Our shared reality knows some things to be true; when it’s raining you get wet, the sun is hot, and guitar sounds like a guitar. But the abhorrence of traditional values and exploration outside this shared reality will show that musical timbres aren’t always what they seem to be, and things that may be obvious on the outside can often reveal new secret tonalities.

It’s the lines between where Charms straddle their success as neither a pop band nor a noise group.  When you look at them on a stage you’ll see keys, guitar, drums and a mic, and for a while you may effectively be duped into thinking that this is just another rock band. But when Eleazer spins on his heals and engages his rainbow machine pedal, things suddenly turn into a baffling display of sonic mastery. Josh oscillates his synths into a noisy rhythmic beat and Ray commands a small avalanche behind the drums, enforcing a sonic mood that is reminiscent of Mission of Burma’s noisy brand of post punk.

But it’s not all chaos and noise; underneath the obscured and effected timbres lays the pop tones of Metal Box, or even The Wipers. Eleazer and the boys have harnessed a knack for writing indelible hooks that are bent on the political climates and dystopian love affairs that only a synth could describe. Using volume as a great uniter to push forward Eleazer’s Johnny rotten-esque croons, Charms will certainly put the hex on you and your ears as you are helplessly overcome in a freakish post punk fantasy.

Deli Nation,

Our Year End Poll for Emerging LA Artists was – as usual – a painstaking (and somewhat excruciating) process, but we pulled it off with remarkable flair!

Congrats to Alt Rock four piece Dorothy, who won our overall poll and we therefore crown as "The Deli LA’s Best Emerging Band of the Year. "

With their jubilant choruses and foot-stomping riffs, Dorothy brings an exciting modern twist to their classic rock influences. Singer… Dorothy is a tour de force: her powerful vocals and commanding presence instantly bring audiences to their feet. In the past year they’ve been regularly selling out shows in local venues and large theaters alike, a good indication that their musical journey is just getting started. Check out their break out single "Wicked Ones."

Kudos also to indie folk duo Girlpool (who, sadly for us, recently left the best coast for Philly), and to quirky electro-psych-poppers Fever the Ghost, who also placed third in last year’s Best of LA poll! That must mean something – we are digging their new record as we speak.

Here is how it all went down: first, we let the local bands submit their music (for free), and got our Deli editors to pick the nominees. Then we polled a list of 15+ LA scene expert (our jury, listed at the bottom) and asked them to nominate 3 more bands of their choice each. Then we polled our writers, then we polled our readers. We tried to keep things open for all genres, from Indie Rock to Roots Music to Hip Hop.

If you are a geek interested in all the subtelties related to how this poll works, you can read its rules here (happy reading!). But if all you care about is the awesome new music LA produced in the year 2014, this list is all you need. Enjoy!

