Late Cambrian, winners of our Best of NYC Readers/Fans’ Poll in 2014, just released a new single entitled ‘Yearbook Photo’ (streaming), which boasts a sound a lot more electronic than what the duo got us used to. Swirling synth arpeggiators and pads leave little space to electric guitars – the band’s ‘first love’ – underlining a transaction from their early power pop days to a dreamier, more serene and mature electronic sound. This is a band relentlessly at work: they also just released a video for more uptempo single ‘Dark Heart (Where Can We Go Now?)’ – check it out here.

Hey, DC, Baltimore, and Richmond readers! The Deli DC Area’s Readers’ Poll has officially concluded and we have our winners. Thanks to everyone for paticipating and voting and congrats to the victors!

First Place: Topping the list with 253 votes, Shumaun rocked their way to the top with a special blend of progressive and alt rock, producing and releasing a fantastic debut album last November. Reminiscent in equal parts of Rush and Breaking Benjamin, this quartet is topping the request chart for Rockfile Radio and are playing a ton of shows, so you literally can’t miss them if you tried!

Second Place: Coming in at number two with 124 votes is Chantilly’s own Dr. Robinson’s Fiasco. This trio’s sound mixes in element of alt and surf on a bed of pop rock, creating an exciting, feel-good musicality. Their latest single came out in May, so give it a listen below and catch one of their frequent performances in the area.

Third Place: Closing out the top three with 108 votes, the District’s Thaylobleu proves that karma and hard work get results. Promoting and complimenting other local acts on social media and playing a handful of shows each month has built the goodwill they need to get their kickass tunes to the masses and dominate our poll. It’s been a while since the funky jam rock group has put anything out, so fingers crossed for 2016. Keep it up, fellas!

Honorale Mentions:

These guys worked especially hard to promote the poll and they deserve some love, too, especially because the race was so close.

4. The Duskwhales -103 votes

5. Big Mama Shakes – 93 votes

6. Goldrush – 88 votes

If you’re as much of a music nerd as I am and want to see the categorical breakdowns, check ’em here:

Alt Rock – Hardcore/Metal – Hip Hop/World – Electronic – Indie Pop – Indie Rock – Post Punk – Roots Music

Huge thanks to everyone who supported this special contest. The Deli Magazine loves each and every one of you and hope you found some delicious music from your local scenes. We hope you’ll follow along for the year and see you next for another great annual poll! -Jonathan Goodwin

Los Angeles folk trio WILD got started in different areas of the music industry: Kristina Antuna tracked vocals for EDM projects, while guitarists Zach DeGaetano and Tyler Thompson worked as music writers. An eventful writing session for music briefs diverged to their first single "Stay", leading the three to their self-titled debut album. Now, the band’s newly released single "Vagabond" spins bright-eyed, anthemic hooks and arpeggios with an acoustic twang as Kristina Antuna nods to a life’s path — perhaps theirs — trailing off into the unknown. We point them towards the direction of Run River North, Lumineers, and Of Monsters and Men — open-armed coastal folk pop acts that you can sing along to.

WILD are flying off for a quick minute to perform in New York, before trekking back for a pair of free shows; listen to "Vagabond" and catch WILD’s live performances below. – Ryan Mo

2/10 New York, NY @ Top of the Rock

2/11 New York, NY @ Rockwood Music Hall

2/15 Los Angeles, CA @ The Mint

2/16 Los Angeles, CA @ Dirty Laundry with Bishop (Free Show)

2/24 Los Angeles, CA @ The Redbury (Free Show)

 Need some awesome live music to float you to the weekend? Tomorrow night (2/4), swing by Fillmore Silver Spring and catch garage pop band Mainland as they kick things off for Marianas Trench. These guys have a crisp sound, seeming lo-fi but still very refined. The instrumentals are tight and the vocals are transcendental when matched with such honest, long-suffering lyrics. Mainland just put out a new video, "Not As Cool As Me," and every second is precisely constructed and beautiful. If their live show is a tenth as meticulous as their new video, you’ll be in for a huge treat. -Jonathan Goodwin

Back in December, New York-via-Oakland singer/songwriter Jennah Bell released her humbly majestic latest effort, ‘Anatomy.’ Subtly remarkable in its deft ability to convey both innocence and experience through a folk/R&B blend, the aptly-titled work shows a musician assuredly burrowing into her innermost sadness. On the country-inflected middle track “John Forbid” (streaming below), for example, the smooth-timbered Bell asks the titular character to just “say something,” compassion for both his and her own imperfections arising from the guitar-swept dust. To celebrate the release of ‘Anatomy,’ Bell will play Rockwood Music Hall Stage 2 on 2/17. – Zach Weg

Fast drums, distorted guitars and melodic vocals barely floating on top of the noise – it’s the rock’n’roll equivalent of a BLT, you just can’t go wrong with it. That is, in a few words, what Dion Lunadon‘s band does when he’s not busy playing the bass for A Place to Bury Strangers or Flower of Evil. Dion unveiled just one track so far, the streaming "Com/Broke," to be released in vinyl on February 16th, but – most importantly – already has booking representation through Paradigma, which is a great asset for a new band. If this sonic BLT is your cup of tea, don’t miss the band’s show at Palisades tomorrow (02.04) – it should be a good one. 

