THE DELI

“…Quiet songs with minimal arrangements.”

Jeremy Leasure describes the aim of his tandem debut with Brittany Beppu, Thoughts on Future Hindsight, concisely. As NewBalance, the duo draws something different from Leasure’s older project, Canyons, of which Beppu occasionally contributes to. They’re more influenced by songwriters like Scott Walker and Townes Van Zandt, Judy Garland and Audrey Hepburn. Poignant and noble.

Beppu’s voice stands out in the album’s tape scratch “Shirley Temple”. At first the lyrics are cryptic, but the songs emerge as individual character sketches, says Leasure—an attempt "…to understand how we cope when things don’t go the way we imagined they would." He hopes that the songs provide the same comfort to his audience as they did for him. NewBalance’s next performance on the 19th at The Smell with Tone in Georgia, Hannah and minimall. Listen to the opener "Cartoon Captions" off Thoughts on Future Hindsight, out now. – Kaitlyn Tang

Today, we are premiering Brooklyn indie-folk act Tender Glue latest single “Goodbye Bushwick” (streaming below) off forthcoming new album ‘Steady Light.’ Sounding out curling atmospherics that recall Kurt Vile’s great 2011 release ‘Smoke Ring from My Halo” from a few years back, the guitar-based track is also, impressively, a poetic paean of days gone by in the tradition of none other than Dylan or Cohen. This seems to be one of only a few songs from the new musician but a sign of promise, to say the least. Tender Glue will celebrate the release of ‘Steady Light’ at The City Reliquary on 8/26. In the meantime, keep posted with the musician on his Facebook page. – Zach Weg

Much like many great New Jersey artists before them, Hodera craft highly personal and relatable songs that maintain a casual tone. Similarly to artists like Brand New and La Dispute, their debut album United By Birdcalls evokes the mood of emo and pop-punk, but steers clear of unnecessary drama (and unbereable whiny vocals!): the band’s intimate stories are told with sincerity. The project is led by Michael Smith, who wrote most of the record on his first guitar in a small room while dealing with bouts of depression. Much of the instrumantion projects a calm atmosphere, while the lyrics give the listener a look inside of Smith’s head and his quest to get rid of his negative thoughts. Tracks like “Dear Forefathers” and “No, I’m Not” slow things down on the LP’s second half by capturing a more melancholy and stripped down vibe. Hodera will be kicking off their Northeast tour with sports. and Terrraveer tonight (August 17th) at Aviv! – John Honan

Plainclothes play a brief, fast paced brand of emo/punk that’s reminiscent of emo staples American Football and modern punk contemporaries Joyce Manor. The three-piece employs the use of intricate math inspired guitar parts on their debut album Dog Logic, which was released last year on Counter Intuitive Records. Its lyrics are a mature and honest look into their young lives, while analyzing the moments that helped shape them during their formative years. Plainclothes waste no time on the 18 minute record, packing songs less than two minutes long with intelligent reflections and references to philosophers such as Immanuel Kant. The Boston-based act play O’Brien’s pub tonight (8.16)! – John Honan

Secret Crush deals up sleepy but fun shoegaze propelled by infectious grooves. The vocals of the Bushwick-based group sound as if filtered through one of those low-power FM radio, and are set above dreamy, fuzzy guitars that are more playful than lofty. Their newly released EP, Birth, blends a strong garage-pop feel into the mix, and conveys to the tracks’ swirling melodies a dance-y beat that’s easy to latch on to. You can check out Secret Crush at Berlin playing with Beechwood on Aug 27th, but in the meantime take a listen at our favorite song ‘Psychic Companion,’ streaming below. – Olivia Sisinni