OK folks, it’s almost Valentine’s Day, but, really… are we rockers supposed to give a crap? (Answer: it depends what your other half thinks about it, and how much you care about him/her…). Brooklyn’s Def.GRLS, at first glance, looks like a band perfectly equipped to entertain Valentine’s Day practitioners. Just look at the cover of their 2015 “GRLS EP,” which features the annual red, pink and white "hues of adoration." The image on the record even depicts a woman biting into a marshmallow of some sort, while the band, in one of their Beatlesy-bubbly-beepity-bop tracks, sings about a… "FinGRLess Lady"??? Can you feel the love in the air or what? Okay, true, other great indie hits have been written about mutilation, and at the end of the day Def.GRLS do also sing about the girl of their dreams in “GRL,” another lo-fi, ’60s style psychedelic pop gem. But we don’t think that’s enough to make them a good choice for your "regular" Valentine’s day – and that’s probably why their upcoming show is NOT on February14th, but a month and two days later, at Rough Trade, on March 16th. Check out their recent single Krampus, streaming below. – Jocelyn Huggler

In 2015, when they released their self titled, debut EP, Brooklyn’s Electro Rock duo Ghost Cop wrote, in the record’s bandcamp notes: "GHOST COP thinks the dystopia you dreamt of in the celluloid past is upon us." We are not sure if what they meant with the word "dystopia," at the time, was exactly "Trump as president," but we can confidently say that those words, withtoday’s hindsight, sound profetic. Thanks to this guessed forecast, the band finds itself in the enviable position of having a perfect soundtrack ready for the dark times we are living – while other artists are laggin behind, trying to catch up with the sudden change of atmosphere. Their music is a sober, flawlessly produced coldwave with industrial and pop influences. Recommended for all those who think it’s time to embrace darkness, or at least start getting used to it… Ghost Cop will be performing at Alphaville on 02.25. 

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

NYC is filled with garage rock bands, but few of them bypass the huge influence The Ramones have on the city’s sound, to find inspiration, instead, in the proto-punk of the genre’s true pioneers: Iggy Pop’s The Stooges. Like them, Brooklyn’s own Stuyedeyed, who recently won this very blog’s Best of NYC Readers’ Poll in the Garage Rock category, have a sound that’s not only in your face, but that’s also (figuratively speaking) making faces, while starring grimly at you, inches from your nose. Single Mr. Policeman (streaming below) gives you an idea of what kind of wildness you will witness on February 18, when the band will take the stage at Alphaville with Bambara (another tense band!) and Pink Mexico. Check out the recent video for Stuyedeyed track ‘Funeral,’ below.

Making engaging music from nothing but vocals, guitar, and piano is not easy. It requires skill to be able to give a convincing performance despite the absence of a real rhythm section. To this end, Charlottesville, Virginia brother/sister duo Lowland Hum succeeds wonderfully. Lovely vocals, good arranging, and excellent production values help carry their sound over the hurdles on their new album, Thin.

Here’s “In Flight” from Lowland Hum’s new album, Thin, which drops today.

-Written by Michael Dranove

The Deli’s Best of Folk/Americana Poll for emerging Chicago artists ended yesterday and elected a single winner for both the Readers’ Poll and the overall chart, which aggregates both readers votes and the votes of our jury of scene experts.

Belonging to the "less is more" school of thought, Jessie Winslow employs a very sparse instrumentation but aims directly at the earth. In her 2016 EP, appropriately titled "Bare," she even rejects the flattering effects of artificial reverberation on the vocals, an effect so common in recorded music that, by itself, its absence forges an original sound.

Kudos also to Furious Frank and Todd Kesler, who placed 2nd and third in the readers’ poll and also, respectively, 2nd and 4th in the overall charts, separated by Robbie Fulks who snatched the 3rd place in the latter.

Find all the finalist of the Folk//Americana category under the streaming track.