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

The life of the salaryman is dead in Shinya Mizoguchi, the Japan-to-Los Angeles producer/multi-instrumentalist with roots in jazz, soul, and R&B. Saved by the grace of Low End Theory after years locked in a cubicle, Mizoguchi’s project starRo made its first digital footprints with the Vib collab single "I need you" — since then he’s taken strides with future music collective Soulection and supported Chet Faker on the rapper’s 2014 tour. Last year was especially momentous for Mizoguchi: he dropped the debut EP Emotion in February, performed with Japanese instrumental rock band toe, and flew out for a winter tour in Asia that touched Manila, Fukuoka, Hong Kong, Shanghai, and Jakarta.

Enter the present: starRo’s recently released single, featuring kouhai producer/singer/songwriter One T, marks a change in direction. Says Mizoguchi in a Facebook post, "I am excited to show my love to funk, garage, pop music and 80’s synth soundscape in this song."

From slap bass to sawtooth delicacies, modulating pulsations to indelible vocals, we can honestly say: we feel that love.  

Listen to "Relapse" and watch starRo’s live band performance this Friday at The Lyric Theater with Jarell Perry, VŌX, and guest DJs Sosupersam and NALA. – Ryan Mo

In the company of just two ukuleles, in her new track "unpuzzle Me’ (premiered below), NYC singer songwriter Kate Copeland moves in a direction dramatically different from her previous album, taking a (rather long) step towards a sparser, more intimate sound that unveils the artist’s silky voice and intense lyrics. Gone are the experimental arrangements, gone is the "sonic puzzle" brought by electronic arrangements and a "produced" sound. It makes sense, then, to discover that the song "is an attempt at describing [a] complex process of growth and transition" – as Kate admits; the track’s simplicity acts, at once, as a more candid medium for her songwriting, and as a cure for "jumbled-up feelings that arose during a confusing and exciting time." As a welcome side effect, the song seem to have therapeutic effects on us too. Kate Copeland will be performing at Rockwood Music Hall’s stage 3 tonight (February 3rd). Her new EP ‘Red & Blue’ is scheduled for a spring release.

Brookyn based alt folkers Jagged Leaves (brainchild of songwriter Dan Penta) on February 5th will be playing at Palisades and unveiling physical copies of their debut album, ‘Nightmare Afternoon‘ (saying "physical copies" sounds so quaint, these days!). So far, we only have access to one single, ‘Low & Wet’ (streaming), a poignantly beautiful song led by Dan’s commanding voice, and gently propelled by acoustic guitar, drums and the melodious accompaniment of a violin. Female vocal harmonies tastefully integrate Penta’s powerful voice, adding an appropriately melancholic aura to the vulnerability of the lyrics: "Vision cast onto anything/ My two fingers are all syrupy/ The bulbs glow back/ And we are both spent/ It’s ok if you’re low and wet." This sounds like Anti-Folk done properly. – Adriana S Ballester

Maybe the ’10s will be remembered as the decade when New Jersey became cool… these days so many good bands hail from the Garden State that we are starting to wonder whether we should start calling it "The New Brooklyn!" The Jack Moves is a NJ based orchestral soul pop duo that will touch your heart and give you goosebumps, in particular if you’ve been waiting for an ’80s soul revival to get your romantic side out of jail. With their pristine falsettos and sensual arrangements, in single ‘Doublin’ Down’ (video streaming below) the group channels at once Hall & Oates and Prince’s softer side, with incredible confidence and vocal skills rare to find in a young band. The band released their full length, self-titled debut in October 2015, and will be performing at Baby’s All Right on February 8, opening for Brick + Mortar.

Welcome one, welcome all! The time has come to present who is advancing on to the next phase of our poll for Toronto’s emerging artists. Infinite thanks to all the bands that submitted; it was a pleasure listening to their tracks!

After tallying our editors’ ratings for the Open Submissions stage, it’s time to release the results. PLease note that to avoid conflicts no local editor was allowed to vote for bands in their own scene.

Now without further ado, drom roll please… 

Total Submissions from Toronto: 15

Jurors: Michelle Bacon (The Deli KC), Cervante Pope (The Deli Portland), Paolo De Gregorio (The Deli NYC)

Acts advancing to our Readers/Fans Poll:

1. Spells of Vertigo (Noise Rock) – 7.8

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1. Dilly Dally (Indie Rock) – 7.8

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3. Terrorista (Pop Punk) – 7.33

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4. Rolemodel (Electro-Pop) – 7.16

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4. HIGHS (Indie Pop) – 7.16

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6. Shallow Waves (Psych Rock) – 7

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Honorble mentions (rating average above 6):

The Dearly Bereft, New Design,Bile Sister, Ready the Prince, The Alpacas, The Honest Heart Collective

Stay tuned for the Readers’ Poll, to start within the week!

The Folks at The Deli

Drummer Byron Pagdilao and bassist/vocalist Lee Lewallen of The Electric West haven’t missed a beat since last summer’s departure of guitarist Dee Kay. New blood keeps the band pumping, and with a fresh body on the six-string, the grave-rocking post punk heralds have released a new song for 2016. "Death Birds", with its lurching rhythms and creeping feedback, comes as an early release following 100 RSVPs to their upcoming show at The Echo.

Listen to "Death Birds" and catch The Electric West howling this Thursday at The Echo with Green Gerry as they support Figs Vision. – Ryan Mo