BEST OF 2014 POLL FOR EMERGING LA ARTISTS ****** FINAL RESULTS ******

ARTIST J OS W R TOT   1 Dorothy 7.5     0.002 7.502 2 Girlpool 4.5   1 0.011 5.511 3 Fever The Ghost 5.5     0.003 5.503 4 Avid Dancer 4.5     0.002 4.502 5 Little Galaxies 2     2 4 6 Banta 3.5     0.008 3.508 7 Heaps N’ Heaps 2     1.5 3.5 8 Maudlin Strangers 3     0.5 3.5 9 Kiev   3   0.003 3.003 10 Moses Sumney 3     0.003 3.003 11 King Washington 3     0.002 3.002 12 Pr0files 3     0.002 3.002 13 Paul Bergmann 3     0.001 3.001 14 The Diamond Light 2     0.5 2.5 15 Lion Kings 2     0.013 2.013 16 Sex Helicopter   2   0.01 2.01 17 Dead Ships 1   1 0.01 2.01 18 Fellow Bohemian   1 1 0.007 2.007 19 Debt 2     0.005 2.005 20 Jesus Sons 2     0.003 2.003 21 Modern Time Machines 2     0.003 2.003 22 Talk in Tongues 2     0.003 2.003 23 Van Ike 2     0.003 2.003 24 Babes 2     0.002 2.002 25 Exist Elsewhere 2     0.002 2.002 26 Drab Majesty 2     0.002 2.002 27 BØRNS 2     0.001 2.001 28 Fakers 2     0.001 2.001 29 Roses 2     0.001 2.001 30 Carney 2     0 2 31 Evan Mellows 2     0 2 32 Moth & The Flame 2     0 2 33 Post Life 2     0 2 34 The Dream Club 2     0 2 35 Valley Queen   1.5   0.004 1.504 36 Carlton 1     0.018 1.018 37 Dark Furs   1   0.015 1.015 38 Dalton   1   0.013 1.013 39 Afternoons   1   0.009 1.009 40 Hi Ho Silver Ho   1   0.004 1.004 41 Dawn Thomas 1     0.003 1.003 42 Corners 1     0.001 1.001 43 Hearty Har 1     1 2 44 Holy Folk 1     0 1 45 Sullen Ray 1     0 1 46 The Dead Ships 1     0 1 47 Billy Changer 1     0 1 Legend: J = Jurors, W = Deli Writers, R = Deli Readers, OS = Open Submissions

Jurors List (in random order): Molly Kodros (The Satellite), Britt Witt (Indie Rock Reviews), Dan Frazier (freebikevalet.com), Phil Jaurigui (Swing House), Anna Soffer (KXLU), Jennifer Tefft (Spaceland), Kelsey Mitchell (The Fold), Brandon Dorsky (Super Good Music), Jay Tinsky (Genghis Cohen Cantina), Matt Draper (Echo Park Records), Neil Schield (Origami), Portia Medina (music writer), Betty Elektro (Elektro-PR), Juan Rodriguez (The Deli LA). One juror asked us to remain anonymous.

Hope you’ll find some awesome new artists you weren’t aware of!

The Deli’s Staff

Deli Readers,

The Deli NYC’s Best of 2014 Readers and Fans’ Poll is over, thanks to all those who cast their vote in support of the emerging local bands and artists in our list of nominees. 

It was an epic battle until the last minute, but revival rock band Jeremy & The Harlequins managed to land on top of the list – we are sure Jeremy’s crooning and wooing talent, as displayed in the streaming single below, greatly helped their cause.

Kudos also to The Fluids, a very new NYC indie rock band we blogged about just a few days ago, and the always great Mainland, a very talented and very young Brooklyn indie band that made waves in 2014.

Please stay tuned for the composite chart, to be released soon, which will include details about the point nominees accumulated from the jurors and Deli writers’ votes, and will crown The Deli’s Best Emerging NYC Artist of 2014.

Here is some music by the three bands that made the podium, and – below – the top 20 with links to each band’s music.

1. Jeremy & The Harlequins

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2. The Fluids

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3. Mainland

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Here’s this poll’s top 10 chart, full results can be found here. 

BEST OF LA 2014 – READERS’ POLL RESULTS   Artists Votes   1 Jeremy & the Harlequins 1417 2 The Fluids 1366 3 Mainland 1343 4 BRAEVES 794 5 Pete Ayres Band 646 6 Animal Years 629 7 Christie Belanger 559 8 Late Cambrian 548 9 DREAMERS 535 10 Ellis Ashbrook 512 11 Viktor Longo 488 12 Pants Velour 475 13 Jane Lee Hooker 376 14 Chargaux 369 15 The Landing 251 16 Sons of an Illustrious Father 198 17 Future Punx 184 18 Big Neck Police 180 19 Lynette Williams 179 20 Every Flavor Weather Machine 177

The Deli’s Staff

From their early work, which we’d described as influenced by pre-mainstream-grunge, Brooklyn quartet Heeney has rapidly evolved into an exciting and powerful blend of grunge, post punk and power pop. The band, named after Brooklyn DIY venue Shea Stadium co-founder Sean Heaney, just released this new single, revealingly titled "Brooklyn Pop," from their upcoming debut full length, scheduled for the summer. You can see them live at Pianos on February 26, and the day after at new Greenpoint venue Aviv.

