The lie “Half-Remembered” asks us to believe is that it is cinematic for its ambience and minimalism. This is not the truth. “Half-Remembered” is cinematic for its drama, its likeness to the grandeur of a big screen in a dark room. At the start of Tim Kuhl’s newest track, the second single from the Margaret Glaspy and Sean Lennon drummer’s upcoming album “Sky Valley,” the dripping piano introduces a gentle music in the lineage of film scoring. This gives way to a dark stretch of synth pop, decorated with gloomy vocals from poet Geoffrey Bankowski. It’s the second half of the song that breaks the illusion of minimalism. Kuhl orchestrates his ‘80s instrumentals to a fiery crescendo fueled by post-rock and all the epic drama of the big screen. The track owes as much to the dynamics of Explosions in the Sky or Godspeed! You Black Emperor as it does to the gothic synth pop of John Maus or The Cure. You can listen to “Half-Remembered” below and pre-order “Sky Valley,” due February 23rd, here. Kuhl will perform a string of shows at Pete’s Candy Store as part of an extended five-month residency beginning February 17th. – Cameron Carr, photo by Nathan West

The Manhattan-based alt-rockers of The Chordaes (pronounced kor-daze) have had a busy last few months, and they don’t show signs off stopping as they kick off February with a live show at Rockwood Music Hall’s Stage 2. In October, the band released their EP In Itinere, a collection of seven personal-journey tracks which showcase Leo Sawkin’s versatile voice and Kevin Foley’s Harrison-esque guitar work. They also released the music video for the track "What Do You Want From Me", a psychedelic clip which further strengthens the Beatles similarities; the track sounds like it could come from a modern-day Magical Mystery Tour. Catch The Chordaes at Rockwood Stage 2 on February 3rd; until then, watch the video for "What Do You Want From Me" below. – Will Sisskind

"Things Are Clear This Morning" holds true to its title: it definitely is a morning song. Steve Shiffman & the Land of No‘s delicate, sleep-in-the-eye vocal gently guides you through the track, accompanied by a heartily strummed acoustic guitar.  There’s even a synth-like electric guitar at the end that gives off just enough of an atmospheric texture to suspend the song in mid-air. Steve Shiffman successfully transports you to a warm breeze on a clear morning. The band’s new record Double Life is out February 2nd on Later Records, with a release party at Club Berlin on February 10th. – Geena Kloeppel

As a followup to their article "New York City’s Hardest-Working Bands of 2017," indie music site Oh My Rockness will be hosting a concert in which 6 of the 10 bands that made the list will be performing. Headlining the event will be the group that earned the no. 1 spot, post-punk jangle rockers Big Bliss, with support coming from Fruit & Flowers, Darkwing, Sic Tic, Grim Streaker, and Thick. The show will take place at the venue Baby’s All Right, and will be 21+ with tickets going for $10. – Alexander Beebe

NYC indie pop-rock band RANN is back with a new single after the release of their 2014 debut album Yellowgun. The track develops the quartet’s sophisticated sound in a darker direction, supported by ambiguous lyrics with vague political overtones. The band’s ’80s pop influences – think INXS and Peter Gabriel from the post "So" years – are brought to life by the deft production of Michael Brauer (Coldplay, John Mayer). 
RANN’s EP "Renegade Holiday" will be out on February 23rd.

It seems rather appropriate to open the day after a divisive State of the Union speech with this video by sister duo Hegazy celebrating the values of family and friendship within racial diversity (by the way, how did it happen that one of the very few New Yorkers that don’t get tolerance and inclusiveness ended up in the White House?). Leila & Omnia are also New York born, and decided to join their musical careers as solo artists back in 2015 after the death of their father, who always insisted they were stronger together. They’ll be celebrating the release of their debut EP at Mercury Lounge on Friday February 9th. Check out their video for single "Here To Stay," streaming below.

