Mass Gothic is the project of ex Hooray for Earth Noel Heroux, whose debut, self titled debut LP is scheduled for a February 2016 release under Sub Pop records. The album was written and recorded at Noel’s home over four months during the winter of 2014-2015, and features no collaborations with other musicians: "All I wanted to do was whatever I do when I’m alone and I’m unconcerned with what anyone else wants or expects." in early 2016 Mass Gothic will be touring the US (Brooklyn date at Palisades on February 27) and play SXSW to promote the record. You can listen to first single "Nice Night" below.

Brooklyn four piece American Darlings latest EP release is entitled “Rubber Tracks” like the Converse sponsored studio in East Williamsburg. Single “You And I” (streaming) comes off as an intentionally perky-pop track that points towards early Elvis Costello and perhaps even The Smithereens as songwriting inspiration. The inclusion of pitch bended guitars hooks between verses, however, suggests something else. Has yet another sub-genre been established – “happy-gaze?” Extended bars of sinewy single note guitar riffs take things into further pleasing directions. “Time For Two” continues this thematic direction, confirming the gaze scene’s increasingly de rigueur Sonic Youth/MBV guitar hybrid. Vocals are delivered blending softer REM-like vibrato on the verses against a big shouted Foo Fighters-style chorus. Third song “Kimchee Princess” is a live track from one of their shows, showing what the band can do outside the controlled studio environment. The band will play next at Pianos on December 9. – By Dave Cromwell

With their sputtering beats and trotting guitars, Northampton, Massachussetts indie funk quartet Mammal Dap powerfully reminds the listener that instruments alone can be deeply affecting. Excluding a human voice, songs like the drum-skipped "Ariel" and the bass-rubbed "Tried Tides" (streaming below) evoke autumnal melancholy while ultimately letting summer joy slide through. A compelling combination of Ratatat’s elasticity and Flying Lotus’s claustrophobia, such subtle yet fierce tracks play along to an intriguingly unpredictable pace. Mammal Dap has many forthcoming shows listed, including one this Thursday (12/10) at Stomping Ground in Putnam, CT. – Zach Weg

This past February, Northampton, Massachussetts avant-pop trio And The Kids did nothing less than impressively filter daily angst through dancey pop. Listening to such songs as the drum-hopped opener "Pangea" and the celestial fourth one, "Glory Glory" (streaming below), one may smile at these deft musicians’ ability to meld the panic of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs and the calm of Beach House with compassionately direct lyrics. While it is, as frontwoman Hannah Mohan sings on the former, "alright to tell a lie," And The Kids is boldly committed to telling the truth about all-too-real pain. And The Kids has several shows coming up, including one at SPACE Gallery in Portland, ME on Thursday 12/10. – Zach Weg

Fever The Ghost are bringing girl glitch and Gundams this Sunday as they perform with a dozen more local bands for the fourth Wake Up, SFV celebration. What started as the bedroom project of singer-guitarist Casper Indrizzo (ex-Seems), who frequeted SFV’s mom-and-pop venues like Guitar Merchant, has grown into a sparkling ’70s bubblegum flavored lovechild of MGMT and Starfucker. The four-piece mixes flutter, funk, and futurism in their debut LP Zirconium Meconium, an album best described as sci-fi pop (Kyary Pamyu Pamyu is a noted inspiration) and self-described as "Easter bunny poop." Fever The Ghost has quickly risen to critical acclaim for their glamorous live sets and unorthodox sounds, backed by talents like The Ghost of a Saber Tooth Tiger, Temples, and The Flaming Lips.

They’ve played outside California for much of the year, so this is probably the last time you’ll get to see their reworked live set. Listen to "Sun Moth" off their debut LP below. – Ryan Mo

When the blues, the goth and the psych meet, the least you can expect is a nightmarish atmosphere. That’s exactly what you get with NYC’s IYEZ (pronounced "eyes"), a Brooklyn band we first highlighted earlier this year. The group has just released a new EP entitled "WOR$HIP," and preview single "Sister" (streaming) is a sonic assult carried out with a wall of distorted guitars, relentless druming, and a tense, psych/blues choral melody. The whole thing sounds as if the ghost of the proto-metal of the ’60s had been awaken and administered modern drugs he didn’t react too well to. You’ll have a chance to experience all this live at Union Pool on 12.16.

