Justinus Primitive is the king of drone-hop in Chicago and he recently released his 3rd full-length album, Children of the Law of One through I Had An Accident Records. Primitive can flow, but what makes this release truly remarkable is the pulse and drone of Lungfish and La Monte Young. Below is the video for the first single from the album "City Dervish".
After a copious amount of listening to music, emails, data entry and simple math, we finally have the overall results of The Deli’s Best of Philly 2011 Poll for Emerging Artists.
Congrats to Creepoid for taking home the honors this year! After placing third last year in our poll on the strength of their impressive debut EP Yellow Life Giver and buzzworthy live performances, it might not have been hard to predict for some that the grunge-y psych folk four-piece would be found at the top of our list, especially after they kicked off 2011 with the much-loved full-length Horse Heaven, were handpicked by R5’s Sean Agnew to be recorded and filmed in their own episode of Weathervane Music & WXPN’s “Shaking Through,” and featured on NPR’s “World Café: Next” as well as numerous other memorable moments throughout the year. It is easy to understand how the band received a record amount of votes from our jury of Philly music lovers and scene makers to nail down the victory from the early stages of the poll. (Creepoid Photo by Michael James Murray)
Kudos, also go out to the prolific smooth-fi/sedative-wave outfit Work Drugs for snagging the runner-up spot in this year’s poll! The band has been captivating the interweb with their seductive sounds and dreamy videos right out of the gate, which has led to the duo of Benjamin Louisiana and Thomas Crystal needing to put a live band together after receiving an invitation to hit the road with Two Door Cinema Club in their infancy. Having only been around a little more than a year, you can expect to hear more from Work Drugs in 2012 as they continue their mission of “dancing, boating, yachting, sexting and living.” They’ll be doing weekend run next week opening for Umphrey’s McGee, which will be making a stop at the Electric Factory on Saturday, February 11.
And we can’t forget about the badass monster jams of noisy psychedelic garage rockers Purling Hiss, who placed third in this year’s competition. Mike Polizze, Kiel Everett and Mike Sneeringer continue to impress audiences the old fashion way – by bringing the heat every night. Their fearless, reckless abandon on stage is a good reason why the Hiss has been signed by such well-respected indie labels and booked to tour with many stellar acts. They are currently on the road right now with hometown faves Dr. Dog. (Purling Hiss Photo by Tim Bugbee).
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Please take a moment and check out the rest of our list below. We hope that you discover your next favorite artist.
High Highs kicked off their month long residency of sorts at Pianos last night – they’ll be playing every second Wednesday in February. These New Yorkers by way of Australia bedecked the stage in white lights and immediately captivated the audience with their brand of dreamy electro; as the set began, the sizable crowd stood rapt and respectfully silent. Between notes, between songs, you could hear a pin drop – or more likely some dude slurping his drink.
Jack Milas’s confident falsetto carried over soft waves of trance-inducing electronics. Standing on his toes to conquer the high notes, he switched from electric to acoustic and back again. The trio’s genuinely pretty beats have a pied piper effect – the melodic beauty lures you in so you fail to notice at first how incredibly haunting it is.
High Highs ended the night with the first track off their self-titled EP, “Open Season.” This song, executed with great inspiration, packed the eerily lush punch that lends High Highs depth. – Corinne Bagish
PO PO premiered a creepy new music video that turns strangely romantic today via Stereogum for the tracks “Teen Dreamz” and “Let’s Get Away.” However, it seems like the story doesn’t end there. The video was directed Clayton Vomero. PO PO’s album Dope Boy Magick will be released February 28 via Mad Decent.
It’s hard not to be drawn to Tutlie’s track “Giantess.” The song’s tranquil xylophone sounds gently seep into your subconscious as Jessie Radlow’s seductively beautiful vocals and wandering, come-hither lyrics takes you on a liberating, joyous journey. Coupled with Christina Klaproth’s harmonies creating a one-two punch that you’d gladly take without putting up any defenses. They are also joined by a fine band of musicians with Josa Lazas (Golden Ages, Strand of Oaks), Tony Rossi (Streaks of Light), and Asher Brooks providing the well-orchestrated sonic backdrop. Now, I know that you are probably over the whole Kickstarter-type thing with the bazillion projects begging for your funding. However, take a listen to “Giantess,” and hopefully it will inspire you to help make Tutlie’s album Young Cries come to life by donating HERE. You can also catch them live tomorrow night at Kung Fu Necktie when they open for White Birds and Univox. – H.M. Kauffman
Here is a new music video for Corey Regensburg, a.k.a. Moon Bounce, Philly’s own sound collage Wunderkind who is currently working on his much-anticipated debut LP. The video for “Telephone” is a surreal, crisp experience that utilizes a seemingly mundane set-up of a “murdered out” Regensburg with nothing but a touchtone phone and a blurry female. The song bends and grinds in all its post-R&B glory. The clip was created by Kyle Stetz a.k.a. there is a mountain (look out for him), Kerry Gilbert a.k.a. Science Fiction Fantasy (ditto), and Michael Boyce. Enjoy and keep an ear out for more releases!
