Sean McMahon, lead singer and guitarist of local Brooklyn/Boston band Workman Song has unveiled a brand new single with a distinctly different sound from his previous material. Recorded at The Hangar in New Jersey and produced by MGMT’s Will Berman, ‘O, To Be In Love Again’ (streaming) is a fast paced, rhythm driven song, laden with intricate guitar lines and soaring, soulful vocals. Though the song still honors McMahon’s penchant for storytelling, it is a far cry from his April 2014 release ‘Lamb‘.
Workman Song has recently evolved from a solo folk project into a fully fledged ‘art folk rock’ band – a label created by McMahon himself. While his previous EP’s (specifically Lamb and Ion Zelig Vol. III) are often compared to Cat Stevens, solo Neil Young and Dylan, his new sound sits far more comfortably next to Kurt Vile & The Violators, early War on Drugs, Jefferson Airplane and Springsteen. On Wednesday 02/03 McMahon debuted the new single at Mercury Lounge alongside local songstress Katie Von Schleicher, Lip Talk and Alexander F of Rubblebucket. The set was perfectly executed in front of a packed venue and was just a taste of what is to come in the very near future for Workman Song. With a full length LP in the works as well as a national tour, Workman Song is one to watch.
Our Best of New England 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.
We are happy to announce that Boston’s pop punk band Rebuilder, thanks to an accumulation of jurors votes, is The Deli New England’s Best Emerging Artist of the Year, and will therefore be featured in our upcoming SXSW print issue (check out last year’s one digitally, here). We have been following this unstoppable power-quartet since their beginnings in 2014, and it’s been great to see them grow and mature with each release.Their 2015 album ‘Rock’n’Roll in America‘ blends the melodic punk tradition of pioneers Husker Do with a more modern and epic sound, without ever letting the BPM slow down. Don’t miss them live!
Thumbs up also for weirdly named, slow core trio Horse Jumper of Love, also hailing from Beantown, who placed second. Their sound – from what we can hear from the two songs available online – channels the slacker rock of the 90’s in rather seductive and chilled ways. They have a full release coming up on March 11th, from which first single ‘Ugly Brunette’ (streaming below) was premiered by Stereogum just about two weeks ago. We found another of their tracks on Soundcloud, here. Promising band indeed!
In third place we have a truly unique artist – and yes, she is a Bostonian too. Her name is Ruby Rose Fox, and we are really, really tempted to label her as THE (or some kind of) new Nick Cave, an artist we regard as one the best of all times. As you may have gathered though, Rosy is a lady. Gifted with an incredibly deep and expressive voice, and confidence aplenty, Ruby plays slow to mid tempo noir pop that flirts with Americana – and trouble. You definitely want to keep an ear and an eye out for this one – check out her stunning latest video for single "Dance of Frankestein."
Check out our poll’s top ten below, and don’t forget to get even deeper, exploring all the finalists organized by genre:
BEST OF 2015 POLL FOR
EMERGING NEW ENGLAND ARTISTS
****** FINAL RESULTS – TOP TEN ******
ARTIST
J
OS
W
R
TOT
1
Rebuilder
6.5
0.033
6.533
2
Horse Jumper of Love
5.5
0.007
5.507
3
Ruby Rose Fox
4.5
0.006
4.506
4
Cactus Attack
3
1.5
4.5
5
Danny Henry
2
2
4
6
Feral Jenny
3.5
0.003
3.503
7
Something Sneaky
3
0.061
3.061
8
Tigerman WOAH!
3
0.048
3.048
9
The Copacetics
3
0.045
3.045
10
Violent Mae
3
0.024
3.024
Legend: J = Jurors, W = Deli Writers,
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+ New England 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 New England produced in the year 2015, this list is all you need. Enjoy!
