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

Alyx Poska is from Orange County, CA. He likes weird show locations, #smoothmusic and critique of the capitalist wasteland. He’s the founder of diy4lyfe records & zine and co-founder of OC DIY as well as local cult leader. He is a strong proponent of genres like bummer punk, yacht rock, new weird americana and smooth music.

Diners came through Southern California multiple times in 2015, each show gathering larger and larger crowds to watch their smooth desert pop jams. With the departure of drummer Tristan Jemsek to Seattle, frontman Tyler Broderick began 2016 with a “solo” tour that featured intimate performances throughout the great state of #Kali. I was lucky enough to catch him at Bridgetown DIY in La Puente, as well as in Orange County. This show, booked by Aaron Kovacs from Lauren Records, featured three locals that tended toward the indie rock and bummer punk side of the spectrum, and all three were quite loud in Bridgetown’s boomy but narrow space.

Panoramic started off the night with two bass amps but no bass player in sight. They were one of the two power trios playing, and by the time their set started a small crowd had formed. Heavy hitters Settling played second and pushed the limits of people’s eardrums with songs from their digital single “Ava/Pretty Dream” and their demo EP. Diners was a welcome relief for the ears as people crowded around Tyler’s guitar amp and keyboard. Tyler treated the crowd to old favorites (even tracks from their first EP “Throw Me a Ten”), and songs from the latest Diners 7”, “It’s All True”, put out by Asian Man Records. His subtle musical showmanship was captured in the different performance stunts like medley-ing short songs together, grand pauses, continually rising key changes, and repeated chordal motifs that would show up randomly in other songs. The crowd was enchanted and definitely left wanting more of his unique brand of smooth ‘60s and ‘70s pop music.

The band members of Winter Break were visibly under the weather but they still delivered a tight set of songs at the end of the night from their 2015 self-titled release, and some new songs. The anticipation is building for the new Diners LP, tentatively titled Diners III according to Tyler, which will be out on Asian Man Records before the end of the year! – Alyx Poska, photo credit: Ryan Mo

2016 is a leap year, and you know what that means: February gets five Mondays! Moonlight an extra night at these FREE Los Angeles residencies. Lena Fayre graces the Bootleg after a sold out show at Chicago’s Art Institute — and possibly with new songs from an upcoming release? The bar stage gets a fifth Monday sendoff from Marjorie Fair. From Aliso Viejo to Los Angeles, trio Adult Books begin their monthlong stay at The Echo, switching it up on the third Monday with a performance at the spaced out Echoplex — read their latest interview with Lo-Pie. Pom Poms and The Controversy share four nights at The Satellite. Finally, Bright Missiles tear it up on Tuesdays at Silverlake Lounge, after Silver Snakes‘ last free Monday with AEGES, Minnow, and The Royal. – Ryan Mo

Lena Fayre at The Bootleg (21+):

Feb. 1 — with Vox, AKW
Feb. 8 — with TRACE, Lush Guts
Feb. 15 — with YASSOU, Me Yow
Feb. 22 — with Phebe Starr

Adult Books at The Echo (21+):

Feb. 1 — with The Molochs, Drinking Flowers, Terminal A
Feb. 8 — with Colleen Green, Psychomagic, Mother Merry Go Round
Feb. 15 — with Numb.er, Tracy Bryant, Wyatt Blair
Feb. 22 — with Part Time, Billy Changer, Noah Kwid (at The Echoplex)

Pom Poms and The Controversy at The Satellite (21+):

Feb. 1 — with Mothertapes, Chasing Kings
Feb. 8 — with Artists TBA
Feb. 15 — with Artists TBA
Feb. 22 — with Artists TBA
Feb. 29 — with Artists TBA

Bright Missiles at Silverlake Lounge (21+):

Feb. 8 — with Steps of Doe, Fan Fiction, Judy Gloom
Feb. 15 — with The Modern Age, Yo, The Noogles
Feb. 22 — with Pizza Friday, Deep Breaths, V.V. Friendly
Feb. 29 — with Jubilo Drive, Bedbugs, Ghosts In Pocket

This past Friday, New York-via-North Carolina singer/songwriter CF Watkins released her latest album, ‘I Am New’ and, as heard on the electronic/folk-tinged single “Linger” (streaming below), it is pleasantly plaintive. Looking back on a past lover with literary detail (“Well, I watched your hands/As they skimmed through those old books/That you once wrote in,” goes one of many quietly crushing lyrics), Watkins on this celestial track, with her preciously calm voice, ultimately goes forward with newfound vigor. CF Watkins will have an album release show for ‘I Am New’ (which features collaborations with fellow New York act, Wilder Maker) on 2/22 at Pianos Upstairs. – Zach Weg 

Brooklyn’s brothers band WRITER (James and Andy Ralph) announced today the release of their sophomore album ‘Principle Web,’ out on April 8th via Small Plates Records. While doing so they also took the opportunity to share single, "Mosquito Bitten," (streaming below). With its guttural, fuzzy, power chord propelled distorted guitars and slow melodies reminiscent of a darker, more menacing version of Weezer, the single inserts the band in the ’90s rock revival that has been taking Brooklyn by storm in the first half of the decade. Knowing the band, though (see our previous coverage here), we can expect more experimental and tense material in the rest of the record. For those who can’t wait, they can find out how their new songs sound on February 10, when the group will be playing at the Bowery Ballroom.

The Deli New England Readers’ Poll ended last week, and, after a few days churning the numbers and checking the votes, we can finally announce the winner and runners up!

1. Congrats to quirky Connecticut singer songwriter and pianist Danny Henry (pictured), who, nominated by one of our jurors (list coming soon), went to extreme(ly cold) lengths in promoting our poll, and broke the epic barrier of 1k votes to head the pack of nominated artists: he’s The Deli New England’s Readers Artist of 2015! Check out his single "Meliss" below, that manages to blend New Order and the sound of Motown.

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2. In second place, the roots music collective Cactus Attack surrounding Ryan "Stonewall" Jackson fought Danny tooth and nail, getting very close to the 1k vote threshold. These guys also shot a (hilariously earnest) video promoting our poll, check it out – we should totally do a contest of the videos next time! Cactus Attack released their charming and full of character self-title debut album in 2011 (you can listen to it here) but their Facebook profile shows them busy working on a follow up.

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3. In third place (with 548 votes) we have a female fronted alt rock group that, with their new single "Step Into The Light" (streaming) seems to be developing shoegazer overtones: Chaser Eight. Also hailing from Connecticut, this is a group whose music has been featured on TV and various radio station. Expect a new album release in the next few weeks.

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4. A few points below, at 540, stands our fourth place bands, Eldridge Rodriguez, a Boston quartet that plays rather epiuc rock with both electric and electronic elements. You can listen to theirr latest LP "The Castrati Menace" (released in October 2015) here.

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Also, don’t forget to check out the top ten artists below, they all promoted this poll hard and deserve your attention for doing so!

5. The Hempsteadys
6. Mission Zero
7. Carissa Johnson
8. Able Days
9. Ceschi

10. Dr. Martino

AND! If you are really eacher to go in depth, here are the results organized by genre!
ALT ROCK – GARAGE/DIY – INDIE POP – INDIE ROCK – PUNK ROCK – ROOTS/SONGWRITERS

Thanks to all the bands and artists for promoting this unique contest, and thanks to readers and fans for voting: we hope you all had fun and got introduced to some new, awesome local music.

The Folks at The Deli