Fullbloods celebrated the release of Mild West in KC over the weekend, and are starting a tour tonight in Minneapolis, Madison, Chicago, and Des Moines. They’ll be back in KC on St. Patrick’s Day at The Riot Room. 

We’ve been covering Parlour Tricks since the beginning of time (others, didn’t evenbother covering them once, what’s the matter with that, Pitchfork? Screw your pretentios blindness). It’s great to see them doing so well, check out their latest video below for single "Broken Hearts/Bones," which was premiered by NPR. See them live at Webster Hall on March 31st.

Our readers know we rarely cover classic rock on this column. But if something’s well done we won’t shy away from featuring it, no matter the genre. Midnight Mob‘s new video/song combo for "Swing On" (streaming) rocks in way classic rock normally does not (at least in our opinion). Miss Blackley is – obviously – a heck of a vocalist (check out those churses), and that’s already a big plus. But the entire production here is spot on, including the video itself: what’s more classic rock than a jam in a motel room in the middle of… Nowhere, US? Sure, the genre is not exactly looking forward towards unexplored soundscapes, but we start having the same feeling about a lot of music that’s coming out of the city, from Garage to Shoegazer. At the end of the day, great songwriting, combined with good production values, matter more than genre. Have a classy(c) night of rock with these guys tonight (02.026) at DROM.

Indie R & B group Gully Waters released a new single last month and it is one soulful track right from the pages of a diary. Vocalist Yaya Bey lays it all out with a voice that cuts deep, and is backed by a crying guitar masterfully played by Ajene Harley. This is only a demo and I can’t wait to hear the promising final cut. The group will grace the stage at the Velvet Lounge with Cruzie Beaux February 28th. Don’t miss it. -Justin Bieggar

God bless March and the anticipation for NYC’s spring. This time of the year seems to unleash a musical competition for the next summer hit, and NYC synthpop duo Glassio, with their uber-breezy tracks, is well positioned to score in this department. The title of their latest, ten days old EP, ‘Poptimism,’ says it all, and single ‘Try Much Harder’ (streaming below) delivers on that promise. If you want to experience this ‘aural summer preview’ in person, head to the basement of Bushwick Public House on March 5th – and don’t miss CAFUNÉ, also on the bill.

Deli Readers,

Our Best of SF Bay Area Poll for Emerging Artists has been – as usual – a lengthy and painstaking journey which took us through prairies of numbers, horizons filled with band names, and a dense, (mostly) joyous rain of music. We have finally reached our destination and we can announce the final results!

Heartwatch

The Bay Area has spoken and the local indie pop band, Heartwatch has not only won this year’s overall poll, but they dominated the Deli SF’s Reader Poll as well making them our undisputed Artist of the Year! We can tell why with their dancible brand of pop music and admirable work ethic. It all paid off this year!

Emily Afton

Emily Afton’s sultry, soulful style of indie pop melds elements of pop, soul and electronica to create original and penetrating modern ballads. She didn’t come in too far after Heartwatch. She deserves a huge congratulations and we look forward to seeing more from her.

Annie Girl and the Flight

Well, Annie is nothing but pure rock and roll! We’re thrilled to see her come in third place as she’s been a relentless force in the local underground rock scene. A great songwriter, composer and live musician is something that is sorely needed in the Bay Area right now. Congrats to Annie Girl and the Flight!

Check out our poll’s top 15 below, and don’t forget to get even deeper, exploring all the finalists organized by genre:

AVANT INDIE – ELECTRONIC – INDIE POP – PSYCH– REVIVAL POP/ROCK – ROOTS MUSIC

BEST OF 2015 POLL FOR EMERGING SF BAY AREA ARTISTS ****** FINAL RESULTS – TOP 15 ******

ARTIST J OS R TOT   1 Heartwatch 5.5   2 7.5 2 Emily Afton 5.5   1 6.5 3 Annie Girl and the Flight 3.5   1.5 5 4 The She’s 4.5   0.009 4.509 5 Eight Belles 2 2 0.029 4.029 6 The Seshen 3.5   0.015 3.515 7 Zodiac Death Valley 3.5   0.004 3.504   Night Shapes 2 1 0.054 3.054 9 Bells Atlas 3   0.015 3.015 10 Waterstrider 3   0.009 3.009 11 Wicked Man   3 0.005 3.005 12 Useless Eaters 3   0.004 3.004   Cellar Doors 3   0.004 3.004 14 Fuzz 3   0.003 3.003   Cathedrals 3   0.003 3.003 Legend: J = Jurors, R = Deli Readers, OS = Open Submissions

—

If you wonder how this chart came into existence, here is how it all went down: first, we let the local bands submit their music (for free), and got our Deli editors to pick the nominees. Then we polled a list of 15+ SF Bay Area scene expert (our jury) and asked them to nominate 3 more bands of their choice each (3 points for the top choice, then 2 and 1). Then we polled our readers. We tried to keep things open for each single genre, from Indie Rock to Roots Music to Hip Hop.

If you are a geek interested in all the subtelties related to how this poll works, you can read its rules here (happy reading!). But if all you care about is the awesome new music SF Bay Area produced in the year 2015, this list is all you need. Enjoy!

