Sophie Auster is not the kind of singer likely to come up too often. Like a cross between Fiona Apple’s righteous rage and Gillian Welch’s homespun folk yarns, her bittersweet alto’s deft sense of delivery is a shot to the skull, wrapped up in some of the most alluring, seductive torch songs you’re liable to find in the city. ‘Square Moon,’ heard on latest EP ‘Red Weather,’ packs a punch as she learns all about the trials of spending time in Paris. But she’s just as likely to deliver searing reflections on past loves (title track ‘Red Weather’), or to expose secret desires in the excellent video for ‘Run, Run, Run’ (also streaming below). See her live on September 18 at Rockwood. – Mike Levine (@Goldnuggets)

For a band calling themselves Brooklyn Sugar Company, this group sounds like they belong in another place, in another time. Bearing the kind of blues-influenced ditties better associated with Chicago or New Orleans, and a sound that could have come from arena stadiums filled up in the ramblin’ 1970’s, the band is bringing back much needed attention to heartland roots rock, in a town not known for roots rock bands. Their latest self-titled LP takes a tour around sounds similar to Elton John, Bruce Springsteen, Rick Springfield… bands of yesteryear that were just waiting to come back to life, and bringing it all to our backyard. See them when they play at Rockwood Music Hall on September 13. – Mike Levine (@Goldnuggets)

This band submitted their music for coverage here.

As the summer winds down, there’s nothing like a good, clean, catchy indie pop tune to drag you back into enjoying the last sun and fun of the season. That’s what Hey Anna does. Hailing from NJ and Brooklyn, the band released in May a very solid EP titled "Pompette". Their catchy hooks are delivered by soothing female vocals, while an upbeat, edgy electric sound keeps thing moving in unexpected ways. Check out the song titled “Dance Until Three” below – you can get it here through a name-your-price system, together with the other songs on the EP, all are equally solid – and see them live when they play Bowery Electric on September 7th.  – Michael Haskoor (@Tweetskoor)

Johanna Warren is having a busy year: she’s been on the road as a singer with Iron & Wine, recorded with Natalie Merchant and Elvis Perkins, and is about to self-release her debut solo record, "Fates," a collection of nine songs recorded over the course of three days in a haunted attic in upstate New York. For the last six years Warren has fronted the band Sticklips, an experimental project drawing on the eclectic influences of its shifting personnel. The 24-year-old songwriter’s debut solo album is stripped to the bone yet full and spacious, entirely acoustic yet lush with eery ambience. Influenced heavily by the early recordings of Elliott Smith, Warren strove to create an intimate sonic universe with very sparse arrangements, relying solely on the strength of her songwriting. – (photo credit: Gretchen Heinel) – (as posted in The Deli’s Open Blog – post your band’s entries, videos, and Mp3s here). The Deli’s NYC Open Blog is powered by The Music Building.