Elisa‘s sound may be light and twinkly, but her voice carries an unexpected weight and wiseness. Her latest release, "Morning Again" begins with a minimalistic, ethereal soundscape but bleeds into an upbeat drum kit infused with differently textured samples. And then there’s that guttural feeling you get when Elisa belts, as if every word were breaking out of her chest. Elisa plays The Knitting Factory in Brooklyn on May 16th.-Geena Kloeppel

Irreverently quirky, with a slurred, seemingly codeine influenced flow, DMV producer Mike of Doom’s latest album, MICHAEL, is an amusing and at times semi-serious collection of songs about Mike’s life. The strongest element of this album is its genre bending. Mike of Doom explores everything from vaporwave to punk to trap without ever losing a sense of playfulness and confidence. The genre bending keeps the album fresh, and despite the sometimes stale subject matter of the songs, the music is truly entertaining to listen to.

A pleasing and ambitious release from DMV’s own Mike of Doom.

-Written by Michael Dranove

Catcalling is one of the more frustrating aspects of living in the big apple, and being on the receiving end of incessant lines of creepy comments can be uncomfortable if not downright terrifying. What’s a girl to do? In the case of Lucy Marie Horton, one half of electro-pop duo, Eugene Marie, you turn it into music. The group’s newest track, “Nice Smell,” features lyrics exclusively culled from the mouths of her street harassers. Though transforming predatory phrases into a pointed pop hit is a feat, Eugene Marie pulls it off seamlessly; crafting a piece that is playful and melodic, but also thrusts the dialogue surrounding catcalling further into the public realm. Stream “Nice Smell” below.-Olivia Sisinni

NYC-based indie rockers NØMADS describe themselves as "two people in a room hitting things hard and trying to communicate life," and if that doesn’t sound like the perfect way of navigating through all the things life hurls at you, then I don’t know what does. With understated vocals and catchy riffs, the duo crafts tracks with strong hooks and engaging verses, but there’s a decidedly noisy streak that creates the real magic in the band’s songs. The band will have a May residency at Pianos starting on the 9th. Check out NØMADS’s new track, "ATAXOPHOBIA" streaming below.-Olivia Sisinni 

Brooklyn-based Peaer crafts understated indie rock songs that feel raw and unpolished enough to reflect the types of real-life concepts wrestled with in their lyrics. A highly dynamic band with a lot of heart, Peaer is tight enough to flirt with the wildness of coming undone, without ever succumbing to it. Active since the beginning of the decade, the band in 2016 released a noteworthy 7 track record, one of our favorite within the genre, check out "single Cliff Song," below, and opener "Pink Spit," here. – Olivia Sisinni

We added this song to The Deli’s playlist of Best garagey/punky songs by emerging NYC artists – check it out!

With a name like Heavy Traffic, you have to ensure that you’re a band that’s bringing down the heavy jams, and the Brooklyn-based four-piece definitely does not disappoint. Delivering stoner/doomy riffs layered with fuzz and grit, the band’s psych-influenced vocals and blunted percussion make them a driving, unadulterated display of sludgy metal that stands out from the pack. With tunes this heavy, you can practically smell the oil pits and diesel fumes from here. Check out single "Medicated Bed, streaming below, and – if you dig it – mark your calendar for September 23rd, when they are scheduled to play Arlene’s Grocery. – Olivia Sisinni

Sometimes the simple things are best. That’s true for the music of Fraidycat, an indie rock group who play no-nonsense songs about — as their Facebook page professes — "stuff that came up in therapy." For anyone needing a good dose of catharsis in the form of some upbeat tunes, Fraidycat will play ALPHAVILLE on May 6th, along with True Dreams, Yucky Duster, and Haybaby. It’s all to celebrate the release of Other Better Places, their debut LP, which includes short bursts of poppy emotion in the form of tracks like "Best Pie" and "Fortune Cookies." You can stream the latter below. – Will Sisskind

Lost in Society is an alternative rock band from New Jersey that fosters a punk ethos – both sonically and lyrically. Their songs take an almost Marxist lingual approach by critiquing dominant cultural narratives and power structures. “All these people working / just to live check by check / sinking down into a hopeless death” a Linkin Park-esque voice screams in the first verse of the outfit’s most recent release, “I Want To Know”. With the themes Lost In Society tackles becoming increasingly relevant in the authoritarian direction taken by our politics, it’s no surprise they’re starting to gain a lot more local and national attention. What makes this band special is that they refresh a punk tradition with leftist roots by immersing it in the circumstances of the present. Don’t miss their next performance on Thursday, May 11th at the Knitting Factory.

Inspired by the mind expanding sounds of the ’60s, Send Medicine began as the solo project for Toronto based singer/songwriter Julian Hacquebard in the summer of 2012. Now based in Los Angeles and expanded to five members, the band, in last year’s debut album "Scary Aquarius Daughter" honed a sound that updates psychedelic folk to the current times. They just landed a prestigious residency at the Satellite for the month of June, starting on the 5th. Check out their latest single ‘Translucent’ (streaming below).

If you are into guitar pedals, check out this feature where Julian Hacquebard on our sister blog Delicious Audio.

Readers who’ve been sticking around for a while may remember Rachel Trachtenburg from teen indie band Supercute! (active in the NYC scene around 2013), and then also as the drummer of ironic folk pop band The Prettiots. Rachel, who is also an actress and model, has recently formed her own group, called Wooing, which is about to release its debut EP through a live show at Pianos on May 10th. The show is part of a monthly residency that will see the band perform at the Ludlow venue every Wednesday of the current month, starting tonight (05.03). The three songs available online showcase a trio uncommitted to a particular genre (we hear, intermittently, folk, noise rock, dream pop…), but generally inclined to find any good excuse to get really loud and noisy, as you can hear in streaming track ‘Tear World.’

In 2017, folk music is far from being simply a revival phenomenon. In the last few decades, the genre has been undergoing a healthy evolution, incorporating elements from pop and indie rock, often flirting with melodic and "dreamy" components that don’t necessarily belong to its most authentic roots. This process had the effect of widening a sonic palette that started to feel and sound outdated. You can hear all that in NYC songrwriter’s new release ‘Rain on the River.’ Her single ‘Alexander,’ which was included in the April 2017 "New Folk" playlist by Indie Feed Music, is a delicate and passionate folk-pop ballad about ex-lovers and the ageless question "…do you think of me the same way I think of you?" The all-consuming melancholy such thought could induce is tempered by Sydney’s light tone and breezy melody, which makes it sound like an afterthought – at least until everything goes quiet and the crucial issue comes up: "have you found another girl? […] Are you happy now?"

This artist submitted music for coverage here.

We added this song to The Deli’s playlist of Best Rootsy songs by emerging NYC artists – check it out!

Naming your band Debbie Downer immediately suggests a thematic concept.  Comprised of members from other more established local bands amusingly masking their identities in Ramones-style unity (all copping to the surname “downer”), their just released track "I Did It All For You" (streaming below) comes in advance of debut EP ‘You Know You’re Wrong.’ Drawing from iconic 60’s girl group motifs, The Shangri-Las tough-but-sweet boldness is updated to reflect modern day issues.  That era’s call and response background vocals are grounded by a solid bass line and enhanced by free flowing surf guitar parts.  The track’s sweetest moment arrives in the chorus, where the lyrics “you know you’re never gonna be anything at all” confirm the "downer" tendencies that inspired the band’s moniker.  The group has a number of local shows coming up, including this Friday 5/5 at Monty Hall, 5/19 at Sunnyvale and appearances during The Northside Festival in June. – Dave Cromwell