Is it just us or the country/folk resurgence that invaded NYC in the early ’10s has somewhat calmed down, surpassed by the 90’s rock revival and also by the take off of the electronic scene? Whether this is true or not (things look different from different perspectives), great rootsy bands keep making good music in the five boroughs, including Brooklyn collective Bird Dog, who will be headlining Rough Trade on February 26th. CHeck out their single "Dear Friend."

You know when you’re at a house-show in DC, for a "DIT" festival, and you run into that special someone? That someone who plays some sort of custom-looking 6-string with flatwounds as a bass (when he’s not on the pedal steel) in a band with a killer cellist? It’s one of those "at first sight" things you hear about from the motion pictures. 

Ahren Buchheister isn’t the only member of Pompeii Graffiti, Pony Bones (the band I saw at The Paperhaus on that glorious day), or Black Rhinoceros, but he’s the common factor that binds this Annapolis supergroup, like (dare I say it?) heartstrings, together in this lovely video. Ahren himself is on lead vox and guitar. Fret not, Ahren, I dig you "not only for your music skills."

But they are, like, a huge deal. Happy Valentine’s Deli readers! –Natan Press

While many bands attempt to take on an entire sonic spectrum, Leaping’s latest, Vacant Page, zeros in on a narrower landscape, and in no way is that a limitation. By focusing on a certain mood, fixating on a rhythm, Leapling uncovers hypnotic hooks in the most unexpected places. From a delicately orchestrated minimalism of “Going Nowhere” to the dark and lush psychedelia of “Silent Stone”, the songs carry an energy that approaches meditative. This isn’t to say that the album is at all listless. Leapling’s songs leverage a budding energy into elated and kinetic peaks. There’s an underlying timbre on most of them, lapping at song’s shore, defying any expected swell, but overtaking the song, adding a complex wash to the song’s skeleton. This ultimately makes for an incredibly complete and focused album, powerfully dynamic but also deeply contemplative. Leapling will play a release show tonight at Shea Stadium, with Cloud Becomes Your Hand, Palm, Cantina, and Felicia Douglass. – Emilio Herce

There’s something immediately charming about New York based indie-pop act Edith Pop. Their single “Money” (streaming) is a financially aware love song (?) that sucks you in with its simplicity, catching that soothing summer breeze right in a bottle. Their songs off their self titled 2014 EP have the power to make you feel lighthearted, thanks to Laura Hajek’s unassuming vocals and songs that are simple and fun without being banal – we are digging the almost atonal guitar parts in opening track "Mall." The band is comprised of one part former member of Phantogram (Tim Oakley) and one part member of pandha piranha (Hajek) along with Oscar Allen on guitar and Miles Lally on bass. You can check them out at The Silent Barn in Brooklyn on March 3. – Robert Frezza

Deli Nation,

Our Year End Poll for Emerging Chicago Artists was – as usual – a painstaking (and somewhat excruciating) process, but we pulled it off with remarkable flair!

Kudos to funk collective Zaramela (pictured and streaming) for winning the poll and – with it – a blurb with picture in The Deli’s upcoming SXSW issue, they’ll actually be going to Austin to play!

Thumbs up to wicked old timey quintet The Way Down Wanderers, who earned second place thanks to their win in the Readers’ Poll, and avant-funk group Gramps the Vamp, winners of the Open Submissions. Lots of funk in this year’s Chicago’s top 3!

Here is how it all went down: first, we let the local bands submit their music (for free), and got our Deli editors to pick the nominees. Then we polled a list of Chicago scene expert (our jury) and asked them to nominate 3 more bands of their choice each. Then we polled our writers, then we polled our readers. We tried to keep things open for each single genre, from Indie Rock to Roots Music to Hip Hop.