Many Thanks to our Jurors: David A Sikorski (Writer at SF Weekly), Doug Kinsey (The Night Light), Dace James Hines (Writer for SF Critic), Anisa (Sofar Sounds), Barry Smyth (Brick and Mortar Music Hall), Dennis Gonzales (POW Magazine), Jason Black (Writer for Beatport), Aisah Gemora (Sofar Sounds), Derek See (Indie Record Collector/Retailer), ​Sam Lefebvre​ (East Bay Express), Audra (Thee Parkside), Ash Reiter (Founder of Hickey Fest), Bob Patterson (SF Critic Managing Editor), Jordannah Elizabeth (The Deli SF).

Hope you’ll find some awesome new artists you weren’t aware of!

The Deli’s Staff

At first listen, you’d expect a loud crash somewhere within the minute, but stick around and you’ll find mellow and soothing folk in homage to an entire decade: somewhere around the 60’s. Three-piece Waterplanet paints landscapes with one broad brush. It’s a somewhat familiar sound, but the smooth vocals and cleansing strings delivered by Millie Landrum, James Hesser, and recently added Gregtape, keep it interesting. From ‘Go Go Go’ and its nod to Violent Femmes to the Latin guitar twist and mixed lyrics of ‘Get Lost’ and the psychedelic chants in between, they’re setting your sights on Baltimore for the next gig. Check out their new entry to NPR’s Tiny Desk Concert series below!-Justin Bieggar

Post Punk and Shoegaze are genres that have found a fertile ground in the DNA of the NYC scene (in particular the Brooklyn DIY one). Locals LADY blend the two genres in their recent EP ‘The Washer,’ which ranges from slow and almost introspective to bouncing-off-the-walls energetic. With songs like “Things Are Wrong” and “Creatures of the Night” you get a progressive build up of reverb laden guitars and distant pleading vocals, speckled with intense cymbal crashes and the steady pulsing of drums. Then in contrast you have “Chuta” and “Can’t Stay,” which give you a high octane punch right off the bat with the jittery, energetic guitars rolling along thunderous drum beats, and vocals that sound like hot wax slowly dripping over the composition. If you wish to give into these guys’ wondrous sonic assault don’t miss them this Sunday, 2.28, at Palisades, with Dumb Wolves and Fraidycat. Check out their track "Things Are Wrong" below.

– Adriana S Ballester

There’s something deeply earnest about the sound of Brooklyn’s power pop quartet Robot Princess. Their music feels friendly and unpretentious, although the sound maintains a constant abrasiveness that adds a restless quality to it, without really venturing into punk or garage territory. The guitar rock sound of a ’90s is obviously an influence, but the remarkable songwriting lifts this band beyond mere revival: their songs come across as thoughtful outbursts of a bunch of friends in their early twenties, singing about their daily struggles. Their 2015 debut album (or rather, cassette) ‘Teen Vogue LP + Action Moves EP‘ is incredibly consistent and, notwithstanding the obvious DIY ethos, very well recorded and produced. There’s a deep relatability to all of these songs – even when the the lyrics are hard to understand. That’s what good music does, it conveys emotion, it triggers thoughts, it evokes periods of our past without the need for rationalizing. Don’t miss these guys’ upcoming live show at Rough Trade on March 5th.

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

“Thee in thy panoply” is how Walt Whitman addressed a bi-coastal 19th century freight train, though his words easily apply to NYC’s Mystery Lights as well. Their garage-psych panoply is pure Sixties, albeit a variegated Sixties, which makes sense given their origins in California. The band recently won the Psych category of our Best of NYC 2015 Readers’ Poll. They will be playing LES’ new rocking basement Berlin on Friday February 26 with The Britanys – also a garage sounding, Deli award winning NYC band! – Brian Chidester

With his unique style and the voice of an old soul, NYC guitarist Ben Greenberg (formerly of The Men) proves that uniqueness doesn’t need to be complicated, but requires character and talent. We just stumbled upon his project Hubble‘s amazing tracks, built on a blurry web of fluttery electric guitar arpeggios (or something similar that still has no definition), and we are completely mesmerized by them. The artists recently has been focusing on covers of classics from the past. The one of Tim Buckley’s "Song to the Siren," (streaming, which sounds more like a cover of the cover This Mortal Coil did of that track in 1984) is one of the most beautifully intense tunes we’ve heard in a while, imparting to Buckley’s lyrics a weight that – to quote The Flaming Lips – is just too heavy for Superman to lift. Check out also the slightly more serene remake of Gary Numan "Me! I disconnect from You." You can see Hubble live at Palisades tomorrow (February 25th).

The Deli Magazine’s SXSW annual print issue is coming out soon and DC’s The Walking Sticks are featured! If you haven’t heard of this awesome indie dance band or their genre-flexing music, you’ve had your buried in the sand and under a rock. Vocalist Chelsea Lee has been on the scene for a few years now and her siren pipes grew a fanbase all their own. Now artfully flanked by some inventive electronica, her trained voice rings out, gripping your attention and moving your body for you. As this group has blown up, they’re playing sold out shows around town, so catch them soon! -Jonathan Goodwin