With regret, members are pulling the plug on Cruelty Code in two more shows. Known for their mixture of trepanating timbres and rusted-scalpel lyrics, the paragon of IE coldwave exemplified Salope Cassette‘s nursery of whispered auteurs including Contraciel, Shojo Winter, and Ambersmoke. The departure of Cruelty Code comes as a tragedy to Southern California’s close-knit and supportive communities of noise — the project is survived by The Victoriana and Pornography Ethics.
Their three-date send-off began last night in Riverside with Shitgiver, Band Aparte, and Sashcloth & Axes. Kevin McVey (Shojo Winter, ex-Crisis Arm) fills in synth for Kevin Martin (ex-Apathean, Eisenhower). – Ryan Mo, photo credit:Shojo Winter
As hinted at in its regal name, New York’s The Next Great American Novelist purveys an impressive literariness on its nerd rock-inflected song, "Wicked" (streaming below). Starting out with drum thuds that pleasantly hearken back to Queen’s "We Will Rock You," the guitar-tightened track shows project mastermind and singer/songwriter Sean Cahill as an unabashed romantic. Like Weezer’s Rivers Cuomo on the contemporary classic “Say It Ain’t So,” the warm-voiced Cahill may wear his heart on his sleeve but only because he has so much love to give. The Next Great American Novelist plays The Hall MP in Williamsburg, February 19th at 7pm. – Zach Weg
Leland Sundries is the portmanteau under which frontman Nick Loss-Eaton and an ever-evolving roster of Brooklyn, NYC musicians produce music that imagionatevly expands on Americana in ways reminiscent of the poppy and slightly psychedelic storytelling of Camper Van Beethoven later records – or at least that’s what we hear in preview single "Studebaker," out of upcoming debut album "Music for Outcasts," (preorder here) scheduled for a Februyary 5 release. Mostly written before overcoming alcoholism and survuivuing open heart surgery, and finalized during the resulting, forced "time off," partly spent in Europe, the record focuses on personal tales related to seeing the world through new, sober eyes, and feeling it through a finally healed body. Check out also the video for "Apocalypse Love Song" here. Leland Sundries plays Muchmore’s on 02,26.
The ever expanding universe that is Brooklyn’s dreampop scene seemingly knows no bounds. While numerous bands explore that style’s noisier side, the recently released debut EP “Sea White Salt” by Joseph Sant (a "Honorable Mention" in our recent Best of NYC Psych Open Submission results) takes a more introspective approach. Although a prominent drum track initially propels featured single cut “Nor’easter” along, the emergence of soft surf-rock guitar lines and whisper-sung vocals establish an unmistakable ambient mindset. Textured guitar melodies appear within the tracks instrumental second minute, creating the sonic equivalent of swelling wind and ocean. A denser, layered crescendo explodes just after the 2:00 minute mark, and you get the sense that the storm has now peaked. The feeling is poetic without actually being able to pinpoint any clearly defined storyline. In fact, only at the very end when the instruments go quiet can you make out the lyric “all that I hated and struck at – lost its hold over me.” While readily acknowledging Beach Fossils and Wild Nothing as initial developers of this sound, emerging bands like Lazyeyes and now Joseph Sant continue its forward progression. – Dave Cromwell
The pikachu backpack threw a lot of people off, including a couple who stood left of The Echo’s stage. Earlier, Nylo had lulled the audience with ease despite being a last-minute add. She lulled me, too. An indigo summer bathed the alt-R&B singer as bodies swayed to her glass notes. So when Meishi Smile set up, half of the crowd were none the wiser. Hidden among chillwave hopefuls, Zoom Lens’ cult following showed their true colors as Nadia Ulerich sat, fingers curled like a full lotus and a masked Lindsay Anne drew out the gong. Obscured by a black lace veil, Garrett began and people were grounded, some wounded by its immediacy — noise and synth, autotune and scream. But in the din of cyberpunk closer "…Belong", they understood. Briefly.
Survivors and the sated scanned their surroundings as Jeremy Malvin took the stage. And together, they entered the chrome forest. Need more be said? – Ryan Mo, photo credit: Joey Tobin
Starting February 4, 2016, The Deli KC will be appearing the first Thursday of every month on Under the Radar with John Todd on KKFI 90.1 FM. A HUGE thanks to John for allowing us to take over part of his radio show once a month.
In addition, we’ll be taking the music submitted and posting it as podcasts to The Deli KC’s Soundcloud page. These will be available to the general public for streaming and free download.
So … WE NEED YOUR MUSIC. New or old, we don’t care. Send MP3s to thedelikcpodcast@gmail.com. Whereas we will be playing selections of what is submitted on KKFI, ALL submissions will be included on the podcasts.
