Bern & the Brights will be celebrating the release of their new EP, Swing Shift Maisies, on Saturday, July 17th, 9PM at Maxwell’s in Hoboken , NJ . Their first full-band, studio release promises to satisfy ravenous fans who’ve come to love the infectious energy of a Brights’ live show. By recording the core of each song live in the studio, the band was able to capture the magic and chemistry that arises when they play as a five-piece act. Every aspect of Swing Shift Maisies— from song selection to production to album artwork—was meticulously handled by the band, and they’re eager to share this labor of love with you. More on the band: Bern & the Brights have opened for such notable artists as Butch Walker, Rhett Miller [of the Old 97s,] Nicole Atkins and the Black Sea, Living Colour, and Mike Doughty [of Soul Coughing] and will be opening for Richie Havens this summer. In addition to touring the northeast, the Brights have graced the stages of major venues such as Webster Hall, Maxwell’s, The Stone Pony, The Bitter End, Spike Hill, and Southpaw. – (as posted in The Deli’s Open Blog – post your band’s entries, videos, and Mp3s here).

As Brooklyn’s 4th Annual LC Fest heads into its fourth day, look for performances from 13 artists including Danny Ross, The Courtesy Tier and Jessi Robertson (in the picture). Classically trained Ross brings his polished piano rock to the stage and his latest album, Danny Ross Presents One Way, while Brooklyn duo The Courtesy Tier, ranked #35 in The Deli’s current Best Of NYC Bands list, layers raw guitar riffs over catchy rhythms for a full-on rock sound, as heard on their recent EP, Map and Marker. Batting cleanup for the night is Robertson, one of the Local Correspondents founders, whose dark, lyrically driven songs and whiskey and honey-soaked voice will soon be exposed to a wider audience when her first studio album is released later this year. Performances begin at 8 p.m.

Sunday July 11’s, the final night, highlights include performances by Craig Chesler, Bryan Dunn (picttured), The Rambler’s Jeremiah Birnbaum, and nine others. Ukulele and guitar player Chesler mixes ’60s pop and ragtime into easy songs that practically scream summer, as heard on his latest CD, Little Craiggy Chesler & The Musical Proverbial Knee-Highs. Dunn, whose high-octane band shows pack ’em in at Mercury Lounge, brings his Americana rock out for a rare solo performance before heading into the studio to record a new album. Birnbaum, who fronts bluesy, alt. country act The Ramblers, will be serenading the crowd with songs from their latest release, Getting There. For the complete schedule of all five nights (from July 7th to the 11th), go here. For 42 free MP3s from festivals artists, split into four volumes for easy downloading, see here.

Ah, the delights of The Deli’s Open Blog! NYC duo Very Fresh posted an open blog entry here a few days ago – we checked out their songs and… we were impressed! "Marker", in particular,  is a splendid song, very fresh sounding, slightly reminiscent of Liz Phair for the honest, fun delivery and the surprising melodic turns, but more chilled and intense – Phair’s material was always so: "yeah whatever, this isn’t really affecting me at all, dudes…"
This song shows a ton of potential and earns the band’s EP "Americana" the Deli NYC’s CD of the Month title. Amongst the other tracks we also like spare and dark "On Moot Point", while "The Clientele", which also displays a Barretesque love for unexpected melody twists, would benefit from better performances. Don’t miss these guys’ live show at Les Poisson Rouge on July 10; they’ll be opening for Larkin Grimm, in whose band singer Cindy Lou Gooden plays the bass. Actually, we should write something about Larkin soon too…

The third night of Brooklyn’s 4th Annual LC Fest features free performances from Casey Shea, Lowry, Great Elk and ten more NYC indie acts. Shea (smaller pic) is a local celeb whose latest release, Love Is Here to Stay, combines vintage ’60s pop with pleasingly modern layers of noise. Indie rock band Lowry’s alt-country, psychedelia and rock sound has put them on the bill with bands such as Mates of State and Grizzly Bear, and their new album is scheduled for a fall release. Great Elk (bigger pic) just released their first self-titled studio EP, which is replete with haunting, sparse melodic rock. Performances begin at 8 p.m. For the complete schedule of all five nights (from July 7th to the 11th), go here. For 42 free MP3s from festivals artists, split into four volumes for easy downloading, go here.

The Rassle were born of the ribs of The Virgins and The Young Lords. This NYC psych-noise-pop band has the potential to attract the interest of a mixed audience of hipsters and "civilians" thanks to their droney guitar sound, combined with pristine and beautiful pop-folk melodies and dancey beats. Sit patiently through the 30 second intro of this video to meet a song that’s equal parts Jesus and Mary Chain, Happy Mondays and The Pogues (those Irish genes stuck in your system are always ready to pop up and be acknowledged, huh?) Thumbs up also for "Celebrate The Days", reminiscent of J&MC and Spiritualized, which you can find on their myspace page. Check out this noisy psycho-poppiness live at Union Hall on July 14.

