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.
The Loop Goddess Linafornia is about to bless 2016 in swaths of vinyl scratch and emerald shine with her debut YUNG, through Alpha Pup’s sibling Dome of Doom. Since last summer’s "wetttt" and the more recent "brownies", Leimert Park’s underground empress has made waves playing a bevy of shows, including November’s Manifestival at Los Globos. Galvanizing a crowd is nothing new to the beat battle veteran, whose diverse sampling and creative change-ups have recently led to her induction to the Beat Cinema podcast family.
Having swept up the Leimert Park crowd yesterday with her record release party, Linafornia crosses the Rubicon tonight at The Airliner with Ras G, Astronautica, SWARVY, and the Low End Theory pantheon.
Find YUNG digitally on iTunes and in limited edition cassettes through Dome of Doom this Friday.
Last Friday, 1/15, was a killer night for local music at the Rock & Roll Hotel. A crowd of excited, dancing fans mostly filled the space and the energy was palpable, all thanks to performances from The Duskwhales, Kid Claws, and YUM.
Opening the night was YUM., a three-piece from Northern Virginia that plays a fusion of surf, chillwave, and indie rock. For such a small band, their act packed the punch of a much larger outfit, striking listeners’ eardrums with a melodic and entrancing set. Their playing was smooth and their audience interaction was friendly and engaging. YUM.’s set had a dreamy vibe to it, casting a spell of chill and indie in the room.
Second on the call sheet was Kid Claws. They are a trio from Falls Church, VA, that dabbles in shoegaze, ambient, and noise pop, while firmly settled on dream punk. The band has quite the musicality as they made great use of negative space in multiple songs and their female vocals found their way right to the heart. With liberal cymbal crashing and ephemeral guitar fades, Kid Claws has a subgenre all to themselves and craft a comfortably unsettling atmosphere of distorted, atmospheric, and punky sounds. Their next show is at the Songbyrd Music House, 1/29, with Big Hush and Soda.
The Duskwhales headlined the night and did they ever. With a sound that’s at once familiar and fresh, their music makes you wanna dance and go crazy. Hailing from Manassas, VA, this trio has a uniquely bohemian stage presence that captures the audience’s attention. Their work is heavily influenced by the Beatles, Vampire Weekend, and the Smiths, compiling elements of indie rock, psyhedelic, and retrowave into a charming and energizing musical cocktail. At the show, they paid a touching tribute to cultural legend David Bowie with an inspired cover of "Ziggy Stardust" and a Bowie-inspired original. They recently put out a new single (see below) and you can catch them open for Broke Royals and Wylder (these guys will be playing a Weezer cover set) at DC9, 2/6. -Jonathan Goodwin
The renaissance and evolution of soul music has been accelerating in 2015, and NYC expressed several new talents in this department. 2015 was a breakout year for Brooklyn-based Kevin Garrett. Upon the release of his debut EP "Mello Drama," he charted on Spotify’s Viral 50 List and became known for his eclectic mix of classic soul and modern electronic textures. You’ll have a chance to see him perform live at Webster Hall on January 26th.
Open wide: tonight, decibel diner pehrspace serves up a five-course meal for East LA with sommelier Bed Weather and maître Diy4Lyfe. Alex Nevins (fka Songs for Ghosts to Haunt to) cleanses the palette with a selection of acoustic amuse-bouche as Simi Valley shoegazers SHEER stir a hunger fierce with their debut album Uneasy.
Chicagoan settlers Young Jesus make good on their promise to sate volume-starved fans after a close call at Emerald House, and Portland touring bands Sioux Falls and Cool American will likely leave Echo Park yearning for seconds — you’ll be relieved to know that the Oregonians are also playing Thursday at Fullerton’s Programme HQ. Bon apetit. – Ryan Mo
Thanks to all the artists who submitted their music to be considered for The Deli’s 2015 Year End Poll for emerging local artists!
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:
Jurors: QD (The Deli Philadelphia), Jordannah (The Deli San Francisco), Paolo De Gregorio (The Deli NYC).
WHAT’S NEXT:These results end the first phase of the poll. We will soon unveil the artists nominated by our local jurors, and then let our readers and our writers influence the poll with their vote.
Keep creating, keep supporting, and stay tuned for your chance to vote!
