Well after SXSW may have taken the wind out of those of us who went down, back here in the Bay Area the music life continues. Here are a few selections from the calender.

Thursday at Milk head up to see Exray’s, fresh off their SXSW trip, with Adventure, Phantom Kicks, Yalls and the Epicsauce DJs, 8pm.

Friday at Sub-Mission Here Come The Saviours will be playing with Burbank International, Spiro Agnew, and Bad Bibles, 8pm.

Finally on Sunday, rounding out the previous three day Burger Boogaloo take over of San Francisco at Thee Parkside, Nobunny and Apache will be playing with Wild Thing, Midnite Snaxxx, and Egg Tooth, 8pm.

-Ada Lann

With this years buzz bands Wild Nothing and Beach Fossils already in their stable, Captured Tracks’ newest addition, The Soft Moon, seems like yet another step in establishing the Brooklyn based label as a force in the indie record scene. The music of Luis Vasquez, otherwise known as The Soft Moon, has been identified by some as post-punk, but that narrow categorization fails to recognize the unique elements of his work. He has created a modern sound that is uniquely his own by crafting a highly textured series of songs that relentlessly build to create an overwhelming mood, albeit often somber in nature. At times the debut self-titled album almost seems to serve as an homage to the 1980’s Goth music movement, with beats that closely resemble that of early Joy Division albums.

The tracks are, for the most part, fast-paced yet with a persistently dark and foreboding feel. Vasquez’ vocals are often overwhelmed by the heavy synthetic background. This is not to say that the album is sloppy–quite the opposite, actually. Each song maintains a systematically ordered progression, with each note carefully constructed, in its right place, building to a coherent whole.

The tracks on the album seem to fulfill a pattern of build up and release, with whispers that sound like chants building to the emergence of a powerful sound. The first minute of the song “Dead Love” is spent building anticipation with a fast paced drumbeat and an even faster bass line. Vasquez’ vocals kick in as we hear him whining, “don’t leave me alone.” The song maintains it’s beat as Vasquez’ lyrics continue until a break when the song starts to build once again.

In the first 20 seconds of the song “We Are We” there is an even more obvious progression of sound and feeling as the volume itself actually increases as the song progresses. These songs feel like expressions of emotion or more precisely, emotional discovery.

“When it’s Over,” arguably the standout track on the album, breaks from the pattern we see in his other songs. Vasquez’ vocals seem higher and stand at the front of track, creating a dreamlike aesthetic with a softer, slower, drumbeat and an overall less unsettling quality. The song stands out as a comforting break from many of the dark tracks on the rest of the album.

The Soft Moon has delivered a solid but unique debut, one that shines through the mass of bay area bands with a new take on an old sound.

-Anna Oseran

Noise Pop has come and gone, SXSW is on the horizon but so here in the Bay Area we press on. Here are a few show selections from the calender.

Tonight be sure to head over to the Rickshaw to catch the Actors last show before a brief hiatus. They will be playing with Altars and Kisses, 9pm.

Wednesday out in Oakland at the New Parish see il gato with Con Brio and Cannons and Clouds at the New Parish, 9pm.

Thursday, back in the city, at Cafe Du Nord Ash Reiter will be playing with Wave Array and Buckeye Knoll, 8pm.

Finally on Sunday wander over to the Hemlock to catch the Royal Baths with The Twerps and Lilac, 9pm.

–Ada Lann

We Shore is Dedicated have annouced they’re releasing an album. Here’s what they have to say about it.

This band, keeps on rolling, this band. This band don’t take no smokers, no midnight ramblers, no late-night tokers, this band. No satellite pissers, no two-lip salesmen, no chumba-wumba listening play-dough aliens, this band. No seventy-five words limiting description writers, no bed-ridden disaster maggot fighters, this band don’t take no body this band!CD release at Amnesia March 5th(opening for Stan Ridgway from Wall of Voodoo!)

As always feel free to post about your band on the Deil’s open blog and perhaps it could find it’s way to the front page.

Well Valentines day has come and gone, but for those whose true love is music there is still much to be celebrated.

Tomorrow night Wiretap Music will be hosting a show out at El Rio with Dominique Leone, Mist Giant, and Schande. This show will be a benefit for The Holdout, an events and community organizing space opening in West Oakland later this year, so trundle out to the deep Mission and send your money to a good cause, 8pm.

Friday head up to the Cafe Du Nord to see Lloyd’s Garage alongside Blackstone Heist and Whiskey Pills Fiasco, 8:30pm.

Finally, make your way back out to El Rio Saturday to see Here Come the Saviours with Gliss and the Spyrals, 9pm.

–Ada Lann

Keeping to their promise of slowly squeezing out short releases over the course of 2011, Sunbeam Rd. have followed up last months Circular Breathing with Basements & Passed Lives. "Basements" fills the first side with brooding vocals and a delicate guitar melody weaving its way through a sea of drone. Contrasting a bit, "Passed Lives" snaps out of the pensive state of the preceding song with a driving bass line and danceable beat. All in all both tracks, as well as "Circular Breathing," are definitely worth a listen and are available for free on Sunbeam Rd.’s Bandcamp page. They will also be playing a show this Wednesday at the Hemlock with Spiro Agnew and Red Blue Yellow. Check them out.

-Ada Lann

Looks like Wednesday this week is bring us two fantastic shows for a good nights run around.

Start the evening off with an Ears of the Beholder presented Happy Hour show at the Noise Pop Pop-Up Shop with Space Ghost, Skeletal System, Kites Sail High, Yalls (Debut), and visuals by Chris Martz. This will take place at the Fifty24SF Gallery starting around 6. Get your tickets here if you haven’t already.

