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!

Last night’s birthday bash for Dirty Laundry TV’s Michael Grodner was pretty epic, confimed by The Deli’s guest photographer David Foley. Read his first-hand account of the performances at Harvard & Stone and find more pictures on @TheDeliLA!

"Deep Fields felt like an electronic river of synth leading to a waterfall of whammy bar. You could tell the band members were enjoying being on stage together, and this translated into an uplifting wall of sound.

Colleen Green was like strawberry bubblegum, but with a bite. She had a very laid-back yet punkish vibe.

The Abigails were like raw molasses: down home rockabillies singing about love and death. Their lead singer was super expressive and entertaining, and I can’t remember a song that didn’t have a guitar solo."

We got into the Bootleg Theater for Miya Folick‘s EP release party thinking it’d be a pretty intimate gig. Some people trailed in as the sound guy checked levels with his iPad, but it looked sparse. No one was staking claim to the tables in front of the bar stage.

Then, five minutes before the set, a flash mob fashionably swarmed out of the theater end. It was lit.

Shannon Lay of Feels started the night with songs from her solo debut Holy Heartache while Alaska Reid (Alyeska) traded banter and set fire with her newest single "Medicine River". Miya Folick’s performance, enhanced with the visuals of Vinyl Williams, drew a crowd so tight the photographers could barely move around. Lena Fayre‘s ethereal voice drew the night to a close with songs from her summer EP "Is There Only One?" Shoutout to Liv Marsico (Liphemra) for spinning in-between sets (we did cry), and we think we caught a glimpse of Jeremy Katz (Froth, HOTT MT)? That was tight.

Check our Instagram @TheDeliLA for more pictures from the show, and catch Miya again at The Satellite on December 17th for a benefit show with Mereki and Madi Diaz! – Ryan Mo, photo: Michelle McCausland

Birthmark, aka Brooklyn musician Nate Kinsella, will be celebrating the release of album "How You Look When You’re Falling Down" at Brooklyn’s Rough Trade on Sunday, December 13. The band’s special one-night-only lineup will feature a heck of a lot of high profile guests, including Matt Bauder (Arcade Fire, Iron and Wine), Chris Hainey (Maps & Atlases), Olivia De Prato & Victor Lowrie (Mivos Quartet), Justin Frye (PC Worship, Skeletons), Cory Bracken (Real Adult, Ashcan Orchestra, Iktus Percussion), Diego Clare, Peter Hess (World/Inferno Friendship Society, Asphalt Orchestra), Sam Kulik (Skeletons), and Jordan McLean (Antibalas, Iron and Wine). Wow, talk about name dropping! But besides that, the two preview singles from the album sound very intriguing indeed: Birthmark offers a compelling mash of electro, orchestral pop, afrobeat, and conceptual rock a la Brian Eno. We are enjoying streaming track "Find Yourself," but check out also "Suit of Armor" which lacks the awesome tenor sax section, but features interesting middle eastern strings and a tighter, tenser beat.

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

Lower East Side’s Mercury Lounge is an important venue for emerging NYC bands, because it represents a trampoline towards other more prestigious Bowery Presents live show "opportunities." Sell it out, and it may unlock Rough Trade’s stage a couple of months later (ask Lewis Del Mar about it, he ALSO sold out the W’burg venue this past Tuesday, by the way). On the flip side, if your band’s draw is poor or unsatisfying, you may have a hard time getting booked there again. So… those are the rules of the game, and four super talented emerging NYC artists will face those odds on December 10, in a 100% local bill, something of a rarity at Mercury. We covered in this blog several times alt folksters Big Thief, soulful songwriter Nick Hakim, and orchestral pop quintet Pavo Pavo. We never covered Sam Evian (pictured), the new solo project of Sam Owen of Celesital Shore, but that very band graced the cover of our mag a couple of issues ago. The material we have access to for his solo project (limited to the song "Cherry Tree," streaming below) explores a ballad sound that, flirting with pop, blues and psychedelia at once, is reminiscent of that intense masterpiece that is The Beatles’ "Abbey Road." Don’t miss this show, great opportunity to catch four great emerging locals in one night.

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