Scientific studies show that a small weekly dose of power pop is good for you – in particular if you suffer from SAD syndrome. Your third week of February should be covered by Paperdoll, who are playing Mercury on 02.19. – Paperdoll’s efficacy is not verified by the Food and Drug Administration, side effects include jumping uncontrollably, heavy drinking, loss of sexual inhibitions.

In an effort to brainwash babies into liking my music, based on a study that shows infants to have a stylistic preference for music they were exposed to prenatally, Piano-popper Joe Raciti is offering his latest album "Romantic Shark Attack" for free to any pregnant woman or expecting father. "I know this sounds crazy but I feel really good about it," said Raciti. "Babies are wonderful and outright fascinating and I want my music to have something to do with the development of their brains. Must be the mad scientist in me." If you would like to take advantage of this offer, you need to go here, fill out the form below and mark “pregnant” or “yeah I’m preggers” or something like that after your name in the name field. (Joe guarantees that this album will ensure that your child grows up smarter and happier than he or she would have otherwise or he’ll give you a %100 refund, no questions asked.) This offer only last’s about 9 months… unless you get pregnant again: *Warning: Side effects of this promotion may include an explosion of the world’s population and occurrences of the first name Joe. (as posted in The Deli’s Open Blog – post your band’s entries, videos, and Mp3s here).

Semi Precious Weapons might not be a band for NYC hipsters, but it’s definitely one of the few local acts that seems to "incarnate" the good old rock’n’roll lifestyle – with a good dose of irony thrown in the mix. Plus, front man Justin Tranter’s entertaining ability is precisely what most self-conscious NYC hipsters bands lack. The sexy and campy quartet (featured on the cover of our 16th issue in 2008) has been working around the clock: wrapping up a nationwide tour with Lady Gaga, sold out at many major venues, including four nights at New York’s Radio City Music Hall, the quartet found time to record and release a self-titled EP as a follow-up to their full-length 2008 “We Love You.” The three-song teaser features polished revisions of two favorites, “Semi Precious Weapons” and “Magnetic Baby.” Smoother around the production edges, the tracks maintain the gorgeous filth of the originals, while they showcase augmented guitar solos and diamond-cut precision. Until now, the stomping “Put a Diamond in It” was available only for live enjoyment, but now listeners can indulge in Justin Tranter’s shouting, “WHO!? WHO!? WHO WANTS MY BABY?” in the privacy of their own homes. Semi Precious Weapons are not slowing down any time soon, as they deploy to Europe for more Monster Ball stops. – Meijin Bruttomesso

We love it when bands just give us the genre definition of their music themselves – and we love it even more when such definition is not super cheesy and works perfectly in describing their sound. CAVES is a Brooklyn based band (via North Carolina and San Francisco) that plays, as they say, "trash can psychadelia in an industrial wasteland"… therefore you should get: droney atmospheres – check; dreamy vocals and effects – check; distorted drums – check. Also, somehow the words "industrial wasteland" make us think of some parts of Bushwick – we wouldn’t be surprised if they lived just there. But you may ask, are they good? We didn’t see them live yet but we are definitely enjoying their songs, which sound like a "DIY-er" version of The Secret Machines flirting at times with a more "avant" approach reminiscent of Animal Collective. The industrial element is limited to the recurrent but always sparse distorted percussive elements (this "noise factory" is a rather slow one, unlike most "proper" industrial acts, who enjoy to turn the BPM knob up). The band has a brand new debut EP and a series of shows scheduled in the near future: Public Assembly on March 3 and Pianos on March 14 – do not miss.

With so many fine musicians in Slow Six, members often dedicate their talents to other ambitious musical endeavours. Redhooker‘s Stephen Griesgraber, one component of the aforementioned collective, does not stray away from the electroacoustic music that Slow Six fashions. Two years in the making, Redhooker’s “Vespers” is a contemplative and complex follow-up to “The Future According to Yesterday” that leans on the more experimental side of contemporary classical music.
“Trip and Fall,” a cascading piece with prominent strings, made its debut in late 2007 on the group’s MySpace page, granting an early preview of the material. Griesgraber’s strength lies in his ability to breach the excess of instruments and create profound songs with precise tones and mood. On the transformative “Presence and Reflection,” the piece begins with a sparse, tense cacophony only to develop into a beautiful, comforting serenade. Experience Redhooker’s new set of atmospheric tunes on Sunday at (Le) Poisson Rouge. Tickets are $10. – Nancy Chow

