Former Deli Album Of the Month WRITER return with their follow up full length album “Principle Web.” Out on Small Plates Records, the ten track long player can be acquired in either digital or the once again popular vinyl format. Current single “Neighborly” presents a hypnotic drum beat straight outta Creedence Clearwater Revivals 1968 hit “Suzie Q,” as buzzy, distorted guitar and bass hover on a singular note before moving into a three chord progression. Chanted vocals come delivered with a mantra-like “I love – all of you.” A full minute in and the vocal cadence quickens, delivering simple observations like “there’s a shortage of clean laundry, and a mound of plastic bags” with the following verse declaring “there’s a party” as well as “a new tree that was planted.” In place of where one might traditionally expect a guitar solo is a falsetto vocal melody, moving it all closer to David Lynch film soundtrack weirdness. Harder power rock guitar chords lead the charge towards an ending that conjures the sound of a car wreck explosion. The accompanying video directed by Brooklyn-based visual artist Paul Remund portrays moving images in stark black and white, distorted by a form of digital cubism. – Dave Cromwell

The Deli came up with the word "Avant-Indie" about a decade ago, and it’s proud of the fact that it stuck (at least to a certain degree!). The term was coined mostly because we didn’t feel comfortable using the loaded word ‘experimental’ for edgy indie bands. Also, since at the time NYC was experiencing an explosion of music that was truly pushing the envelope, we felt the need to create a word that could define that movement, which ended up giving us artists as relevant as Animal Collective, St. Vincent and Dirty Projectors, as separate from ‘regular indie rock.’ Rather heavy on the ear, those years were naturally followed by a period during which simpler musical revivals dominated our scene: the roots invasion of the early ’10s, the never obsolete garage rock NYC flavor, the ’80s synth-pop revival, the 90’s rock renaissance…). But ‘avant’ inclinations are ingrained in the Big Apple’s scene, and we are wondering if times are mature to give a renewed attention to acts that try their hardest to avoid the revival label. Brooklyn’s Twig Twig squarely belong to this category. Their debut EP ‘normal feelings,’ released this past March, doesn’t sound very… ‘normal,’ but still manages to be touching and sincere, and that’s a rare form of beauty. Employing a restrained sonic palette made of granular synth sounds, aloof vocals, and simple electronic drum sounds and patterns, the band excercises their ‘avant’ tendencies within a song format that employs melodies ranging from the poppy (like in remarkable ambient ballad ‘Fade Away,’ streaming) to the out there (as in single ‘Talk Go‘). Don’t miss their live show at Alphaville tonight (04.12) with other local forward looking bands Fieldings and Railings.

We have often pointed out how ladies (at least in NYC) appear to be slowly but surely taking over the electronic music scene – in particular its poppier current. A good example of this will be on display this coming Wednesday (04.13), when Mothica, Ela Minus, and Brooklyn born Lily McQueen (pictured) will be sharing the stage of Lower East Side’s Pianos. Of the three ladies on this bill, we’ll focus our attention on the one we’ve never covered before, Lily McQueen, whose debut, self titled and co-produced EP came out in mid 2015. In it, we hear musical and lyrical references to that particular kind of melodic electronic music of the ’80s that made its way into many popular teenage blockbusters of the time, but also some world music influences, as evident in our favorite single ‘You Are Not Read for My Love’ – streaming below.

DC’s indie-folk maestros Wylder released their debut album, Rain and Laura, yesterday, 4/8. It’s a beautiful journey of feeling, of clarity, of unlocking doors. This LP features supreme string work by Lavar Edmonds, carefully inserted in the tracks and adding the right emotional weight needed to rather somber progressions. All throughout, the ensemble strikes a plucky yet seasoned chord, expressing intimate emotion through gentle lead vocals and mandolin and held together by the drum work, acoustic guitar, and keys. The album is harmonic gold, blending lighthearted and earnest, wrapped in a bow tie of folk and indie vibes. Join the band on 4/22 at the Rock and Roll Hotel for their release party and take a journey of feeling by listening to this album. -Jonathan Goodwin

Here at The Deli our efforts are mostly directed towards researching and covering new artists we never blogged, but of course there are a lot of bands we’ve already covered that release great new music that sometimes we don’t have the time to highlight. Hence, this new, telegraphic appointment called ‘New(YC) Releases" – because words aren’t always necessary… Here are a bunch of new releases by great NYC artists that are not so emerging anymore (pictured: SKYES):

If you had a dream where Debbie Gibson and Stevie Nicks collaborated on a DJ set, you might find you’ve come pretty close to Caitlin Frame’s music and her project FRAME. Drawing a line from well-crafted pop gems to synth-backed haze, this young lady has been teasing us for a while about a pending album release. Frame is set to play some of this music at new Bushwick venue C’mon Everybody on Thursday, April 21st with Karlie Bruce. It’s been some time since she’s announced a show, and we’re excited to hear some of the new material, along with classic dream beat anthems like Run Around. Check out our favorite single ‘Polarizer’ below and, if you dig, don’t miss the upcoming performance. – Mike Levine (@Goldnuggets)

The true punk essence, we believe, is all in the vocals. Guitars and drums can only go so far in expressing rabid anger, total disgust, frustration-induced madness. It’s a kind of singing that requires its own talent to be pulled off properly, and Daniel Fern, the singer of Brooklyn’s aptly named hardcore punk trio You Fucking Die, is surely blessed with it – or rather, damned? The band just released this single entitled ‘Sterile Art’ from their upcoming EP and will be playing on a noisy bill of local acts at St. Vitus on April 18th.

