Born in Moscow and raised in Alaska, Olga Bell is a classically trained pianist, composer, producer and performer based in Brooklyn. Unafraid of venturing into unfamiliar sonic territories, her musical career could be interpreted as an effort to defy cliche’. That’s how her latest album ‘Tempo’ can be portrayed, since it was composed using typical EDM sounds, but the final results is nowhere near that genre. Olga recently unveiled the video for the record’s second single ‘ATA’ (streaming below) and also played her first headlining UK dates. Our sister blog Delicious Audio asked her a few questions about the making of ‘Tempo’ – link below.

Q&A with Olga Bell about her creative process, synths and gear.

Plastic Picnic’s light indie pop is the result of two duos – Lute and Panerio, and Hunt and Taylor – coming together with compatible musical talents. The Brooklyn-based quartet’s name doesn’t quite capture the essence of their music, which, although incorporating synths, doesn’t sound as synthetic as the word ‘plastic’ would make one think. On the other hand, single Nausea in Paradise (streaming), would work nicely as a picnic soundtrack – notwithstanding the not very appetizing title.  Fans of sophisticated ’80s pop like Prefab Sprout should check these guys out at Rough Trade on July 15th.  – Madeleine Grossman 

Bent Knee keeps going bigger and bolder with each project they release.  Never being afraid to blend genres before, on Say So the six-piece Boston band embarks on a sprawling musical journey that seems to hit every stop on the pop-avant garde spectrum. Not discrediting the band’s impressively diverse instrumental arrangements, frontwoman and keyboardist Courtney Swain’s cinematic vocals stand out as the sound’s core. Whereas the instruments and sounds around her are constantly changing, Swain’s voice provides an anchor that never lets the band’s complex sound descend into unruly juxtaposition of elements. Bent Knee are about to go on a North American and European tour to promote ‘Say So’. – Henry Solotaroff-Webber

Out of Boston, Narrow Waves is a new indie-pop band whose alternating male/female vocals form a striking contrast. The two vocalists take turns singing about themes pertaining to love and relationships, while shimmering synth patterns and understated guitar riffs back them up to round out the band’s sound, which could be compared to R.E.M. from the ‘Out of Time’ period. The band played their second ever show on May 28 at Cantab Lounge. —Henry Solotaroff-Webber

New Jersey quartet Dentist is about to release their wildly fun sophomore LP Ceilings just in time for summer. The album will be out on June 24th via Little Dickman Records, and features 10 uptempo tunes featuring catchy melodies contrasting with singer Emily Bornemann’s often dark lyrics. Ceilings is a consistent and cohesive piece of work, with songs that blend into one another. “Joel” (streaming below), one of the record’s darker tracks, starts as a slow psych ballad before exploding into the bright and upbeat sound the band established in the opening tracks, marrying elements of surf rock, pop punk, and dream pop. The band will be playing The Saint in Asbury Park on June 24th and Berlin in NYC on June 25th. – John Honan

The Deli LA is proud to present the first of many collaborations with eminent underground synth venue OSCILLATOR: A Late Nite Synth Party!

These intimate, future-retro events will feature LIVE performances by ORIGINATORS of SYNTH as well as the best of the NEW SYNTH-SET. The early part of the evening will be a live-streamed set of performances, followed by a line-up of baddass DJs giving us classic synth-pop and new tracks from around the globe that will take us dancing into the night, house party style.

Los Angeles’ distinguished exoti-goth horrors Native Fauna rev up the night with a very special live set, and synthpop/Hi-NRG duo Trans-X will also make an appearance to perform "Living On Video". DJ sets after midnight include HUSH TONES, Adrian Dark, Abe Mora, Gabe Reanimator, and Wayne Lyons.

The live-streaming party will be held at a private location in Koreatown, with limited availability. RSVP is required to receive private location and password. Doors open at 9PM and show starts promptly at 10PM—tickets and more info here.

