Intimate shows in living room (or other comfortable small spaces not strictly set up to host live music) are gaining steam these days – and not only in NYC. In Brooklyn, Hypnocraft has booked several shows for series held at the cozy (as in charmingly small) Manhattan Inn restaurant in Greenpoint. Gone are the old-school pianists entertaining diners with watered down cover songs, replaced by respected local artists like Sam Cohen and Shilpa Ray playing songs from their original repertoire. Crowds are often so reverent you can hear a pin drop. Hypno’s second series is called “The Hum.” Its mission, says founder Rachael Pazdan, “is to connect a diverse community of women making music in New York City.” Those words couldn’t fall on deaf ears here at The Deli, therefore, we decided to sponsor these events!

On The Hum’s first night this upcoming Monday (10.05) half a dozen of talented local ladies will grace the stage of the Manhattan Inn – we are particularly excited because the majority of them has received generous coverage in this very blog. Being a collaborative night, the performances are organized in couples: accomplished singer-songwriter Larkin Grimm (previously a member of Dirty Projectors) will perform together with drummer Lia Simone (ex drummer for The Butcherettes and Gothic Tropic). Mercurial singer and composer Alena Spanger of Tiny Hazard (a band we celebrated in 2013 with a "Deli NYC Video of the Month") will surely try something quirky during her shared performance with dreamy folksinger Adrianne Lenker of Big Thief. After them, we should expect some electronic instruments on stage, when Nandi Rose Plunkett of Half Waif and Johanna Cranitch of White Prism will join forces (and their beautiful voices) to entertain us. 

Hear each artist’s own music in the playlist below, and don’t miss their creative interaction on Monday October 05 at the Manhattan Inn – we’ll be there!

Newly-formed Brooklyn rock quartet Young Cum unabashedly depicts the scary on its April-released two song debut. While the band’s guitar-scuzzed "Tradin’" (video streaming below) conveys a lost man’s vain reaches towards redemption, its similarly grainy "Bloodrage" goes downright macabre as it paints an ‘American Psycho’-like revelry in murder. Despite these dark stories, and as seen in the noirish black-and-white music video for "Tradin’," the Kate Bush-admiring group seems just eager to thrill. Young Cum plays at The Gutter on October 1st. – Zach Weg

A shoegaze band can adopt usually one of two schools of sound; either the overbearingly fuzzed out and effectually mind blowing guitars that convey soothing melodies over punkish rhythms, or the slowed down and aerial space tones and powerful astronomical vocals of Cocteau Twins. But a band like Brooklyn-via-Long-Island’s Weed Hounds is able to pull off both sounds rather well. Their first proper self titled full-length dropped last year (following a couple of singles, a split 7” with Dude Japan, and an impressive demo cassette), and it’s a well versed, well thought-out act of harshly heavy tones juxtaposed against breathtaking reliefs, all arranged in pleasing succession, so as never to let one end of the spectrum take over entirely. A line is drawn between weighty fuzz choruses and extremely airy verses, interwoven with Laura Catalano’s celestial vocals, which penetrate in heightened beauty, sometimes echoing the radiating reverbed guitar highs, and sometimes gorgeously contrasting the pummeling force of swirling delayed fuzz. The band will be performing at the upcoming CMJ Music Marathon on October 14 at the Acheron. –JP Basileo

Brainchild of singer Haleh Gafori and drummer Matt Kilmer, NYC’s duo The Mast in the recent past has been developing their dream pop in a growingly electronic direction. The project has always been centered around Haleh’s ethereal vocals and airy melodies and Matt’s jungly, intricate beats (mostly performed live), but the guitar that was resting on the singer’s shoulder has been replaced by an electronic toy and an iPad, while the drummer’s set up has changed radically, losing almost entirely the traditional drums, replaced by an intriguing hybrid featuring a mix of synths, tablets and exotic percussions. We thought this band would be perfect for our series of Q&A related to gear and the creative process.

The Mast interview about gear, recording and the creative process.

The fascination of the NYC scene with the garage rock sound is long lasting and probably indestructible – you can blame The Ramones. Brooklyn’s The Britanys, who recently expanded their line up from power trio to… almighty quartet (?), are one of the most fun recent expressions of a genre that blends grating guitars with simple melodies and oodles of attitude. They just released this new single entitled ‘City Boys,’ and will be performing at our very own Garage/Slacker Rock CMJ Stage on October 15 at Muchmore’s. Check out the full schedule of The Deli’s CMJ 2015 shows here. – Photo by Rachel Cabitt

The title track off New York/New Jersey drummer Mark Guiliana‘s August-released album ‘Family First’ demands attention. A ponderous, subtly thrilling piece of questing horns and percussive clasps, the jazz tinged track could almost be a quiet anthem for autumn. Guiliana, a widely-celebrated musician and teacher whose discography includes a collaborative LP with contemporary piano master Brad Mehldau entertaningly titled ‘Mehliana,’ isn’t just a thinker, though, as other ‘Family First’ track "One Month" conveys a looser side with ramshackle drums and an overall peripatetic pace, while repertoire from just a year ago flirts with electronic music – check out the streaming single "Flaw & Order." A deeply eclectic artist, Guiliana knows how to both provoke and entertain. He’ll be playing at The Jazz Gallery on Wednesday (9.30) and at (Le) Poisson Rouge on 10.16 – Zach Weg