Recent victors of The Deli’s Open Contest in the Alternative Rock/Metal category and this month’s nominees for the Emerging NYC/NJ Artist of the Month, The Shake shook down Crash Mansion at a semi-secret show on January 5. There was "a whole lotta shakin’ goin’ on" while the quartet highlighted several top tracks from their month-old release, “The Shake Go Crazy.” Consistently an ear-catching and energetic band, The Shake stood out with their on-stage chemistry, witty inter-song repartee, raucous guitar solos, and rebellious vibe evident in their volatile “Merry Musket,” fiery “Galleries,” and explosive “Timebomb.” An a cappella intro transitioned into a rousing “Your Idols,” that was followed by a galvanizing “Pop Goes the…” The Shake added a bit of disco flare to their penchant for rock ‘n roll, covering only the best, The Bee Gees’ “Stayin’ Alive,” before closing the show with the soulful “Got No Soul.” –Meijin Bruttomesso

Rockers, Folkers and Poppers of all ages, sexes and hair colors,

The Deli’s regional Year End Best of Polls for emerging artists are finally over and it’s time to have a quick look at what’s going on outside your local scene. Here’s a recap of the winners of our nine polls with links to overall charts and readers’ polls results:

AUSTIN – Winner: Stereo Is a Lie
Overall Chart – Readers Chart – list of jurors

CHICAGO – Winner: I Fight Dragons
Overall Chart – Readers Chart

LOS ANGELES – Winner: Local Natives
Overall Chart – Readers Chart

NASHVILLE – Winner: Those Darlins
Overall Chart – Readers Chart

NEW ENGLAND- Winner: Mean Creek
Overall Chart – Readers Chart – list of jurors

NYC – Winner: Talk Normal
Overall Chart – Readers Chart – list of jurors

PORTLAND – Winner: Explode into Colors
Overall Chart – Readers Chart – list of jurors

PHILLY – Winner: Reading Rainbow
Overall Chart – Readers Chart – list of jurors

SF BAY AREA – Winner: Girls
Overall Chart – Readers Chart – list of jurors

The Deli’s Staff

The winners of our Best of NYC 2007 Poll Yeasayer (currently #21 in The Deli’s Web Buzz NYC Top 300 Chart) keep building momentum towards the release of their sophomore album, entitled Old Blood and scheduled for release on 02.09.2010 under Secretly Canadian. The band just announce a second free mp3 from the album, which can be downloaded from their homepage. Yeasayer two New York shows this February have been sold out for months, but you can still catch them perform on Late Night With Jimmy Fallon on February 10, 2010 (honeslt, we would have preferred to see them with Conan O’Brian but, hey…) Yeasayer will also appear at the Coachella Music Festival on April 16th, and have added another New York show at Webster Hall scheduled for May 4th.

Jessica Larrabee (guitars/vocals) and Andy LaPlant (drums) come from the no-frills school of rock basics. It’s where a nasty blues riff and a backbeat come together to turn up the hairs on the back of your neck. They’ve been at the local circuit for a few years now playing showcases, and they have a release out on UK label Names Records. She Keeps Bees (currently has received press already from The Guardian and NME. The Deli spoke to Jessica while her band was overseas in Ireland. – read the interview by Simon Heggie here.

City Center (currently #6 in our Avant Indie NYC Web Buzz chart) formed in 2007 as the side project of Fred Thomas and Ryan Howard of Saturday Looks Good to Me. After just dabbling and recording over the past couple years, the duo recently released their self-titled full-length City Center. The album is beautifully diverse and swims with sound and experimental electronic loveliness. With brief guest appearances by Mary Pearson from High Places, other friends, as well as tons of sampling, City Center takes sounds that would typically be dubbed as noise or strange and makes something so much more fluid and meaningful. Their raw textures and busy electronic orchestration creates a watery, floating feeling and the vocals are clear, yet soft and blisteringly sweet with harmonies. The duo also has a really entertaining blog, which is apparently how the whole band began in the first place. – read the full interview here.

Hesta Prynn should know by now that you DON’T lick the snare on a freezing day!!! The singer – formerly of the hip-hop group Northern State – is putting the final touches on her first solo album due out later this year. Hesta’s new sound pits euphoric beats and distorted basslines with punkish guitar overlays to create and energetic, edgy sound. New Yorkers will have another chance to catch her live this Wednesday, January 27th at Pianos.

Third Border is the name of the band formed in 2003 by Ben Miller, a veteran of the alternative scene who pioneered psych-rock in the fecund late ’60s Ann Arbor scene, and later teamed up with Stooge Ron Asheton and Michael Davis of the MC5 in the seminal art punk outfit Destroy All Monsters. The band’s new album, Return Return, was recorded in 2008 at The Kennel Studio in East Williamsburg Brooklyn by NYC underground producer Wharton Tiers (Sonic Youth, Dinosaur Jr, Helmet). Those who love noisy rock music shouldn’t miss their CD release party at Pianos on Saturday 01.30.