Many Thanks to our Jurors:Aaron Gray (Gray Skull Booking), Adam Blye (Mutiny on the Microphone), Adam Morgan (Surviving the Golden Age), Adam Parshall (Do617), Alyssa Spector (Lysten Boston), Dan McMahon (Deli NE Editor), Dave Crespo (WEMF Radio), Deep Thoughts (Deep Thoughts), Ellie Molitor (Allston Pudding), Erich Hagan (John Fleming Entertainment), Jacob Nathan (AS220), Jake (Boston Ska), Joseph Graham (NE Music Awards), Knar Bedian (Sound of Boston), Kristin Nicholls (Bishop & Rook), Lance Tobin (Brighton Music Hall), Lionel Train (The Middle East), llya Sitnikov (I Heart Noise), Malcolm Tent (Trash American Style), Paul Mayer (Cafe Nine), Perry Eaton (BDCWire), Radio Bean (Radio Bean), Ryan Agate (O’Brien’s Pub), Salty Speakers (Salty Speakers), Samuel Potrykus (Boston Hassle), The Space (The Space), TJ Edson (Out of the Blue Too).
Hope you’ll find some awesome new artists you weren’t aware of!
Dream pop has exploded in the NYC scene in the last decade, and the feeling we have is that the genre is slowly gathering more and more attention (also thanks to artists like Lana Del Rey, not exactly an indie scene dear, but nonetheless responsible for introducing a mellow and uber-dreamy pop sound to many new music fans). Tiny Deaths, who sound nothing like Lana, and whose name is a translation of how French people call sexual peak, is a duo based in Minneapolis and Brooklyn. They released their debut, self titled EP last year, and recently unveiled a new, four track release entitled ‘Night Flowers’ (two singles streaming below). They seem to specialize in sparse, mostly electronic midtempos highlighting singer Claire de Lune’s celestial melodies drenched in otherworldly reverb. Looking forward to see them in NYC – no shows scheduled here at this stage.
“Heavier punk or metal is aggressive and comes from a need to tap into that primitive feeling inside of you,” says Justin Mantooth. Mantooth is the house engineer at Westend Recording Studios, a state-of-the-art recording facility tucked into the West Plaza area of town. Westend boasts professional recordings from some of KC’s most well-known rock lineage, from Shiner to Frogpond to Season To Risk, and current groups like Shy Boys, Radkey, and Making Movies. On Monday, the studio released a compilation called Amplify KC Volume 1, featuring some of the city’s heaviest acts.
Eleven forceful tracks make up the album, ranging from noise rock to punk to metal to hardcore, skillfully recorded, produced, and mixed by Mantooth and mastered by Mike Nolte (Eureka Mastering). Read our Q&A with Mantooth and get it as a free download here.
The Deli: One of the goals of this compilation was to highlight heavy-minded artists. Why do you think these artists tend to be overlooked?
Mantooth: It’s not for everyone. It’s less approachable than your electro-pop hipster thing might be to a casual listener.
The Deli:This compilation also showcases the production quality from Westend. Tell us more about the facility.
Mantooth: Westend owner Mike Miller has built a professional environment that has a vibe of a time before streaming and MP3s. A time when it was more about the music and not YouTube views. We try to push for "real"-sounding records rather than slick overly produced ones. I take full advantage of new digital tools, don’t get me wrong, but my goal isn’t to quantize performances into robotic perfection. One thing that may set us apart from other studios is that we still use analog tape often, something that isn’t really happening in most studios today.
The Deli:How did you select these particular artists? Highlight a few of them.
Mantooth: We put the word out that we wanted to do this compilation and had bands submit to take part. From there I chose the bands I thought I could make a solid production with in a day’s worth of studio time. That wasn’t easy to narrow down! I wish I could have recorded 20 bands, but you know it’s a lot of work. I’ll just highlight the first 3 tracks on the comp because I enjoy everyone on there.
Hyborian: These guys can play and write very slick songs yet keep it heavy. The mix of smooth vocals over raging guitars and big drums is just excellent.
Walking Oceans: Just listen to their entire track. It is a rollercoaster ride of badassery. Instrumental music that doesn’t leave you wondering when the vocal section is going to start. Really good band.
Bluehealer: These dudes are young and they play like it. With no fear at all. They throw down. Taking somewhat simple chords and ideas and just thrashing them hard. They remind me of some of my favorite bands and I enjoyed getting that sound for them.
The Deli:What can we in the KC music scene do to support bands in the hardcore/metal/punk/heavy rock scene? What should bands do to get their name out there?
