Bookended by the guitar-strummed memory songs “Picking Up Speed” and “Cash” (about the titular musician and his brother) and including the drum-surged track “Not the Books to Read” (streaming below), ‘Deep Peace of the Singing Earth’ by Providence rock quartet The Attending is a piercingly moving album. As The Antlers did on ‘Hospice,’ The Attending bravely unburies pain on this March-released effort but also allows for a catharsis that perhaps only music can provide. The Attending plays at The Met in Providence on January 8th. – Zach Weg

This past October, Hartford improv jam rock quartet Mclovins released its breezily warm self-titled album. Purveying such guitar-zipped songs as “Talk About It” and “Regulars” (streaming below), the 2008-formed band pleasantly recalls such beloved jammers as Phish–lead singer Jake Huffman does even sound a bit like Phish’s Trey Anastasio–on this release while compelling the listener with its tales of young love and summery fun. McLovins plays Grizzly’s in Stratton, Vermont on January 9th. – Zach Weg

With Internet, game, and anime culture hitting critical mass in recent years, the time is nigh for chiptune revival. As one of the forerunners of bitpop experimentation, the bedroom project-turned digital sensation Slime Girls min-maxes sounds from Gameboy trackers with surf, ska, and punk-inspired music with the ingenuity of early-Crystal Castles, Anamanaguchi, The Depreciation Guild, and capsule.

Originally from San Jose, shoujo star Pedro Silva has built a cult-following through the years with his brand of Persocom pop, collaborating with cyber idols like Space Boyfriend, Punimelt, omocat and more. Following the chiptune cover of "Dating Start!" (from the critically acclaimed indie game Undertale), Slime Girls continues to break 8-bit walls the ataraxic "NO SUMMER NO CRY", transporting listeners through nostalgic rainbow roads, pixel beaches, and final boss stages. It’s only a taste of what’s to come in 2016 — quite frankly, the suspense is draining our HP.

Slime Girls performs at The Airliner on December 29th with knife city, Playing Tourist Forever, and Paladin Shield. – Ryan Mo

One of the hardest thing to find in today’s record "industry" is artists who are able to keep improving. We’ve been following Ruth Mirsk’s Syvia since 2011, and their musical output has been showing constant progress. The band’s latest release is synth-pop/shoegazer track "Anxious Animal" (streaming), which is a taste of their upcoming EP scheduled for a February 2016 release. Echoes of the droney late ’80s/early ’90s reverberate through the layers of distorted guitars and synth pads, evocative of British acts ranging from the Psychedelic Furs to Echo and the Bunnymen. Ruth’s vocals are appropriately semi-lost in a fog of reverb, and accentuate the moodiness of a single that’s enjoyably pop notwithstanding its many noisy and tense elements. Which is sonething only good songwriting and production can pull off. Syvia will be performing at Pianos on January 16th.

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

If – like us – you like your pop a little dirty, a little retro, and maybe even enriched by noir or quirky elements, you should check out Brooklyn band Coastgaard, one of our Artists of the Month earlier in 2015. After their rather mellow, melancholic 2013 self-titled debut LP, the quartet in 2014 focused on picking up the tempo with singles ‘Rose‘ and ‘Black White Fuzz,’ their most popular single to date. Coastgaard is now announcing the February release of their sophomore album ‘Devil on the Balcony’ by unveiling single ‘A Well Adjusted Man,’ an elegant pop song that delivers their signature melancholic and cinematic vibes, but takes songwriting and production to new levels, flirting at once with Otis Redding’s timeless melodies and a darker post-punk aesthetic. This is a very promising single. You can see the band live at Pianos on January 28.