Comprised of just three musicians, Caverns make music that plunges into many different subgenres of rock. Founded in 2012 by singer Nicola Wincenc, the NYC-based band released their first EP “Tonche” earlier this year, and has already landed some noteworthy gigs; just a few weeks ago they headlined Marc Jacobs’ NYFW show, and in another couple of weeks they will be playing the CMJ Music Marathon. Throughout their EP, Caverns smoothly blend the atmospheric soundscapes of shoegaze rock and airy melodies of psych-rock, while retaining, in their lyrics and vocal harmonies, the accessible qualities of pop music. Considering their relatable songwriting and the melodic nature of their music, Caverns is a band that has the potential to go places. – Isabel Rolston, photo by Dani Brubaker.

There’s a certain mellow warmth to "never" (streaming below), the first single from Field Trip’s upcoming debut album. The guitars float along lazily behind the vocal echoes of the group’s founder, Noah ‘Champ" Davies, creating the distinct atmosphere of a dream. The elements of psych rock and dream pop that are present throughout the song seem to melt together seamlessly, and a feeling of nostalgia is prevalent throughout it’s four minutes. The group, which is also composed of guitarist Nico Guyer, bassist Skylar Young, drummer Jason Park, and synth-player Phil Dabs, released their debut EP, "The Sounds Inside Your Mind," back in March, and that record’s third track, "Song for Ca," was ranked number 87 on Buzzfeed’s 99 best songs of 2015 list. The debut full-length is currently slated for release sometime this fall, and the group’s next performance will be at Shea Stadium on October 1. They will also be performing at LeftField on October 13 and at Muchmore’s on the 17th as a part of the CMJ Music Marathon. – Patrick Wolff

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

At a recent "Blah Blah Basement Bugout" party in a LES hookah bar, Chinatown Hip Hop group Blahsum struggled, like most musicians with a sound too big for the room they are playing, to get their audio under control. Ironically, it worked for them. Squeals of feedback complimented distorted vocals over a live band of bass, guitar, and live MPC.  As the young crowd bounced around them, they hammered through a set with sounds that vacillated between Minor Threat and Public Enemy. With lines like "I’m sick to my stomach, the shit that they come up with, I wish somebody told it like it is," and track names like "New Guernica," the distortion only added to the package.  This coming Sunday (09.27.2015) at Leftfield the band will celebrate the release of “DEM02.”  Doors are at 2pm, it’s free, and the 11 artists on the bill will rattle the bones of Hip Hop as they mercilessly deconstruct it.  The Deli is proud to premier their new video for “New Guernica” – read our Q&A vith the band here. -BrokeMc

At the risk of making a cliched pun based on the name, DC’s post rock trio The Very Small has a big sound, one that conveys swagger and depth. Listening to their anthemic tracks lulls the newly converted fan into instant headbanging. The Very Small expertly capture the multi-instrumental essentials of post rock and the three-part vocals and unforgettable riffs slide the energetic melodies right along from start to finish. Since 2007, these guys have been honing maturing their sound, creating a tasty blend of alt, indie, funk, and post, evidenced by their new single The Worst Form of Violence. Catch their next show at DC9, 10/4, for some Sunday night thrills. -Jonathan Goodwin

Garage rock is a genre that some might find a little trite, but when approached the right way it can still blow minds. Like this song/video combo for single ‘Behind The Mouth’ by NYC scene mainstay Rich Guerzon and his band Broken Guru, a great track featuring an impressive overall production, in particular on the guitars – which have just the right amount of dissonance – and the vocals. The video well reflects the inclinations of the the genre: simple, tense, and kinda claustrophobic. We found them while browsing through our Garage Rock NYC charts – they currently sit in 10th position.

Call it art pop, call it psych pop, call it experimental. Call it whatever you want, but the music that Joaquin Pastor aka James Supercave puts out is not only aurally phenomenal — it’s first-world metaculture commentary. 

The singer/songwriter has been active since 2012, reaching seminal fame for his acoustic collaboration with filmmaker and Erhu player Evita YuePu Zhou in "Chairman Gou", a character perspective of the 2012 Foxxcon factory suicides. It was covered by the Chinese-American newspaper World Journal, illuminating labor abuse in the world’s largest contract tech manufacturer. But prosodic quality isn’t the only mark of James Supercave — the group’s sensual musicality, playfully bridging unorthodox timbres and progressions, definitively separates them from the myriad of emerging acts in the city. James Supercave asks that you don’t think too hard, and that sentiment resounds in "The Afternoon" EP. Released last year, the debut skillyfully pours levity over profound subjects of apocalypse, voicemails, the constant of change, and the self versus the society.

Percy Shelley once remarked: "poets are the unacknowledged legislators of the world." Well it’s 2015, and now’s as good a time as ever to start.

James Supercave performs on Saturday at the Non Plus Ultra as part of their Fall Tour. Acclaimed dreampop/shoegaze band Winter and So Many Wizards side-project Crown Plaza will support. Watch the new music video for "The Right Thing", directed by James Kim, below. – Ryan Mo