Over the past couple of months Brooklyn’s DREAMERS has been climbing our emerging artists charts, and we wonder if vocalists’ Nick Wold’s new haircut has anything to do with it. Single ‘Wolves,’ which propelled their career forward, dates back to 2014 although it feels like it was recorded in the 90’s after some kids felt inspired by Rod Daniel’s Teen Wolf and all of John Hughes’ movies but only had their parents old camcorder to work with. With new single ‘Drugs’ (streaming) the trio pushes the sonic envelope in more-epic-than-ever directions, matching it with a video that, again, heavily references image-capturing devices: this time the semi-DIY ones found in our smartphones, which – not coincidentally – are the form of "drug" the song is about. Currently on a month long US tour, the band will return to NYC with a show on May 20 at The Studio @ Webster Hall. Check out this 2014 Deli interview with Dreamers.

Do you ever miss your days of teen angst, where every slight was a deep wound that only music could heal? No? Well, listen to Way Out and you will just get it. There is something nostalgic and analog in Way Out’s music, the way Knox belts out the vocals, the deep reverb of the bass pulsing slowly in the background as the guitar speeds jaggedly through the track. It’s reminiscent of early 80’s post punk goth scene – a little bit of The Cure’s brooding atmosphere with a pinch of The Smiths’ despondence, perfect for your gloomy days. Or happy days. Or completely average days. Sometimes you just need a little dark and gloomy in your playlist amidst all the bubbling pop of today and Way Out has that for you. Catch them at Great Scott on April 14 and take a listen below!

Twin Wave (a band we booked in 2013 for one of our a CMJ shows) just unveiled a new single, entitled ‘Matador’ (streaming) from their upcoming new EP ‘ Pour Out The Dark.’ The atmoshperic but uptempo track features Tommy Eichman’s sparse and measured production, and a sound that’s between the sophistipop of the ’80s (think Everything But The Girl) and the chilled wave of the new millennium. The trio will be celebrating the single’s release at Baby’s All Right on April 15th with Surf Rock is Dead and Ula Ruth.

The ladies over at Hypnocraft certainly got us hypnotized with this weekends lineup for the upcoming appointment of The Hum (the weekly, female-artists-only, collab night that The Deli sponsors) and it’s definitely not the first time., since it’s showcasing mostly local artists we ourselves love and have covered in this very blog.

At this week’s show on Sunday (4.10) the first pair kicking off the night is Casey Dienel (White Hinterland) alongside the lovely and talented ladies of Gracie & Rachel. With beautiful vocals and a keen ear for strong melodies we can almost hear the entrancing, orchestral performance from these gals already. Followed by Julia Easterlin and Hannah Epperson we can already hear a track built up solely by vocal loops and smooth violin chords, something sweet to get us dreaming. For the final performance we can expect to be enticed by solid drum progressions and synth ambiance courtesy of Dani Markham (Tune-Yards), Maia Friedman (UNI IKA AI) & K. Marie Kim (BLANK PAPER).

So stroll on over to Manhattan Inn this Sunday, April 10, for some some great performances in a cozy and intimate environment!

Hailing from The Bronx and led by Spires’ drummer Carter McNeil, Ghost King plays muddy fuzz rock brightened by unexpected chord changes, psychedelic overtones, and a ’90s rock inspired lo-fi production that blends the fun attitude of Violent Femmes, the stellar songwriting of The Pixies and the slacking tendencies of Pavement. Early psych rock influences emerge here and there in their debut album ‘Bones‘ (check out the rather Barretesque ‘Bones pt. 1,’ or the chorus explosion of ‘When the Sky Turns blue‘ – streaming below), enriching the sonic palette in ways rarely accomplished, in a single record, without it sounding… all over the place. But beyond the familiar and beloved references to the past, what makes this album great is its consistently brilliant songwriting, and the band’s habit of taking the listener in and out of unexpected places, like for example with the dissonant riffs of ‘Skeleton Dance’ ‘s intro, which slowly morphs into a perfectly consonant verse, or through the bizarre development of ”Til You Belong to Me’ or ‘Bones pt. 2.’  

Don’t miss Ghost King’s show at Aviv, tomorrow April 8th.