Dreampop darlings Crescendo are set for release of the sophomore album Unless, with plans for a national tour and performances at this year’s SXSW. Led by flagship single "Repulsor", trio Gregory Cole, Olive Kimoto, and Jess Krichelle explore hyperspace romanticism, diving in and out of star clusters with celestial melodies and post-punk rhythms. The band drives up their momentum following last year’s performances with diverse acts like PART TIME, Glasz, The Unending Thread, and Cruelty Code. Unless will release through Italian label We Were Never Being Boring on February 19th.
Crescendo plays a free show with Crown Plaza at Pomona’s Acerogami next Friday — Gabrielle Costa (DREAMWAVE) and Jim Smith (The Smell) switch up shoegaze, dreampop, and post-punk hits in-between sets. Listen to "Haunted", the second track off Crescendo’s upcoming album Unless. – Ryan Mo
Over the past few months, Boston-based "future music" artist Sober Rob has released instantly compelling electronic tracks on his Soundcloud page. While the August-released "Bliss" is a merry, jazz-inflected swirl of perky horns and skipping beats, "Sonder" (streaming below) from this past December is a considerably more eerie track of percussive pings and zaps that could play over a foreboding science-fiction movie. While different in tone, both songs convey Sober Rob’s impressive ability to stir emotion with just the computer at his hands. Sober Rob plays at Middle East in Cambridge, Massachussetts on 1/29. – Zach Weg
Intoxicating yet welcoming, the music video (playing below) for "Up" by Kirsten Izer is a spectral portrait of emotional vulnerability. Filmed and edited by Izer herself, the guitar-lined clip shows the New Jersey-based indie alt pop musician calmly yet boldly addressing a downtrodden soul, encouraging perseverance through pain. The 19-year-old Izer, who has previously been nominated for twin music prizes in her home state, may be brutally honest in this clip but only because she wants listeners to emerge triumphant from their duress. While Izer doesn’t seem to have upcoming shows listed, keep posted on her Facebook page. – Zach Weg
It’s time to tackle the last category of our open submissions for the 2015 edition of our Best of NYC Poll for emerging artists: ALT ROOTS! You can see the results we published so far here.
SUBMISSION CATEGORY: ALT FOLK
Total submissions in this category: 13
Jurors: Michelle Bacon (The Deli KC), Jordannah Elizabeth (The Deli San Francisco), Zach Weg (The Deli NYC).
Artists qualified to the next stage (i.e. the Readers’ Poll, starting around 01.20):
Almost a year ago exactly, New York chamber pop six-piece released ‘At Sea,’ which is more of a sonic novella than a traditional EP. On such wistful, guitar-strummed songs and horn-sloped tracks such as “So Obscure” and “Mirabelle” (streaming below), the Adam B Levine-led band imbued poignant scenes of love and loss with a literary purity that was not only impressive in its vividness but preciously moving in its effect. Mappa Mundi plays Pete’s Candy Store on 2/5.
Almost sounding like an indie folk version of Allen Ginsberg’s eternal poem ‘Howl,’ “Masterpiece” (music video playing below) by Brooklyn’s Big Thief is a guitar-fuzzed portrait of people searching for serenity. Especially memorable with the soothing vocals of Adrianne Lenker, the poignant song marks Big Thief—which released the quietly strong ‘side-as’ two years ago—as a group not just that conveys, but almost, celebrates pain. Big Thief, currently on tour with Here We Go Magic, plays The Bowery Ballroom on 2/18.
On the May-released ‘Square Two’ EP, Brooklyn “math folk” project Echospace (aka Satoshi Inoue) doesn’t so much play the guitar as conure it into being. On such sweetly fleeting songs as “Rainsong” or “Undulating Place,” one marvels at the deeply deft musician’s ability to convey the deepest of emotions with a single strum. Echospace plays The Shop Brooklyn on 1.29.
Booming out of Richmond, indie roots-rock group Lucy Dacus has a pleasing, infectious sound that’s sure to grab heartstrings and never let them go. The four-piece strikes a precise note between roots and indie, flexing the lo-fi and mellow dance vibe of indie in union with the soulful, melodious feel of roots and folk. Altogether a rich and standout sound, the band’s eponymous vocalist has an impressive sound between Courtney Barnett and She & Him’s Zooey Deschanel and borders on the doleful, almost melancholy, especially when backed up by such an excellent rhythm section. They released their newest single "I Don’t Wanna Be Funny Anymore" in November and open for Julien Baker at DC9, 1/26. -Jonathan Goodwin
Oozing exotic charm, City of the Sun is a NYC trio that plays passionate, instrumental, acoustic music that marries caliente Flamenco with brainy post rock – and, just FYI, the former has the upper hand. Featuring two guitarists and a box percussionist, the group has been building a sizeable fanbase in NY, mostly thanks to their relentless live schedule, that sees them perform in environments as varied as the NYC subway and Brooklyn Bowl. We are premiering here the first, evocative single "Those Days Are Now" from their new LP, which is a part of the Chesky Binaural series, a collection of albums recorded using a two mic technique that most closely emulates "real hearing" as we experience it. The album can be preordered here.