This might sound kind of trite, but imagination is one of the crucial deciding factors that makes us pay attention to music we get introduced to. This is a quality that is definitely not missing from Night Manager‘s music, lead singer Caitlin Seager’s melodies in particular. The Brooklyn via Paris/San Francisco band offers some of the most refreshingly catchy pop lines we heard in a long time. The gorgeous single "Ghost" (streaming below) is a glorious melange of genres, somewhat reminiscent of the carefully constructed songs from The Throwing Muses’ pop masterpiece "The Real Ramona" – one of the most underestimated pop album of the 90s. Unpredictable melodies blending Cocteau Twins’ heavenly beauty and The Beach Boys’ harmonizing mastery, float on top of what could be described as a grunge-style track, although drenched in reverb and filtered through the NYC DIY sound of the new millennium, with all its homages to the new wave and the garage sound of the 60s. But the sonic character of the track is kind of contingent here, because the actual song is so good that it would work in any instrumental context. The other two tracks on the 7" (the band’s third release), present a similar recipe, with a heavier influence of the 60’s surf pop element, which awakens comparisons to west coast breakout band Best Coast. The "Ghost" 7" caught the year of the folks at Rough Trade in the UK and Big Love in Japan, who will be releasing it starting today in those countries.
One of the most fun rootsy groups in NYC, The Debutante Hour sounds like if The Dresden Dolls met Tegan and Sara and had beautiful vaudeville cabaret babies (which isn’t surprising considering Brian Viglione, drummer for The Dresden Dolls, collaborated with the group on various songs). The three-woman band sings songs covering subjects that span from zombies to self-confidence and shell out covers including the likes of 90s super- group TLC’s hit single “No Scrubs” (streaming below). Their charming matching outfits perfectly compliment the charming harmonies they produce as well as the captivating personalities that shine through their playful lyrics. The band will be playing at 8 p.m. at Union Hall in Brooklyn on Friday, February 10th. – Christine Cauthen
Psychedelic electro glam rockin’/Prince lovin’ crew Nicos Gun will be headlining Johnny Brenda’s tonight. The gang said goodbye to a successful 2011 and welcomed the New Year with their first full-length album Plush. They recently had to cancel an appearance earlier this week at Lit Lounge in NYC due to illness so let’s hope what was ailing them is over and send some positive vibes for all to be well. This will be Nicos Gun’s last show in Philly before they make the big move to Los Angeles so catch them while you can because who knows when they’ll be back. Oh LA, you seductive siren. How many more of our artists are you going to buy from us with promises of fame and fortune? Well, tonight is your chance to give Nicos Gun a proper sendoff. They will be joined by Drgn King and Brooklyn’s Fort Lean, who will be making their debut in Philly. Johnny Brenda’s, 1201 N. Frankford Ave., 9pm, $10, 21+ – H.M. Kauffman
Blah Blah Blah has released a new video for the second single from their latest ep, Thank You Thank You, called "Soon As I Get Home Tonight". The video was directed by Benjamin Fingerhut ("Breaking and Entering") and features a cameo from Chuck Inglish of The Cool Kids.
This Thursday, Feb. 2nd, Briar Rabbit will be releasing a "suite of songs" called The Great Routine. The collection of tunes attempts to take look back at the turn of the century and the generally accepted entertainment affects of African American artist through history.
With "Break It Yourself" coming on March 6th, Andrew Bird is starting to release a couple of samples of what the new album might sound like. The current sample is a track called "Eyeoneye". This is a fun single with a driving beat, that is a way combines everything "Bird". Yes, there is a whistling, but also a vintage sound that you might not expect.
One of the most fun rootsy groups in NYC, 