If you are a geek interested in all the subtelties related to how this poll works, you can read its rules here (happy reading!). But if all you care about is the awesome new music Chicago produced in the year 2013, this list is all you need. Enjoy!

BEST OF 2014 POLL FOR EMERGING CHICAGO ARTISTS ****** FINAL RESULTS ******

ARTIST   J OS R TOT   1 Zaramela   4.5   0.063 4.563 2 The Way Down Wanderers   2   2 4 3 Gramps the Vamp     3 0.5 3.5 4 Bailiff   3   0.078 3.078 5 Gia Margaret   3   0.025 3.025 6 Bleach Party   3   0.009 3.009 7 Marrow   3   0.008 3.008 8 PM Buys   3   0.006 3.006 9 Sarah Marie Young   3   0.004 3.004 10 The Kickback   3   0.004 3.004 11 Daniel Knox   3   0.003 3.003 12 Hollows   3   0.003 3.003 13 Evasive Backflip   3   0.002 3.002 14 Last False Hope   3   0.001 3.001 15 J Fernandez   3   0 3 16 Twin Peaks   3   0 3 17 Secret Colours     2 0.5 2.5 18 Werewolves At Hour 30   1   1.5 2.5 19 Hand Practices   2   0.085 2.085 20 Joyeux   2   0.042 2.042 21 Danna Devore   2   0.041 2.041 22 Tijuana Hercules   2   0.018 2.018 23 The Orwells   2   0.006 2.006 24 Al Scorch   2   0.004 2.004 25 Sidewalk Chalk   2   0.004 2.004 26 Kellen & Me   2   0.003 2.003 27 Angela James   2   0.002 2.002 28 Exit Ghost   2   0.002 2.002 29 Forgotten Species   2   0.002 2.002 30 Lou Shields   2   0.002 2.002 31 Nick Astro   2   0.002 2.002 32 Matchess   2   0.001 2.001 33 Ne-Hi   2   0.001 2.001 34 Burnside & Hooker   1   1 2 35 Flesh Panthers   2   0 2 36 Hide   2   0 2 37 Ryley Walker   2   0 2 38 Sunjacket     1.5 0.003 1.503 39 American Wolf   1   0.067 1.067 40 LWKY     1 0.048 1.048 NYC Best of Chicago 2014 Poll – FINAL RESULTS! 1. Zaramela, 2. The Way Down Wanderers, 3. Gramps the Vamp Posted on: February 13, 2015 Deli Nation, Our Year End Poll for Emerging Chicago Artists was – as usual – a painstaking (and somewhat excruciating) process, but we pulled it off with remarkable flair! Kudos to funk collective Zaramela (pictured and streaming) for winning the poll and – with it – a blurb with picture in The Deli’s upcoming SXSW issue, they’ll actually be going to Austin to play! Thumbs up to wicked old timey quintet The Way Down Wanderers, who earned second place thanks to their win in the Readers’ Poll, and avant-funk group Gramps the Vamp, winners of the Open Submissions. Lots of funk in this year’s Chicago’s top 3! Here is how it all went down: first, we let the local bands submit their music (for free), and got our Deli editors to pick the nominees. Then we polled a list of Chicago scene expert (our jury) and asked them to nominate 3 more bands of their choice each. Then we polled our writers, then we polled our readers. We tried to keep things open for each single genre, from Indie Rock to Roots Music to Hip Hop. If you are a geek interested in all the subtelties related to how this poll works, you can read its rules here (happy reading!). But if all you care about is the awesome new music Chicago produced in the year 2013, this list is all you need. Enjoy! BEST OF 2014 POLL FOR EMERGING CHICAGO ARTISTS ****** FINAL RESULTS ******   ARTIST   J OS R TOT   1 Zaramela   4.5   0.063 4.563 2 The Way Down Wanderers   2   2 4 3 Gramps the Vamp     3 0.5 3.5 4 Bailiff   3   0.078 3.078 5 Gia Margaret   3   0.025 3.025 