We are not sure how punk rock band Lame Drivers (currently based in Brooklyn) managed to avoid any Deli coverage prior to this very blurb, since they have been making music since 2005 (interesting way to phrase this sentence, as if it was their fault, not ours). They play what could be described as punk rock with classick rock influences, which pretty much puts their music in the same sonic territory as that immortal classic that is The Clash’s "London Calling" – if it wasn’t for some ’90s influences creeping up every now and again. Their output is remarkably consistent from the very first record, 2005’s The Captain Amazing EP, to the last one, released in October 2015 and entitled "Chosen Era" – by the way, happy tenth birthday Lame Dravers! Both records, and we assume also the six ones in between, are bound to find fans among the rock’n’roll seekers. Check out single "Throw it to the Moon" – probably the more "’90s" of their tracks.

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

Back in August, Boston four-piece Day Grazer released ‘Water Sports,’ an offering of two lackadaisically energetic songs. Intriguingly mixing the starkness of "Where Is My Mind?"-like Pixies and the warmth of The Strokes’ “Soma,” both tracks, "Water Sports" (streaming below) and "Fodder,” convey early-twenties angst with bold honesty and vivid simplicity. "What do I know?/After all, I’m twenty-four/And bored," sings the frontman named Dave over jittering guitars on the former, near humorous candor emerging from the greatly intense pain. Day Grazer plays at Thunder Road in Somerville, MA on 12.21. – Zach Weg

Hailing from the land of Phish, Ben & Jerry, and Bernie Saunders (Burlington), and now based in (you guessed it) Brooklyn, self defined Dance-Rock duo argonaut&wasp has, in the past year, released a series of catchy singles that have been very well received by the community of internet pop seekers. The band infuses their EDM with elements of funk and soul, and a refreshing dose of unpredictability. They recently headlined the Knitting Factory on a Friday night, which must mean something. Latest single "Cigarettes & My Beautiful Wife" (streaming) might not be an ode to night club adventures (the main lyrics are "I went to bed last night with my beautiful wife…"), but that doesn’t mean it won’t make you (and your date) dance. Their most popular single is "Higher Ground" from debut EP "Future Protocol," out earlier this year.

As heard on their warm, harmonica-hinged songs "Get What You Give" and "Sun Go Down," Boston sextet Loose Change radiantly blends the bluesy rock of ‘Beggars Banquet’-era The Rolling Stones and the floaty Americana of Wilco’s ‘Summerteeth.’ Lead singer Sam Bergquist even sports the prowling voice of Mick Jagger on the latter track and, with his bandmates’ tight drumming and smooth guitar strums in the background, he makes Loose Change pleasantly, wonderfully fresh. While the band doesn’t currently have a forthcoming show listed, keep posted on its Facebook page. – Zach Weg

On Saturday, the Ghost Noise album release party drew together acts with unparalleled vigor under one roof, moved by the currents of Wes Johansen and KXLU’s Mukta Mohan, and the familiar musk of leather jackets and alcohol.

Intimatchine pulled Non Plus Ultra in with its dreamspun pulsations. Once close, Chelsey Rae Holland passed a vial of holy water to the audience, and sat amongst them as she sang. Jessica Nicole Collins’ channelled BERU‘s "Adult Emotions" with her brother and sister-in-law, clad in skull mask and gold leopard jumpsuit. In the spirit of ’80s dance, they ended with a cover of Laura Branigan’s "Self Control". Josh Dean, Gawby Moon, and John Connolly brought the party to midnight in noise-droning end with songs from their debut and their sophomore release Our Heaven of Darkness.

In loving memory of their friends and family and fans, the trio performed "Amethyst" as an encore special — the first song they’d ever written as a band.

Our Heaven of Darkness is available for stream and purchase on the Ghost Noise Bandcamp. You can find more pictures of the Ghost Noise album release party on our Instagram @TheDeliLA. Thanks to BoredToDeath for producing. – Ryan Mo, photos: Michelle McCausland

We stumbled upon Brooklyn artist Aerial East through the listings of Hypnocraft’s upcoming event at the Manhattan Inn on 12.17 (a Joni Mitchell tribute night featuring NYC artists). We immediately enjoyed the project’s intimate songs, intense and sparse to the point of sounding ghostly. But were literally blown way by this video for single "FOG," where passion, madness, love, death and sex coexist in the most heart wrenching way. Check out also single "It Doesn’t Matter," from earlier this year. We also just found out that she recently shared the Mercury Lounge’s stage with Deli favorite, like-minded ghostly lady Okay Kaya.

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