	Al Scorch		3%	7 votes
	Furious Frank		18%	35 votes
	glyders		0%	1 vote
	Homme		2%	4 votes
	Jessie Winslow		35%	65 votes
	Parent		1%	2 votes
	Rebecca Rego & The Trainmen		11%	22 votes
	Robbie Fulks		1%	3 votes
	Robert Rolfe Fedderson		1%	3 votes
	Tara Terra		4%	9 votes
	The Belvederes		0%	1 vote
	Trevor Sensor		0%	0 votes
	Todd Kesler		17%	33 votes

Those who are wondering what the state of synthpop in NYC is, should head to Bowery Ballroom on Saturday February 11. Three of the best emerging local bands dedicated to the most joyous of electronic genres (VHS Collection, Paperwhite and Corbu) will share the stage of that venerable stage – on a Saturday night! Check out their tunes, streaming below.

Female-fronted, five-piece indie pop band The Gingerlys began when guitarist Matt Richards started sharing acoustic demos of his pop songs with his fellow bandmates in his Valley Stream, New York basement. Matt’s dreamy/shoegazy songwriting inclinations found the perfect match in Jackie M.’s ethereal vocals. The band then recorded their first EP, “Jumprope” with Oliver Ignatius at Mama Coco’s Funky Kitchen in Brooklyn and soon started gigging in and around the city. Describing themselves as "pure ear candy," Gingerlys provide catchy and hazy dream pop tunes. So, this year, for St. Valentine’s day, at Baby’s All Right, instead of getting your sweetheart a boring box of candy, you have the option of taking him/her out to hear some candy. If you do so, make sure to let us know how that plays out! – Lea Phillips 

Here’s a pretty little album we just discvovered, released earlier this year. Its title is "Princess Plum," and the band that recorded goes under the moniker Absolutely Yours. It’s dream pop at its most ethereal, in particular on opening track "Best I Got," streaming below. The quartet is performing at Alphaville tongiht, February 9th, 2017.

Western MA-based GIRAFFES? GIRAFFES!  is one of those bands crafting deliciously head-spinning math-rock licks so labyrinthine, that you’d imagine it’d be tough for even a full four or five piece band to execute. So, when you hear that their music is the work of solely Joseph Andreoli (guitar) and Kenneth Topham (drums), it’s more than a little dizzying to think about how the duo manages to pull it off. Luckily for us, Joesph was kind enough to give our sister blog Delicious Audio a behind-the-scenes look at the pedals he uses to create GIRAFFES? GIRAFFES! expansive sound. You can find the interview at the link below. – Olivia Sisinni

Giraffes? Giraffes! Q&A about pedals on Delicious Audio.

Ethereal indie pop group Queue will take the stage at U Street’s Velvet Lounge this Friday in what promises to be a night of dreamy, soul soothing music. Coming off of the success of their EP release last year, the DC/Philly group continue to build their fan base with their combination of mellow instrumental sounds and soulful, earthy vocals.

Catch Queue this Friday night at Velvet Lounge, with William Forest and Domino.

-Written by Michael Dranove

Let me start out this way: Fall of the Albatross is definitely not for the faint of heart. The Queens-based band deals in full-fledged, prog-metal freakouts, with a dash of finger-snapping jazz melodies thrown in. If that’s not enough to pique your interest, check out their latest album, Enormous Cloud. It’s an exercise in controlled chaos as the band growls, screeches, and swings through winding–and sometimes jarring–transitions. "Like A Good Tornado," the band’s stand-out track, is just that–a whirlwind of sound complete with roaring guitar licks, time-signature play, and the band’s characteristic style jumps. The record is 11 tracks of spastic, dense, instrumental goodness, that may bewilder first-time listeners, however, the auditory payouts are great and well worth the ride. Catch them at Fat Baby 2/23 alongside Professor Caffeine & the Insecurities, Juan Bond, and Deeply Woven, and go ahead and hit that play button to stream them below.-Olivia Sisinni 

A project of Richmond, Virginia based singer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalists Kelli Strawbridge (KSTRAW) and DJ Harrison, KINGS is high-tier funk made by experienced musicians. KSTRAW, who has shared the stage with Grammy award winning musicians Snarky Puppy and Terrance Simean, brings a sense of urgent eroticism to the vocals while DJ Harrison keeps the effects heavy sound crunchy but cohesive.

Don’t miss KINGS with New York’s Escaper February 17th at The Camel in Richmond, Virginia.

-Written by Michael Dranove