Bel-Air is a DIY internet radio program that broadcasts live from the Bushwick based arts community/venue/recording studio called Silent Barn. Tonight (6.17) they will be hosting a free (21+) launch party for their newest show “pop rocks & rants” at Baby’s All Right. The radio show serves listeners witty banter and new music every other sunday at 5pm, and will be providing party-goers with dance and general debauchery tonight – according to their Facebook profile. Rivergazer (pictured), the musical project of Kevin Farrant (who also plays with Porches), is scheduled to perform. The band’s latest EP Only 4 U shifts their (previously rootsier) sound toward the synthpop, following a sonic development similar to Porches. Ben Kruse and oddlogic will also be performing DJ sets along with other members of Budo Kiba Collective and Outlier Recordings. If you’re over the age of 21 and in the New York city area, come out tonight, for free, to celebrate with Bel-Air radio. – John Honan

Brooklyn’s Las Rosas have come a long way since releasing their first two EPs of lo-fi rock songs, little more than rehearsal space recordings served as invitations to check out their live show. After building some buzz through a fair amount of gigging and some touring, the band is about to chrystalize their psych garage pop repertoire in their debut full length “Everyone Gets Exactly What They Want,” set to drop this summer via Ernest Jenning. Recorded at Mitch Easter’s Fidelitorium in Kernersville NC, the LP’s first single “Cops” can be heard below. Las Rosas has three NYC area shows coming up, with the first on July 1 at Rough Trade in Brooklyn.  Later that month they play Rippers in Rockaway Beach on July 23, and then back to Brooklyn for a show at Baby’s All Right on August 5. – Dave Cromwell

The brainchild of singer songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Dan Arnes, Leapling plays a brand of indie pop that’s at once subtly quirky and gently touching. The young man surrounded himself with local musicians to complete the project’s second full length album, a "mid-fi" home recorded work whose release will be celebrated at Sunnyvale on June 18th. The record, entitled ‘Suspended Animation,’ defies categorizations without resorting to fireworks, offering the contrasting interplay between the edgy arrangements and Dan’s serene melodies and vocal delivery. Check out our favorite song "Shakin’" – streaming below.

A band with a name like GURUS, that claims to be "singing about a cult and at times resembling one," certainly creates musical expectations that go against the current indie rock trends, centered on the slacking antics of punk, garage and 90s’ revival. Listening to their debut album Unconditional Surrender, expectations are met: GURUS’ sound is controlled, mostly electronic, somewhat ascetic, recalling the semi-dark pop sobriety of bands like Depeche Mode and Talk Talk.  In their single "Believers" (streaming below), the band sticks to its promises, bluntly singing about the belief of being different from other humans in an intense (and rather convincing) fashion. The heavy percussive elements (present throughout the record) add a tribal quality to the song that further expand its exoteric overtones. For what is guaranteed to be an interesting experience, check them out at Union Pool on June 22th as they join WILD ARROWS. – Madeleine Grossman

Brooklyn B Boys came seemingly out of nowhere in March 2016 with debut EP ‘No Worry No Mind‘ (on cult local label Captured Tracks). The album caught immediately a lot of attention (certainly ours) also thanks to the promotion the band received from touring with Parquet Courts soon after the release. The three gentlemen would have found themselves at home in Ohio around 1977, when seminal bands like Devo and Pere Ubu were making music so cool that semi-forgotten by God places like Akron and Cleveland became suddenly the epicenter of the rock’n’roll world. B Boys blend those influences with a sound that flirts with the reverberations of surf music and the gritty fuzziness of garage rock. In line with the DIY scene’s ethos and budget, the band’s guitarist Britton Walker has a few, trusted, mostly borrowed pieces of gear, we asked him a few questions about them in our blog Delicious Audio (link below). Check out their second official single ‘Seagulls’ below.

Q&A with B Boys about guitar pedals

As you may have noticed The Deli likes to organize music by genre – there are just too many darn bands these days, and we decided that genres are our friends in organizing this scene’s output – besides, regular Delis do that with food too, separating cheeses from meats from canned goods, so… maybe there’s a reason for that!). That’s why we are happy to promote a mini-fest like Pizzafest III, scheduled in three Bushwick venues from June 23rd to June 25th, that’s laser focused on surf, punk and garage rock. The event is organized by local label King Pizza Records, more info about the three shows can be found here. Check out below the playlist featuring all the NYC artists performing at this event!