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!

Guilty Giraffe is one of those drums/guitar duos that can sound like an army – in the tradition of The White Stripes if you will, although they don’t sound anything like them. Rather, Mat McGinnis and Felipe Reis play an ever evolving kind of post punk that flirts with drone rock, noise rock, post-hardcore and psychedelia. Their debut mini-album “A Time to Slime”, which includes grimy energetic tunes such as “Stop the Slime” and “Try and Figure” (streaming below) was entirely self produced, and shows a confident hand and interesting ideas. Noise lovers don’t want to miss out next Wednesday, December 28th when they take over Sunnyvale BK. – Jocelyn Huggler

With psychedelic leanings and spacey synths that could believably been beamed down from Pluto, Brooklyn-based Pavo Pavo has a sound that’s both warm and familiar, and yet hard to place. In their stunning debut album ‘Young Narrator in the Breakers‘ the band seems to comfortably straddle between the deeper trenches of Brian Wilson’s brain and the new face of NYC indie rock–whatever that may be. The quintet’s tunes may be hazy and wistful, but there’s a quirky liveliness embedded at the heart of their tracks that invites the listener back for more and warrants repeat plays. The band’s founder Oliver Hill was kind enough to spend some time with Delicious Audio to shed some light on their creative process, and the gear that helps color their distinctive feel – see link below. Check out their recent video for ‘Ruby (Let’s Buy The Bike!),’ streaming below.

Pavo Pavo discusses gear and creative process on Delicious Audio.

Although Josh Lattanzi played for and toured with artist with pop inclinations like Albert Hammond Jr., the Lemonheads and Ben Kweller, his musical heart beats for wise and evocative Americana, and The Candles is the project where this passion is indulged. The band’s third album, entitled ‘Matter + Spirit" was released earlier in November 2016 and is receiving such good responses that it propelled the band on our Top 10 of NYC artists with buzz (you’ll find it towards the top of this same page). Supporting Norah Jones on a US and European tour also helped. The NYC singer songwriter also appeared as a guest vocalist on single ‘Move Along,’ streaming below. Don’t miss their first show home after the tour at Mercury Lounge on January 21.

If your way of staying warm during the bleak New York winters has less to do with sipping cocoa by a fire and more with sweating it out in the middle of a mosh pit, Death Vacation’s new EP may be more welcome than a holiday trip to Florida. The NJ/NY-based singer, Michelle Mancuso, spits and snarls her way through the 5 tracks that make up Bones Grow Cold, and her gut-busting vocals are paired with grindcore beats that are coated with enough grime to satisfy even the nastiest hardcore fiends. Though the tunes definitely have melodic moments, the real payoff here is in the visceral, chomping percussive-ness of the tracks that grate against your ears alongside all the blood and noise. Check out the band’s track "Parasitic" streaming below. – Olivia Sisinni

If there’s one thing Baltimore-based rapper Kotic Couture is trying not to do, it’s blend in. The artist delivers punchy hip-hop tracks that are as stand-out as his glam, neon-tinged appearence. Navigating the space between thoughtful lyricsim, and club-ready powerhouse anthems, Kotic Couture’s latest EP, Abstract, is 4 tracks worth of eclectic tunes that are sure to make an electrifying impression. Check out his track "Go Awff" streaming below.-Olivia Sisinni