Mantooth: That’s a good question. The biggest thing is go out and see bands live. Buy their merch. We live in a time when there are a million reasons to just stay home. We don’t have the same attendance at shows that was the norm 15 to 20 years ago. I think one good idea is having more diverse lineups at local shows. We don’t need to see 5 similar metal bands at 1 show. I played a show on NYE with Jorge Arana Trio, Sharp Weapons, Sundiver, and Bummer. All very different, but it went really well. People like to hear diversity and sometimes bills are stacked with too much of the same. And usually half of the lineup is terrible just to keep the genres the same.
The Deli:Name a few must-see KC bands that people may not know about. It doesn’t have to be limited to bands on this compilation; perhaps even some that didn’t make the cut.
Mantooth: All of these bands are bands I want people to know about. Bummer is a must see. They always bring the beef. Hammerlord didn’t work out as far as being on the compilation, but they are great.
David Bowie is a god of artistry, performance, and music. We are all created in his ever-changing image. Cool in our uncoolness, beautiful awkward outcasts, only appreciated and understood in our circles of the same. May it be Bowie as a distorted, sexy, sci-fi, glam-rock angel, or toying with the absurdity of gender and sexuality and what belongs to it, or Bowie as a poetic confrontational storyteller, or merely the voice of a collective us who seeks guidance and shelter from the normal; David Bowie changed the world.
On Sunday night, Bowie fans all over the metro came to pay tribute to our god. Upwards of 850 people showed up at the Uptown Theater, some with painted faces and all ready to do their part. This show was originally booked for Knuckleheads Saloon but moved when the demand became too great for it to handle. Our local musicians leading us in praise, calling themselves The Band That Fell To Earth, played more than 2 hours of Bowie—25 songs. And still left us wanting more. Always more Bowie.
Michelle Bacon, editor and writer for our very own Deli along with 90.9 The Bridge and Ink, on her cooler days plays bass for The Philistines and drums for Chris Meck and The Guilty Birds. She handpicked this very talented group of her friends and peers and coordinated a masterpiece of a tribute. Ultimately presented by The Deli KC, this performance was all created from the depths of her Bowie fandom. Kansas City thanks you, Michelle.
Michelle with her shiny hair, tight red pants, and perfectly played funky bass lines, wasn’t the only star onstage that night. Stephanie Williams was the other half of the rhythm section; she and her beautiful bangs play drums in Katy Guillen & the Girls. Kyle Dahlquist, of The Hardship Letters and Amy Farrand and the Like, took care of the synth and keys. Alex Alexander of Drop a Grand and SquidsKC melted faces with his lead guitar. Rich Wheeler, who plays with The People’s Liberation Big Band and Son Venezuela, was the brass section. Betse Ellis and Clarke Wyatt of the folk duo Betse & Clarke were the string section. Andrea Tudhope, Lauren Krum (The Grisly Hand, Ruddy Swain), and Rachel Christia (Hearts of Darkness) were personality and backup vocals. The main vocals were handled by Nathan Corsi of Not a Planet, Michael Tipton of Kodascope, and Steve Tulipana of Roman Numerals.
Besides the talent, the key to this tribute was the huge video screen behind the band (provided by XO Blackwater). It played clips of videos and live performances that went along perfectly with the set list all night. It gave us a needed tool to fully reminisce. It allowed us to compare dance moves between Bowie and whoever was taking on the vocals at the moment, which was a very fun element. The screen started the show with the “Lazarus” video—it sobered the crowd right up and we all remembered that we were in mourning.
The Band That Fell To Earth started their first set with “Let’s Dance.” The seats cleared and I became fully aware of what a special night this was going to be. Steve Tulipana carried the brunt of the lead vocals. I have been lucky enough to catch him in a couple of tribute projects, one being a Joy Division tribute. He became Ian Curtis that night and blessed us with the transformation into David Bowie on Sunday night. Steve brings icons back to life, just for one day. His moves, his vocals, and emphasis were captivating. He was David Bowie and the crowd loved it.
“Heroes” has been such a covered and loved track for so long. I’ve heard it recorded and covered live so many times. But something felt different about it on Sunday. This anthem, professing love and proclaiming individuality and how truly heroic these things are, is who David Bowie was. It is an anthem to me. It means so much. And Rich’s horn during this song was everything. Bless him and his contribution to this project.
