about her housing situation, songwriting topics, and unglamorous life of an emerging artist. Highlights included the title track, album opener “Lily Twill,” “Oceans and Waves,” which Greene introduced with a story recounting her recent hallucinogenic state during her wisdom teeth extraction in Florida, and “Just Fine.” Several upcoming NYC gigs include four at Rockwood Music Hall on October 6, 13, 20 (CMJ), and 27, in a string of national shows sponsored by jewelry designer Katherine Sise. – Meijin Bruttomesso

LOOK!! WE CAN’T ENJOY OURSELVES is A pop group from Brooklyn equipped with clever discernible lyrics about sex and movies and the bible! Their songs are rampant with lurid slapstick and it’s all delivered with a kick in the balls, which is actually more pleasant than it sounds! They are not twee and they are not hazy dream pop! They play jaunty danceable music that is more in debt to the Supremes and the Kinks than to Disco or Arthur Russell!! Presently they’re promoting the high-hearted album they recorded earlier this year, called ONE BELONGS HERE MORE THAN YOU. It’s free and on bandcamp. Check them out at Union Hall on 10.08. – (as posted in The Deli’s Open Blog – post your band’s entries, videos, and Mp3s here).

Blending good ‘ol rock and roll with indie rock, Politics As Usual is an indie rock trio from Bergen County, New Jersey (NYC area). Te band features Stephen Berthomieux on guitar and lead vocals, Tom Warren on drums and vocals, and Andrew Kevin on bass. Politics first formed during the summer of ’09 after Tom and Stephen broke up their previous band. Their debut album "Trouble" was completed in June of 2010 and the band is currently working on new songs for a future release during the winter or spring of ’11. Politics As Usual is playing Cake Shop, NYC on Oct 5th, check them out!

"Whales Standing" was just released in Brooklyn at Union Hall and Karen Rockower (and her fantastically all female band) are bringing the show across the bridge to The Living Room on Friday Oct 8th at 8pm. The CD marks Karen’s debut solo effort. Haunting and beautiful, her vocal talents are front and center in this world of creepy lullabies. The 12 tracks journey through her psyche is inspired by her real adventures and rich dream life. A poetic storyteller, Karen also finds inspiration writing through other people’s eyes. – (as posted in The Deli’s Open Blog – post your band’s entries, videos, and Mp3s here).

Office Space is a great movie, because anyone that’s ever had an office job can relate to most – if not all – of Peter Gibbons’ quandaries and one is left wondering, “How did I get here?” Built By Animals explores that precise question on Corporate Syndrome. The opener, “Teenage Rampage,” begins with a jewel-toned, jerky guitar that has garnered the band comparisons to Vampire Weekend’s westernized afrobeat style. The rest of the EP also references early Weezer, Guster and Modest Mouse. “Spreadsheets” may just become the unofficial anthem of the tired, repressed office worker with its true-to-life lyrics. The band is playing the Economy Bites culinary TV show 1-yr anniversary party on 10.09 and then a CMJ show on October 23 at the Lit Lounge. -N.C.

MiniBoone come from a world where the Talking Heads reign supreme, and where people have attention spans that last longer than 30 seconds. These guys excel at packaging remarkable musical complexities into feverishly catchy pop songs, so much so that it’s easy to breeze through their 7-inch without fully appreciating how difficult it is to produce something both quirky and impetuous that doesn’t necessarily come across as such. “Devil In Your Eyes” should have a little sticker on it that says “Caution: This song comes spring-loaded.” Each unison chorus propels the next verse forward with such energy that by 2:23 it’s got no place left to go and pulls a Layla, dropping us off into an extended guitar solo and outro that’s at least as memorable as the song itself. I haven’t seen MiniBoone live (yet), but I imagine the experience would be something like freebasing cocaine while doing windsprints on a rollercoaster. The most exciting music isn’t always the most frenetic, and MiniBoone is a case in point. MiniBoone manages to overwhelm the senses without taking up every last inch of the musical soundscape–there’s space to breathe, to ponder the music as it’s happening. But not too much. It’s a carefully (and perfectly) constructed balance that most bands struggle to find and never quite achieve. – Ben Heller – Read Dale Eisenger’s Q&A with the band here.