Following that Milk will host Future Sounds Presents: The Rumble featuring Blackbird Blackbird, Phantom Kicks, and Letting Up Despite Great Fault, 8pm.

A lot to fit in to one evening but definitely worth it if you have the stamina.

–Ada Lann

San Francisco band Foolproof Four have released a Three Song Sampler just in time for their performance at this Friday’s SF IndieFest. They will be playing alongside four other Bay Area acts: Los Shimmy Shakers, Taxes, Shit Outta Luck, Thief and Nervous, at the TwentyFifty, which is located on Bryant Street.

This is the second annual SF Winter Music Festival and it will begin tomorrow and continue through the 17th. There are eight showcases with two stages and over forty bands. Their website exclaims: “The best punk, metal, ska, swing, rockabilly and indie rock from around the Bay and beyond!” All shows are 21 and up.

Foolproof Four is lead by guitarist, songwriter and vocalist Noah Grant, with Dan Brennan on drums and vocals. The two are often accompanied by Nate Harris to round out their sound. These three tracks, available on the bands MySpace and Facebook pages, as well as for sale at shows, showcase the variety the band is known for. This summer they played alongside Maria Taylor and Morgan Nagler at the Bottom of the Hill, and they have been keeping busy since—recording songs for their first full-length release. Keep an eye out for a fun new music video as well, shot in San Francisco.

The three songs—“Post-Industrial”, “Lady Valia Stood Her Ground” and “We’re All for Sale” almost sound as if they are by three different bands. This does not create a lack of coherence in their overall sound, but instead let fans know that these boys will always have some new trick up their sleeves. Although they sure know how to have fun with certain songs onstage, many of their songs are quite thoughtful too. Grant wrote “Lady Valia” about his admiration for the nonviolent protesters at UC Berkeley, and as a statement of solidarity to those who on faced such violence and did not let it break them.

Grant describes their new set of songs as “a swung folk/rock tune, an a cappella tune, and a straight ahead rock tune.” If you like the sound of that, be sure to make it out to their show Friday night!

–Shauna C. Keddy

Well the poll results are in and congratulations to the winners. The music continues of course so here are a few selections from the calender.

Tomorrow head out to El Rio to catch Casey and Brian with Little Creatures, 9pm.

Friday Ears of the Beholder will present yet another show with yet another fantastic line-up. At Cafe du Nord featuring a headlining set by Exray’s with support by Tim Cohen, Cyclyst, and a DJ set by Fiveng this here is another EOTB show you can’t miss, 8pm.

Finally on Saturday wander out to Mama Buzz in Oakland to see Ben Thompson, who took third place in our Readers Poll, lay down some electronic tunes, 9pm.

–Ada Lann

Surely it comes with little surprise that everyone’s favorite of last year Weekend has topped our list and been named the Best Emerging Bay Area Artist of 2010. After causing a huge splash with their wildly successful EP (earning itself a Deli SF Album of the Month Award), impressive Noise Pop performance, and a currently successful new release Sports, Weekend have proven themselves a force to be reckoned with around the Bay Area. As they depart for their tour with the Wire we wish them the best exporting the finest of San Francisco’s wonderfully shrill shoegaze-y noise-rock.

After a contentions reader’s voting period Michael Musika earned himself a second place nod. Contrasting Weekend with a more subdued acoustic style Michael Musika brings some representation to the poll for the Bay Area’s folk community.

Finally, after coming in first in the reader’s poll The Family Crest took third for the overall contest. Bringing an orchestral indie-rock sound to the field, this placement hopefully will help The Family with their latest release The Village.

Well we are coming up to the final hours of our Best Emerging Bay Area Artist 2010 Poll so be sure to get your votes in. In the meantime however there are several shows this coming week you may want to check out.

Tomorrow night Ears of the Beholder will be presenting a show at Public Works featuring Religious Girls, The Actors, former Artist of the Month winners Thralls, and Spiro Agnew, 8pm.

Thursday at the Starry Plough in Oakland former Artist of the Month winners Cannons and Clouds will be playing with Black Balloon and The Interchangeable Hearts, 9pm.

Friday head to the Rickshaw to see Monotonix, Ty Segall, and Nodzzz, 8:30pm.

Saturday be sure to catch Weekend at the Hemlock with Terry Malts and Wax Idols. This may be your last chance to see Weekend before their much anticipated tour with the Wire, 9:30pm.

Alternatively, on the same night, you can get a free CD just for walking in the door of the Rickshaw for the Attachments’ album release party. They will be playing with The Hot Toddies and Scrabbel, 8:30pm.

–Ada Lann

Well the New Year continues with one thoroughly busy week for shows. Here are a few selections.

Tomorrow head out to Bottom of the Hill to see Young Prisms kick off their tour with Melted Toys. They will be playing with Speculator, 9pm.

Thursday at Cafe Du Nord Worker Bee will be headlining an all local show with Sleeptalks, Nick Reinhart, and new favorites Sunbeam Rd, 8pm.  Apparently they made a promo video for the show.  A first?

Friday Yours Truly and Terror Eyes will be presenting an interesting part film part live music event at the Common. With screenings of unreleased footage from both blogs, performances by Religious Girls and Appetite, and the promise of free beer this is not an event to be missed, 8:30.

However if film screenings aren’t your thing, up at the Hemlock, the same evening, Man/Miracle will be playing with Butterfly Bones and Elephant & Castle, 9:30.

Finally, Saturday back out at Bottom of the Hill Jake Mann & The Upper Hand will be celebrating their CD release with Grand Lake and il gato, 9pm.

–Ada Lann