Popular favorites “China Girl,” “Young Americans,” and “Modern Love” turned the crowd into a dance party. Old and young dancing and singing every lyric wildly at each other. But the real shock was the last song of the first set, where Nathan Corsi captivated the crowd with his vocal interpretation of “Life on Mars.” No one around me spoke. Some had tears in their eyes. Dressed in suspenders with his beautiful brunette mane, Nate was not Bowie. He was a fan. He was paying tribute. His voice represented how we all felt. He left his crowd blown away. We all needed an intermission to gather ourselves.
We came back from intermission with “Fame” and the stripper moves came pouring out. Michelle and Kyle became Nine Inch Nails on “I’m Afraid of Americans” and I cannot stress enough how spot-freaking-on this was. During “Suffragette City,” the screen above showed clips from Labyrinth and everyone took notice.
“Sound and Vision,” which is one of my personal favorite tracks, was done justice by Kyle on the keys. He was a vision (see what I did there?). “Space Oddity,” was taken on by Nate and Andrea. Andrea was center stage and ready to do her part to pay homage with Nate to her left. I felt nervous as these vocals felt like maybe they would be a stretch for anyone to take on. I was so wrong. They, along with the string and horn section, took us to church and made us all believers. It was one of many “WOW” moments of the show. But, not to be outdone, “Moonage Daydream” produced its own stars. Alex seemed to have been taken over by some sort of rock guitarist demon and Clarke broke his bow. Now THAT is rock ‘n roll.
The Band That Fell To Earth played an encore of “Rock n Roll Suicide” and “Under Pressure.” Michelle began the last song of the night with that bass line we all know so well. We prepared ourselves for the grand finale. The backup vocalists danced. All performers of the night graced the stage. David and Freddie took over the screen and we all celebrated, together.
David, thank you. Thank you for the music. Thank you for the courage. Thank you for instilling the belief that we are all ok as we are, no matter what that might be. Thank you for changing us and the world. RIP.
—Jess Barrett
Haver of sweet dance moves and stealer of t-shirts
Back in September, Boston "psych dance-rock" quartet Celebrity Look-Alikes released its unabashedly mellow self-titled EP. Starting with the bass-zipped “Gargoyle” (streaming below), its loose yet controlled keys as chimerical as its titular beast, and ending with the swirling guitars of the existential musing “Revolving Door,” the effort shows a young, undeniably talented band searching for meaning while having fun along the way. Celebrity Look-Alikes play at Middle East in Cambridge MA on Saturday (2/6). – Zach Weg
Now that Brooklyn’s Market Hotel is back, we can finally have a clear picture of which local artists in the NYC DIY circuit have the necessary following (or whatever you want to call it) to play a venue that’s considerably larger than any other "DIY" venue. We used quotes when referring to DIY because it must be noted that the term has lost most of its original meaning, since most of these places, from Aviv to Palisades, and also Market Hotel, are perfectly legal venues: we guess DIY, today, is all about attitude, all ages shows, DIY decor, and – most imprtantly – about the style of the bands booked, veering from punky to psych to experimental or wildly creative, but never over produced. Maybe they should just rename this the "no frills" Brooklyn scene.
Anyway, not that many bands – besides DIIV (too big for us to cover) – are playing Market Hotel in the next few weeks, but we dig the few ones that are. We blogged quite a lot about Show Me The Body and their insane blend of Post Hardcore, Noise Rock and… Hip Hop maybe? Stuff that won’t climb the charts, but that might very well be remembered as what was relevant and new in Brooklyn in the mid ’10s – they are playing the Bushwick venue tomorrow February 5th.
We’ve always been big fans of Lodro, a noir, tense as f**k trio that will be opening for DIIV’s second show on March 3rd.
A band we never covered before, Uniform (pictured), will perform on Saturday February 13th as an opener to SF electro post punkers The Soft Moon. The Brooklyn duo’s music also blends electronic sounds (drum machine and droney bass synth) with punky and industrial elements. Definitely a band to see while wearing earplugs and your good old mosh pit shoes on – oh, right you wear those all the time… you are good to go then!
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.
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)
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