The Deli Magazine’s pride and joy for several years, Brooklyn’s April Smith and the Great Picture Show, have been ascending since their number five ranking in The Deli’s “Year End Best of NYC 2008 Poll.” Their latest, self-released album, “Songs for a Sinking Ship,” debuted this past February, elicits images of a jazz lounge aboard a pirate cruise. On particularly notable tracks, the suggestive, rowdy, and anxiously paced “Terrible Things,” and “Colors,” a cheerful tune that embraces a calypso inflection, lighthearted grace, and amusing, vocally-created trumpet sounds, April Smith showcases her virtuoso, powerful, bluesy voice, and all-around sass. Ragtime piano and a cabaret cadence, blended with horn counter-melodies on the saloon-ballad “Can’t Say No,” and “Movie Loves a Screen’s” Caribbean beat, patter chorus, lilting trumpet lines, plus Smith’s dazzling vocals, define the album’s sunny theme. Because April Smith and the Great Picture Show’s swooning seductiveness and flamboyant flare set the band apart from many on the current Indie scene, the group will retain their distinctive presence on the press and audience radar. – Meijin Bruttomesso

Though German metal truly rocks, New Yorkers will be happy to discover that the Tacoma-based, Brooklyn-transplanted Oberhofer is a bit more mellow…something like MGMT rather than Rammstein. And if names can be deceiving, why not age? At 19, Brad Oberhofer transforms youthful emotional exaggerations into mature articulations of feeling, while retaining that messy rawness. “AWY FRM U” with its ADHD drumming style and frantic guitars is a perfect example — "You’re pushing me away from you/Oh and I know what I’ll do/I’ll hop the fence/So I can get out of this mess." Oberhofer showcases simple, imaginative lyrics from the mind and heart of someone in synch with his feelings, especially when they’re confused or contradictory, as feelings often are. His recorded vocal has a psychedelic, surf-like quality, with lots of “ooo’s”, like he’s arriving from some far off place – perfect, for say, a Sobe commercial featuring a near-nude Ashley Greene on the beach (the genius “o0Oo0Oo” soundtracks the spot). – Read Paul Dunn interview with the NYC scene’s favorite teenager here.

California-born, New York-grown We Are Scientists, have undergone multiple transformations and experimented with musical chairs on their path to the top. College buddies, a literature, and political science major, who shared a mutual passion for their “hobby,” the band’s nucleus formed shortly after meeting, and relocated to Brooklyn postgraduation to make their premise a career, catching the ear of The Deli (who interviewed them back in 2004) and then Virgin Records. With three EPs, four full-length albums, including their newest, “Barbara,” released this June, on their resume, W.A.S represent to the NY Indie scene a prime example of survival of the fi ttest. Pioneering the fusion of danceable-pop/rock with cerebral intensity and an urgent energy that umpteen bands strive to clone, Keith Murray and Chris Cain are not simply business; they make funny their business, as well. – Read Meijin Bruttomesso’s article on We Are Scientists here. – Read a vintage Deli interview with WAS here (year 2005).

Matt Jones, Brian Bonz (pictured) and The Third Wheel Band are performing on the second night of Brooklyn’s 4th Annual LC Fest, along with 10 other independent NYC artists. The festival, organized by independent music community Local Correspondents at Bar4 in Park Slope, runs through Sunday, July 11. Jones’s guitar-driven Americana can be heard on his first independent release, Butter and Rum, as well as a new EP, to be released later this year, and indie darling Bonz is currently working on a follow-up to his debut album of ambient, intelligent pop, From Sumi To Japan. The Third Wheel Band, a relative newcomer to the scene, is already making a name for themselves with their infectious brand of old-time, foot-stompin’ country swing. Performances begin at 8 p.m. For the complete schedule of all five nights (from July 7th to the 11th), go here . For 42 free MP3s from festivals artists, split into four volumes for easy downloading, see here.

Australia’s The Grates (who have been living in NYC for a while now) are only a three-person team, but the amount of spunk and spark in their upbeat indie-pop makes them sound like they’ve got a full party in tow. Singer Patience Hodgson, guitarist John Patterson and drummer Alana Skyring play tunes that are infused with scatterbrained quirks and infectious melodies, resulting in what one might consider music that’s pure erratic bubblegum goodness. The band’s most recent album, 2008’s Teeth Lost, Hearts Won, is bursting with these tasty treats, such as the sing-a-long, clap-worthy "Burn Bridges" and the synthy anthem "Aw Yeah." Watch for Hodgson, as she’s known to leap off stages and playfully dance her way into crowds, her microphone cord bouncing around not too far behind. Her confidence as an entertainer and her "anything goes" attitude call to mind captivating frontwomen Karen O and ’90s Gwen Stefani. The Grates take over Mercury Lounge on Friday July 9th. – Michelle Gelsani

The Vandelles are rock n’roll noir at its finest. Their songs are the perfect soundtrack to rain-slicked city streets at night, and the lust, betrayal and violence that filters through them. The band thrives on layers of fuzz and a wall of reverb-laden guitar noise, and they also harbor a penchant for 60s garage pop melody and surf rock riffs. Those expecting the Vandelles to sound like their Brooklyn contemporaries Vivian Girls or Crystal Stilts would be wrong—they channel a dirtier, scuzzier aesthetic more on par with the Cramps, Suicide, X, or even Link Wray. On the new release, Del Black Aloha, songs like “Lovely Weather” and “Dash N’ Dive” find the band’s ragged riffs, crooned vocals and crushing, dread-inducing pedal manipulations forming a perfectly sinister sound that both terrifies and transfixes the listener. Definitely not recommended for those who suffer from anxiety, late-night panic attacks, or criminal thoughts. – Bill Dvorak

Terrible Records’ "signee" Twin Shadow is a NYC artists that music fans of the world should check out. Terrible Records is a tiny new label that puts out music that’s actually not terrible at all, being run by Grizzly Bear’s Chris Taylor – who also seems to produce all the artists under his label’s wing (that’s what you call a "vanity label, for the record). The Grizzly man seems to find production comfort in a genre that’s rather melodic and moderately electronic (see also Class Actress), but not as experimental and daring as the one of his own band. Twin Shadow, as far as we can tell from listening to the only track available for stream, entitled "I can’t wait", plays very elegant pop songs blessed by melancholy and by a smooth, sympathetic tenor. Check him out live at Cake Shop on July 22.