There’s a certain cosmic energy that strings together the scenes of the newest music video for the track “Upside 85” (streaming below) by Oakland trio Milk For The Angry; the randomness is reworked into a psychedelic reality quite easily, through flashing images of thrashing, glitter-soaked bodies, a live performance, and lone motorcyclist on the freeway. The grunge-soaked garage rock is heavy with psychedelic influences, riffing off of the surf-sensibilities of the scene. Listening to “Upside 85”—or frankly, any track by the Cali natives—feels like stepping into a wonderfully gritty postcard of the Golden State. Perhaps it has to do with the fact that the band, founded by Dana Windstorm and Matt Kerslake after a chance encounter in a Bay Area drum shop, is essentially a living mythologization of what it means to be a musician in California. Or maybe it’s just something about the reverb. Regardless, it’s difficult to listen to this track without stepping back afterwards and thinking, “there’s something special here.” Milk For The Angry is playing a string of local shows soon, with the next announced date being February 28th at Bottom of the Hill. – Lilly Milman

There’s something decidedly midwestern about Dougie Poole. It’s not so much the love for heartland country that Poole wears proudly on his sleeve, but the odd ways he stretches out those influences. Poole’s take on country sees mainly the sappy sentimentality at its core and embellishes that with generous reverb and synth-heavy arrangements. It’s definitely not country, but alt-country would be a major misnomer too… it owes far more to ‘80s synth-pop and new wave. There’s not much else like it, you really have to hear it to understand. You can experience this intriguing blend of influence in person next February 4th when Dougie Poole opens for Paul Bergmann’s record release show at Baby’s All Right. – Cameron Carr

Though they identify their genre of indie music as "anxiety pop", Wet Leather return with confidence as they drop their newest single, "I Was Wrong". Drawing from ’80s influences (Prince’s ghost often dwells in their recordings) and indie elements of the ’00s such as CHVRCHES’ synths and poppy hooks, the group once again makes their mark in the NYC scene. Last week, they released another new song called "IWMU"; both that and "I Was Wrong" (streaming below) will appear on Wet Leather’s upcoming EP, Present Lives. The group will release the EP and perform on February 2nd at Elsewhere’s Zone 1. – Will Sisskind

Sun Voyager is a heavy-psych trio that gets it right. These fuzz freaks drag the psych genre back to its gritty roots, all the while using each song in their upcoming LP to subtly experiment with sister genres. The tracks are fresh (fresher than Sun Voyager’s bongwater, at least) and at the perfect lengths. For these guys there’s no need for pretentious half-hour anthems though – which, considering the band’s groovy setup, wouldn’t necessarily be a bad thing. Get your preorder in for “Seismic Vibes,” their forthcoming album from King Pizza Records out on 04.20. —Amanda Ogea

Eric Benoit‘s sophomore album Heartrender consists in seven tracks of emotional journeying through a tortured relationship. Beginning in 2014 with his bold album College, Benoit has melted his soul into roaring lyrical anthems with the arrangements of haunting electronic soundscapes. His second release builds upon the work of his debut, exploring themes of trauma and unresolved pain with explosive lyrics such as "Fucking is a disease/Procreation is incest". Benoit will mark the album’s release with a show at Pianos on Saturday, January 27th. You can stream two tracks out of Heartrender below. – Will Sisskind

Dragonflies by Eric Benoit on VEVO.

Hello good music diggers!

The Winter 2018 issue of The Deli NYC (our 53rd!) is now available for you to read online, here!

This is also the first NAMM issue of The Deli, since a week from today we’ll be at the Californian musical instrument convention with a huge booth full of guitar pedals!

That’s why we took the opportunity to put on the cover of our magazine the legendary Brooklyn noise rockers A Place To Bury Strangers – a band that makes their own stompboxes, called Death By Audio.

The issue features a lot of other local artists (and their pedals) and also an article about the best records of 2017 by emerging NYC Artists – check it out!

Here’s a playlist of the artists featured in the issue.