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

Mikal Amin may have retired his previous moniker “Hired Gun,” but his revolutionary spirit remains aflame in his latest solo release #NICEGUYSFINISH. Mikal has been pummeling the NYC Hip Hop scene with his staccato bravado for years. This album is a look back on the battles this hip hop educator has waged both onstage and behind closed doors. Complemented by ZQ’a buttery production and embellished with standout collaborations with Breeze Evahflowin, Y?, Duv, and a reunion of his rap cabal Third Party, it’s a reflection on transformation and the inevitable changes which only fools struggle against. – BrokeMC

This past August, Connecticut fuzz-pop quartet Furnsss shared ‘New Moves,’ its bruised yet romantic latest effort. Comprised of such guitar-grained songs as "Jansport" and "Slow Dark Water" (streaming below), the brisk release radiates with longing for love and inner peace while admirably accepting current duress and frustration. Angst does seem to be a preoccupation of Furnsss (who previously released their full-length, ‘Silent Gold,’ last year) but, with their welcoming aura, a sense of ease prevails. While the band doesn’t currently have forthcoming shows listed, keep posted on their Facebook page. –  Zach Weg

Elk City was one of the (many) NYC bands that deserved more attention in the aughts, and also one of the (not so many) to be rewarded with a Deli NYC Record of the Month around 2007, when their album "New Believers" dropped. We are therefore thrilled to hear that two fourths of the original group, including backing vocalist Barbara Endes and guitarist Sean Eden, are back in action with a new group called Girls on Grass. They just released a self titled LP full of electric folk songs with a slight psychedelic accent, sounding as if 10,000 Maniacs were part of the late ’80s Paysley Underground movement. They’ll be performing next on Friday, Jan 8 at the Rent Party benefit in Maplewood, NJ. Check out album opener "Father Says Why," streaming below.

If the likes of REM or Counting Crows spent some time in the Appalachians, you’d end up with The Sometimes. This band has a sound built from their Virginian roots, incorporating Americana and bluesy undertones into an alternative framework. Hailing from Fairfax, the quartet put out a new EP, Standoff, that inspires nostalgic introspection and features eloquent repetition. Energetic power chords and moderately raspy vocals produce a standout vibe, so don’t miss The Sometimes play Battle of the Bands, 1/5, at Jammin’ Java in Vienna. -Jonathan Goodwin

We were an hour overdue and loudness was all we could hear. Black metal and small talk warmed the atmosphere as the trio Exray’s lined the stage — well it wasn’t really a stage, but the gap made it seem otherwise. The intimacy of Trust a Robot and Jon Bernson’s continued beckoning tightened spaces between the crowd and them, if only for the last two songs. And the crowd only got tighter as Naytronix followed, with an efficacious live set of Mister Divine — a medley of tambourines, cowbells, Costa Rican-inspired drumming, and Nate Brenner’s resonant basslines.

Headliner Deb DeMure came forth with a bust of Apollo to bless the set, wearing a pink changshan to juxtapose. Drab Majesty showered the Non Plus with piercing guitar tones redolent of ’80s wave, and we stood transfixiated in darkness. Up last, Creepers thanked those who stayed for the end — it was just us, friends, and the Non Plus residents. Their hard-hitting lysergic psych filled the near-empty space and burrowed deep into our ears. Shiv Mehra’s SG came untuned, but even the discordant yaws felt at home as the last of the audience nodded on to synthetic screams and cacophonous overlays of Lush — loudness was all we could hear. And it was glorious. Check our Instagram @TheDeliLA for more pictures of the night. – Ryan Mo, photos by Michelle K. McCausland

Celebrate your holiday hangover with The New Riddim this Saturday at The Brick, where they will be joined by The Grisly Hand. Show starts at 10 pm. Facebook event page. 

I’m not sure how we missed the fact that Long Island’s band The Lemon Twigs opened for Deli favorite Foxygen this past summer. The songwriting nucleus of the group is comprised of brothers Brian D’Addario and Michael D’Addario (we wonder if they are in any way related to the famous LI based manufacturer of guitar strings!). The two obviously share a passion for pop and psychedelic records of the ’60s, and have put together a group of like minded musicians to help them recreate those vintage sounds. This past summer they released a debut LP in cassette and streaming format, entitled "What We Know," that plays like a colorful rear mirror image of the dreamiest of musical decades. Their overall approach to the retro thing, although similar to Foxygen’s, is a lot softer and chilled, trading rock’n’roll’s tension and attitude with a more whimsical approach, reminiscent of the Beach Boys at their most psychedelic. The album, although rather DIY sounding, is amazingly consistent, featuring a noteworthy number of enjoyable tracks arranged in imaginative ways. We stream below "Soothe," which features one of their best melodies.

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