Active since the beginning of the current decade (calling it the "10s" sounds still kinda weird), Brooklyn songwriter Julie Byrne writes and performs meditative and sparse songs, always accompanied by her acoustic guitar and a fair amount of reverb on her delicately sensuous vocals. Her 2014 album ‘Rooms with Walls and Windows’ did remarkably well, becoming a testament to the power of the song in its most naked format. Julie recently announced a new LP, entitled ‘Not Even Happiness,’ scheduled to drop on January 2017, with a release party at Rough Trade on the 27th. Check out preview single ‘Natural Blue,’ streaming below.

With canned, am-radio vocals, surf-y female harmonies, and interesting, angular beats, Psymon Spine‘s latest release manages to be both haunting and strangely dance-able. The four tracks that make up the self-titled EP utilize a combination of fat synths and energetic drum machine grooves as the backdrop for ethereal vocals that float at the top of the mix. Check them out for yourselves at the Mercury Lounge 1/09 with The Roofers Union, but in the meantime stream them below. – Olivia Sisinni

Sometimes you just need some home-cooked Americana music, and Darrin Bradbury serves up just that. On Elmwood Park, the Nashville artist’s latest release, Bradbury forges strong narratives, and crafts meaningful stories behind each song. It’s music-as-vingettes, and though his sound is simple, and his voice is perhaps rough around the edges, his music reads like soul food. Check out Darrin Bradbury streaming below.-Olivia Sisinni

Aaron Abernathy could be the future of R&B. With soulful vocals, angular synths and soaring guitar leads that could have been snatched straight from a Prince album, the DC-based artist’s latest album, Monologues, is a a funky R&B album that you don’t want to skip over. The DC-based artist sets his compelling instrumentals against poignant, smart lyricism, yeilding songs that seem to honor past R&B sounds, but have their eyes set to the future. Check out Aaron Abernathy streaming below.-Olivia Sisinni 

Like an unpredictable sonic time machine, NYC’s collective NO ICE manages to channel several decades of music within one record: Jesus and Mary Chain, The Ramones, Tom Waits and the Beach Boys are only some of the influences that come to mind when listening to the band’s debut album ‘Come On Feel The NO ICE,’ released earlier in 2016. From the doo-wop backing vocals of “We Get High Together” to the droney post-punkness of opening track “The Cemetery” (streaming) NO ICE conquers an exceptionally diverse vibe, covering a wide range of sounds and emotions, also thanks to lyrics that tackle topics such as getting high and/or drunk, breakups, love, and the other highs and lows of life. You can catch NO ICE live on January 6th at Shea Stadium, where they’ll be celebrating the physical release of ‘Come On Feel The NO ICE.’ – Jocelyn Hoggler

With a sound both meditative and gothy, Brooklyn duo Surf Rock is Dead pairs sunny melodies to melancholic tinges, ala the Drums. Their guitar sound, although not distorted, has heavy shoegazer leanings, a genre that’s tightly connected to the use of stompboxes. Since guitarist Kevin Pariso confided us that he often gets asked about the secrets behind his uber dreamy sound, we just thought we’d give him an opportunity to come clean in this Delicious Audio Interview. – photo by Michael Cooper

Formerly known as the ska group “Eli Whitney & the Sound Machine,” Cold Wrecks is a Brooklyn pop punk band whose impassioned, buoyant tunes are bound to trigger comparisons with Blink-182 as well as the scene’s current favorites, Modern Baseball. With its multi-faceted guitar work ranging from bright, Husker Du-style open chords to rhythmic power chords and even arpeggios at times, their debut album “Breaking” (released in July 2016) is a collection of catchy, energetic songs that combine a strong dose of riffs with heavy, yet relatable lyrics tackling topics such as loss, rage, and grief. Describing themselves as a “punk band full of sad songs and good times,” these guys are sure to bring both energy and awareness to their next two local shows at Muchmore and Sunnyvale, respectively on January 21st and February 15th. – Jocelyn Huggler, photo by Kaitlyn Laurel McGann

