The recording project of songwriter and producer Gabrielle Smith, Eskimeaux began in 2007 as an outlet for her experimental and noisy home-recordings and later, within Brooklyn collective of musicians The Epoch, developed into a more structured folky tinged pop. Smith’s latest full-length album, "O.K." was called the #1 record of the year by the U.K. blog GoldFlakePaint, and was featured in NPR’s All Songs Considered’s Top 10 albums of 2015 – which it ain’t bad if you ask us. The artist just announced a new EP entitled "Year of the Rabbit," scheduled to be released on April 15. Check out single ‘Power’ below. The band will be also touring the US with Frankie Cosmos and Yowler in the spring, but New Yorkers will be able to catch it live at Market Hotel on February 26th.

Holy cow, Deli Readers! Check out this stunning song/video combo, directly from our digital submissions, which rarely reserve this kind of surprises (when they do, it’s pure joy). The band in question is called Humeysha and – according to their Facebook profile – hail from NYC / LKO / KHI – which is enough info to include them in this blog, but fails to convey any other familiar location. However, their bio indicates Indian origins, betrayed rather heavily by their music and imagery. In October 2015 the quartet released a 14 track self-titled full length album that integrates Indian influences and western pop format in psychedelic ways that would make George Harrison proud. The video elevates the single’s dreaminess with stunning and vaguely disturbing images. Kudos to all parts involved, this is beautiful art.

We first covered NYC quartet Silverbird back in 2013, and, two years and a half later, we find a band that has evolved from their initial soft, dreamy and orchestral folky atmospheres (still dominating their 2014 EP ‘Surface Life‘) to a more elaborate, extroverted and upbeat art rock sound, pervading their 2015 release ‘Pureland‘. Considering it was entirely self released, the record has received a surprisingly good reception, raking up tens of thousands of plays on Spotify and a good amount of press coverage. The strenght of the album, besides a sound that blends glam-pop overtones (some may hear a Suede influence) with the trademark light psychedelia, is its consistency. Unlike most records out there, the band’s best material isn’t immediately burnt within the initial few tracks, but slowly unfolds song after song. Our personal favorite is ‘Seventeen’ (streaming below), a tune that, after a rather static verse, develops unexpectedly through a peculiar trasaction towards a chorus that brings to mind the best Flaming Lips tracks. Don’t miss these guys at their next live show, scheduled for February 18 at Baby’s All Right with Corbu and Ron Gallo.

 

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

Hey Newyorkers into Soul music and Hip Hop!

On Tuesday February 23rd we’ll celebrate the release of our 45th NYC issue of The Deli Magazine with a show at Rough Trade featuring our cover lady Brittany Campbell, who will take the opportunity to celebrate the release of her new EP! Check out her latest video for single ‘Sexy Darth Vader,’ inspired to Star Wars!

Here’s the lineup, tickets are $10/12 and can be bought here!

10.15: Brittany Campbell (EP Release!) 
9.30: Kate Ferber
8.45: Mathanee Treco
8.30: Paco the G Train Bandit
8.pm: DJ Topclass

See you there!

The Deli Folks

My Oh My’s next appearance in KC will be this Saturday at The Brick, with Pocket Vinyl (CT) and 40 Watt Dreams. Facebook event page. 

Last Saturday, 2/6, a beautiful thing happened at DC9 Nightclub. A sold out crowd was treated to a night of wonder as DC-based bands The Duskwhales, Broke Royals, and Wylder performed their superb music, with Wylder performing a full cover of Weezer’s debut album. Despite a late start and minor feedback problems, this show was not worth missing.

The Duskwhales kicked off the night with their typically exuberant style, belting out fast-paced, dreamy indie rock. Channeling the best of times long past and the days ahead, their sound is the stuff of youthful excellence and highly stylized stage presence. Vocalist and guitarist Seth Flynn brings a unique flavor to the stage, bushy hair masking his face and ruby red fingernails flying over his guitar. This trio has a highly refined musicality and standout personality on the scene. They released a video for their latest single, Emerald Skates, today. Also, they’ve declared themselves the only thing worth knowing in Manassas, VA, aside from the Civil War battlefields.

Following up, Broke Royals pursue being the epitome of smooth, rocking out in vests and belting out feel-good alt rock. Drummer Colin Cross possesses stellar skills at the drum kit, frequently twirling a drumstick without error between beats, while lead vocalist Philip Basnight work the crowd into a bopping mass of adulation. Their performance was energetic and engaging and they really pumped up the crowd. They recently put out their third album, The Luxury of Time Pt. III, keeping it simple for fans, and they’re releasing a new single, On My Way, on 2/19.

Headlining the night, indie folk group Wylder put their own spin on Weezer’s Blue Album for the show, executing the cover perfectly and adding to the classic masterpiece with violin and keys. Hitting all of the high notes and owning the title of DC’s best Weezer cover band, the band invited The Duskwhales onstage to sing along to The Sweater Song, which was thoroughly harmonious. Following the end of the album, Wylder rounded out the night with some of their originals, including their forthcoming release, Swells. The new single drops 2/15 and it is a fantastically upbeat, anthemic track.