6 Bleach Party   3   0.009 3.009 7 Marrow   3   0.008 3.008 8 PM Buys   3   0.006 3.006 9 Sarah Marie Young   3   0.004 3.004 10 The Kickback   3   0.004 3.004 11 Daniel Knox   3   0.003 3.003 12 Hollows   3   0.003 3.003 13 Evasive Backflip   3   0.002 3.002 14 Last False Hope   3   0.001 3.001 15 J Fernandez   3   0 3 16 Twin Peaks   3   0 3 17 Secret Colours     2 0.5 2.5 18 Werewolves At Hour 30   1   1.5 2.5 19 Hand Practices   2   0.085 2.085 20 Joyeux   2   0.042 2.042 21 Danna Devore   2   0.041 2.041 22 Tijuana Hercules   2   0.018 2.018 23 The Orwells   2   0.006 2.006 24 Al Scorch   2   0.004 2.004 25 Sidewalk Chalk   2   0.004 2.004 26 Kellen & Me   2   0.003 2.003 27 Angela James   2   0.002 2.002 28 Exit Ghost   2   0.002 2.002 29 Forgotten Species   2   0.002 2.002 30 Lou Shields   2   0.002 2.002 31 Nick Astro   2   0.002 2.002 32 Matchess   2   0.001 2.001 33 Ne-Hi   2   0.001 2.001 34 Burnside & Hooker   1   1 2 35 Flesh Panthers   2   0 2 36 Hide   2   0 2 37 Ryley Walker   2   0 2 38 Sunjacket     1.5 0.003 1.503 39 American Wolf   1   0.067 1.067 40 LWKY     1 0.048 1.048 NYC New Punk Rock from Bushwick: Pass Away Release Debut EP ‘Hey Death’ Posted on: February 13, 2015 Are you an I Am The Avalanche fan? Well, if you remember, not too long ago, one of the band’s lead guitarists Mike Ireland, as well as their long-time bassist, Kellen Robson, had unfortunately parted ways with the band. What we didn’t know was that they were moving on and joining Crime In Stereo’s drummer Eric Fairchild to form Pass Away, a raw punk rock outfit dedicated to the roots of the genre, through and through. They embrace their love for 90s west coast punk and just fuck around with it and have fun. They’ve just released their debut EP ‘Hey Death,’ as a free download via their Bandcamp page, which will also drop as a 7" on Black Numbers. Listen to the EP’s kick-ass song ‘Currituck Sound’ below. Doesn’t Mikey’s voice sound a little like Face to Face’s Trever Keith? You also have to listen to the EP’s last song ‘Fuck Outta Here,’ which has the hilarious intro of a voicemail recording from an angered neighbor of Mike’s own Bushwick bar The Three Diamond Door, complaining about the band’s loud music. It doesn’t get much more punk rock than that. – Michael Haskoor (@Tweetskoor) NYC LA Readers Poll Results: 1. Little Galaxies, 2. Heaps n Heaps, 3. Hearty Har. Posted on: February 12, 2015 Deli Readers, The Deli LA’s Best of 2014 Readers and Fans’ Poll for local emerging artists is over, thanks to all those who cast their vote in support of the emerging local bands and artists in our list of nominees.  Stay tuned for the composite chart, to be released soon, which will include details about the point nominees accumulated from the jurors and Deli writers’ votes, and will crown The Deli’s Best Emerging LA Artist of 2014. Here is some music by the three bands that made the podium, and – below – the top 5 with links to each band’s music. 1. Little Galaxies (pictured) — 2. Heaps n Heaps — 3. Hearty Har — Here’s this poll’s top 5 chart, full results can be found here.  BEST OF LA 2014 – READERS’ POLL RESULTS   Artists Votes   1 Little Galaxies 1102 2 Heaps n Heaps 1076 3 Hearty Har 136 4 The Diamond Light 62 5 Carlton 18 The Deli’s Staff