In a DIY scene that often acts as a caricature of angst, anger, and disinterest, indie folk pop duo Loveangelists are fighting back by killing with kindness. The duo, made up of songwriters Nathan Dennen and Lisa Young, specialize in light, melodic ballads about empowerment. They seek to uplift with their music, with lyrics about loving more openly and coming together to make change—a message that comes across through supple harmonies and acoustic riffs. The Oakland duo just kicked off 2018 with a show at Hotel Utah, and are planning on playing more live shows as the year unwinds. Their next booked show at the moment is on January 25th at Neck of the Woods. – Lilly Milman

Listen to our favorite track “Love Out Loud” below. 

Bethlehem Steel is loud. The band’s music commands the room with intensity and force. The group’s most recent album Party Naked Forever, released in November of 2017, brought that music to a new focus with tumbling fuzz rockers and stop-start rhythmic treats. It’s an album that successfully emphasizes the band’s tumultuous live power and serves as a persuasive argument for taking the time to catch the quartet on a stage. You’ll have that opportunity on January 17th when Bethlehem Steel headlines Silent Barn. – Cameron Carr

After a year spent battling vocal chord issues, Brooklyn artist Von Sell has returned with the R&B inflected electro-pop single “Hell No,” a hard-grooving debut for NYU’s Village Records. David Von Sell, the Hamburg, Germany native behind the project, sings with a soft and sly tone that contrasts the on-and-off pump of a dense electronica arrangement. The production shines on “Hell No,” so sleek it’s almost slippery with a thick snare-kick beat anchoring the rhythm down. It’s a marked improvement to his promising 2016 debut self-titled EP and an enticing preview of what we could expect from a new EP currently in progress by Von Sell. – Cameron Carr

Although the album tends to get bogged down in a competent shoegaze drone, June Parker brings some charm to traditional shoegaze tropes. Tracks like “What has Happened/What Will Happen” and “Love Her” in particular stand out for their pretty aesthetics. Lyrically, this album is quite true to the shoegaze style; giving the listener a vague sense of what the song is about, making sure that the song’s deeper meanings are hinted at but not necessarily explicitly laid out. There are enough nice moments on this release to make it well worth a listen.

-Mike Dranove

Once again, 2017 was a year of experiments in modern folk music. Two NYC acts that pushed the boundaries of the genre and further defined the slightly fuzzy definition of neo-folk were Swimming Bell and Thelma. “The Golden Heart,” the former’s debut EP, carved fresh arrangements and harmonic material out of familiar instrumental textures. Thelma’s self-titled record meandered into darker lyrical and melodic territory, though with a consistent crystalline vocal perched atop often dissonant chords and rockier textures. That being said, Pueblo and Hayes Peebles, on the rootsier end of the spectrum, shone with stellar songwriting and nuanced arrangements, offering up an enlightening modern take on a more traditional sound. Pueblo released their flavorful record “Boring the Camera,” stirred memories of an electric Simon & Garfunkel. Hayes Peebles’ “Ghosts EP” offered breathtaking melodies with lush, sentient lyrics, while peppering in a twangy guitar or two. We also really enjoyed Swoon Lake‘s lush ballads from her sophomore self-titled EP, although the artist doesn’t seem to be very active live. – Geena Kloeppel

Here’s a playlist with a song each from these five artists. 

Sur Back is the solo project of avant-pop NYC based artist Caroline Sans. Walking the line between orchestral and electronic, her new single Valentino (streaming below) showcases an artist able to synthesise complexity, structure and melody into music that’s relevant and current. Lovers of other deliciously edgy female fronted acts like Bjork, Portishead and St. Vincent should definitely lend an ear to Sur Back’s debut EP and look out for the upcoming sophomore entitled KITSCH II, bound to drop on February 2.rd. Sur Back will be performing live at The Knitting Factory tonight, January 9th.

Starting off the year with a Deli premiere are Lake Ruth, a group of multi-instrumentalists and genre explorers who are set to release their second album Birds of America on February 16th on British label Feral Child Recordings. The follow-up to their critically acclaimed debut features the track "One Of Your Own", which combines perky ’60s surf-rock psychedelia with the brooding New Wave vibes of Joy Division and the electronic textures of early Simple Minds. Allison Brice’s voice soars above the driving drums and entrancing guitars of bandmates Matt Schulz and Hewson Chen in a mix care of Grammy-winning producer Geoff Sanoff. Listen to the Deli premiere of "One Of Our Own" below. – Will Sisskind

Describing themselves as "pure ear candy," Gingerlys provide catchy and hazy dream pop tunes. The female-fronted, five-piece indie pop band began when guitarist Matt Richards started sharing acoustic demos of his pop songs with his fellow bandmates in his Valley Stream, New York basement. The band’s guitarist Matthew Richards recently talked to our sister blog Delicious Audio about the band’s sounds and the pedals used to create it, check out the Q&A here. 

NYC psychedelic glam-punk rockers Beechwood are set to release their latest record “Songs From the Land of Nod” on January 26^th via Alive Naturalsound. Building a reputation for reckless and disorderly behavior (which covers the punk label well), their sound draws equally from the psych and glam rock realms. Stylistic elements of both Marc Bolan and Daniel Ash (in particular his soft vocal style) can be heard in many of the tracks. Thickly layered background voices juxtapose sweetly against garage drums and guitars, leading to frequent psych-out jams. Current single “C F” (streaming below) makes full use of all these aspects while adding slide guitar and keyboards into the mix. This easy psychedelia and vintage sounding looseness puts Beechwood in a sonic world not too distant from the ones inhabited by modern classics like Foxygen and Tame Impala. The band will be opening for NY Dolls legend David Johansen at Elsewhere on 1/20, a show that also features Deli cover stars Baby Shakes and celebrated DJ Jonathan Toubin. –Dave Cromwell

Usually shoegaze is an all or nothing mentality, but Hypoluxo merely dip their feet in for a dreamy wash. The Brooklyn band’s sound hits pretty straightforward, a little mellow with a baritone croon somewhere between Joy Division’s Ian Curtis and The National’s Matt Berninger, but the tasteful add-ins of sparkling guitar arpeggios and noisy swells give an extra coziness to Hypoluxo’s sound that makes you want to curl up inside it—perfect for recovering for the extreme cold that started the year. Catch the band’s first gig of 2018 on January 14th opening for Wildhoney alongside Big Bliss and Fruit & Flowers. – Cameron Carr

Pom Pom Squad’s music is dynamic and driving, but at the heart of the band is Mia Berrin’s sincere and emotionally vulnerable songwriting. Littered with stirring lyrics like “you said you wanted to take me away / so I packed a bag but you never came,” Berrin captures heartache with honesty and accuracy. The power of distorted guitars and crashing drums can help tell the story but her voice always leads. On January 14th, you can hear that songwriting take center focus when Pom Pom Squad plays a solo set at Mercury Lounge. – Cameron Carr

Walking the line between punk and alt rock, Brooklyn’s QWAM delivers generous doses of anthemic energy in their debut EP "Feed Me" (a title that surely resonates with most emerging musician in the city). The record was born and raised in Brooklyn, and recorded at legendary Studio G in Greenpint by Jack Counce. You can catch the band’s driving guitars, frenetic drums, and snarling vocals from lead singer Felicia Lobo at The Knitting Factory on January 24th, during which they’ll be celebrating the record’s release.