With the snarl of mid-aughts alt bands like Fall Out Boy and The Used, MD-based A Place in Time, is treat for 20-somethings like me that are pining for some catchy pop punk with an unbreakable sincerity. Their latest single, "Perish the Thought" is wrought with thick lyricism, infectious harmonies, energetic drumming and soaring sing-along choruses–a potent blend that’s destined to worm its way into your head and have you hitting the repeat button. Catch A Place in Time on 12/30 at VFW Post 350 "Hell’s Bottom" with WVNDER, Who is Atlas, Waves Overhead, and Heavyweights, and be sure to stream them below.-Olivia Sisinni

‘Tis the season of the ‘Best ofs’ and this year we’ve got a pretty sweet one for you, directly from out 49th print issue of The Deli NYC – yes, in case you weren’t aware of it, we exist in the tangible world too!

If you didn’t stumble upon a copy of our magazine (we put it in all the alternatively musical places we know in lower Manhattan, Brooklyn, LI and NJ) check out the full article digitally here. And DO NOT DARE to miss the playlist of said article, streaming below, because it’s not available in print!

P.S. The tracks are organized in order of Soundcloud popularity.

Ever wish all songwriters were actually songRIDERS – i.e. they focused on taking us for a ride, rather than just… writing songs? This neologism works well for Brooklyn’s Magana, the indie pop/alt folk project of Jeni Magana, who released her haunting and slightly eccentric debut, four track EP ‘Golden Tongue‘ this past October 2016. In it, Jeni takes us on rides of the mental variety, and since we are brainy New Yorkers, we are feeling right at home. Two songs stand out to our ears: ballad "The World doesn’t Know," with its elegant melodies, trembling guitar and sophisticated chord progression, is dream folk perfection; its lyrics, through Magana’s heartfelt vocals, find the ideal form of control a lover can have over the loved one: an imaginary one. "Get it right," as moody and only slightly faster, also deals with thought process and relationships, focusing instead on how the right words, but only the right ones, can change minds. (Incidentally, that’s a lesson we all need to learn if we want to win the next elections). We stream both tracks below. Magana will be performing live at Manhattan’s FIKA on January 6th.

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

19 year-old Tyrin makes raps with a defiant millenial mindset, refusing to stick to one style, but with talent well beyond his years. On his debut project, Things You’d Rather Imagine Now, the Brooklyn emcee goes back-and-forth between monotone mumble-rapping and emotion-laden singing. Each track on the LP also has a distinct musical influence in its production but is always sparse, which suits Tyrin well. The variation in production, such as the shift from sad and synthy "Afterglo" to bold and brassy "Clean Yourself Up," keeps things fresh sonically, and also gives him the space to keep switching up his deliveries. Lyrically, he provides disaffeccted humor like the hook for "Synergy," "white girls think they black like Hillary," and genuine thought-spilling on tracks like "Cassandra." Tyrin refuses to define himself or be defined, like most millelials, instead trying out everything to see what works and what doesn’t. This kind of experimenting is expected for someone of Tyrin’s age, but what isn’t is how sucessful each of these experiments are. At 19, Tyrin seems to be able to do it all. You can catch him at Shea Stadium on 12/28, and stream our favorite track from the record ‘Clean Yourself Up’. — Henry Solotaroff-Webber

The Rolling Stones got it quite right that time, when they said "it’s only rock’n’roll, but I like it." And even though the genre itself is not of the pretentious variety, it still requires specific instrumental skills (to sum it up, punch and tightness) and as much flair as possible. oh, and good songwriting is always a plus! NYC’s Wyldlife deliver in all these departments with their own spirited punk’n’roll. The band is about to release their third full length ‘Out on Your Block’ in early 2017, and to support it they will be touring the east coast. The tour’s final date will be in Brooklyn at Union Pool on January 27 (also the record’s release party). Before that, though, they’ll be performing at Bowery Electric in Manhattan with veteran NYC punk rockers The Dictators on December 30th.

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