-Jonathan Goodwin

This past November, Providence power pop quartet Jets Can’t Land released its ruggedly sweet debut EP, ‘You Can’t Linger On.’ As heard in the irresistibly nostalgic, guitar-fuzzed opener “A ‘70s Photograph” (streaming below), which excitingly melds the jagged splendor of Bowie’s “Queen Bitch” with the pure warmth of The Kinks’ “Powerman,” the six-song effort shows a band not so much enslaved by past struggle but ennobled, and even strengthened, by it. Jets Can’t Land plays at AS220 in Providence, Rhode Island on 2/19. – Zach Weg 

Rapzilla.com cites Th3 Saga as one of the primary reasons Christian Hip Hop is “back on the map.” The Queens-based MC has garnered a fair amount of attention in the national Battle Rap scene, and his faith is worn proudly on his sleeve. His tracks don’t push boundaries as far as the sonics are concerned, but provide a suitable backdrop for Th3 Saga’s lyircal praise and penitence. He rides beats with a sharp staccato reminiscent of Tupac, but lyrically keeps Christianity in the forefront rapping, “You sayin’ that I’m a pioneer, all I’m worried ‘bout is that the Messiah’s near.” From the Bronx’s BoogieMonsters to ATL’s Deepspace 5 to Philly’s The Grits, Christian rap comes and goes. Perhaps it will be Th3 Saga’s battle prowess which prevents him from becoming just another martyr.

In the late ’60s, Jim Morrison, in this interview, clearly predicted the future of music, envisioning something unimaginable at the time: a one person act, using tapes and electronic equipment as his or her band. We wonder if the psychedelic icon’s dream looked and sounded similar to HNRY FLWR’s video for "Down, in Carolina," which we are premiering below. Even though, in it, musical instruments are nowhere to be seen, David Van Witt, the psychedelic mastermind behind the project, doesn’t do anything to hide the fact that he has full control of his creative output: the video plays like a solo dance full of glam overtones and lush with sensual background projections, during which David seems to do its best to… woo himself – in a self courting ritual that’s synonymous with art. Those who, like us, love the the quirky and somewhat meditative psychedelic pop of Grandaddy may have found a new friend. Hnry Flowr will be playing in quartet setup at Shea Stadium on February 10.

—Michelle Bacon 

Deli Readers,

Our Best of Nashville 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, but we have finally arrived at destination: we can announce the final results. This year we heave a very eclectic chart – at least for the top positions.

Once all the votes were tallied (you can find out more about our methods below), All Them Witches emerged as the clear winner. Winning the contest will earn them not only serious bragging rights, but also a nod in our SXSW print edition. We first covered All Them Witches way back in the long-forgotten year of 2013, and we’re thrilled to see them getting some love from our jurors. Their 2015 Sweet Release EP is a journey and a half filled with long jams and tasty riffs that’ll have you doing that weird air guitar impression people do where they wiggle their fingers in front of their nipples for a couple seconds. The band shows no signs of slowing down in 2016, having already announced an overseas tour as well as a handful of US festival appearances.

Coming in second are local 70’s groove revivalists Savoy Motel, though to place them in a neat genre like that is a bit of a disservice. Their music is less of an old style in a modern context and more like an alternate universe, "what could have been" trip into uncanny valley. It’s all kinds of groovy and catchy, but there’s a certain unease that separates it from the pack. These guys don’t have a lot of material online yet, but we encourage you to dig on what’s available.

In third place is electro-pop songstress REMMI. Her recently released New America EP is up there with the best of what you’ll hear on any top 40 station with its crisp production and sad-dancing overtones. 

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

ALT FOLK – ALT ROCK – AMERICANA – 
ELECTRONIC – INDIE POP –INDIE/PSYCH ROCK – 
REVIVAL ROCK – SINGER-SONGWRITER

BEST OF 2015 POLL FOR EMERGING NNASHVILLE ARTISTS ****** FINAL RESULTS – TOP 15 ******

ARTIST J OS R TOT   1 All Them Witches 6.5   0.008 6.508 2 Savoy Motel 5.5   0.001 5.501 3 REMMI 4.5   0.042 4.542 4 The Gills 4.5   0.006 4.506 5 Steelism 3.5   0.004 3.504 6 The Nearly Deads 3   0.068 3.068 7 Twiggs 3   0.068 3.068   Soft Bodies 3   0.052 3.052 9 Cappa 3   0.022 3.022 10 Organ Stills 3   0.016 3.016 11 Sheep Shifter 3   0.013 3.013 12 Hot Tub Club 3   0.003 3.003 13 Elliot Root 3   0.003 3.003 14 The By Gods 3   0.002 3.002 15 Step Sisters   3 0.002 3.002 Legend: J = Jurors, W = Deli Writers, R = Deli Readers, OS = Open Submissions

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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+ Nashville 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 Nashville produced in the year 2015, this list is all you need. Enjoy!

Many Thanks to our Jurors: Ron Brice (3rd and Lindsley), Brendan Donohue (Pureform Media), Staff, (Lockeland Springsteen Music Blog), Staff (Grimey’s), Jay Gregory (Sad Spaceman Promotions), Steve Cross (Concert Photographer), Jared & Kristen Corder (East Nashville Underground), Robert Bragdon (Break on a Cloud ), Andrew Minske (Show This ), Brian Waters (DJ/Lightning 100), Tyler Walker (Queens Art Collective), Michael Eades (We Own This Town), Stephen Tragdser (Nashville Scene), Wes Davenport (Mercy Lounge), Crying Wolf, Christopher Paxton (Event director), Mistaa Gattii ( ACME Feed & Seed), Jesse Baker (Exit/In), David Oakleaf (The Building). Many other jurors were asked to send us their preferences but chose not to do so.

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

The Deli’s Staff

 Shredding their way from Alexandria, VA, Punch The Unicorn released their first single, White Noise, last month and it’s built on the most badass parts of punk and hard rock. Vocalist Lindsay Collette has a very anthemic presence on the track, reminiscent of rock legend Joan Jett, belting out lyrics with an entrancing range. The guitar work blasts in perfectly, replete with ungodly solos. I suspect the fretboards surely caught fire from the friction. Head-bangingly brilliant, PTU is working on a second single and looking for a new drummer, so keep an eye out for developments! -Jonathan Goodwin