Caught between shoegazer and 80s indie pop influences, Brooklyn trio Lazyeyes just released a new EP entitled "New Year" that offers a perfect balance of the two. Opening single "Islip" (streaming) blends vocal melodies reminiscent of The Smiths with a more expansive guitar sound (and use of reverb). References to the most jangly of bands are immediately confirmed with the following track, " New Year," which squarely belongs in the dream pop realm (and quite appropriately so, since new years inspire dreams of an improved life). The punchy tendencies of the earlier singles comes out in the two remaining tracks on the EP. Check out also "Windowsill" a mid tempo that will intrigue fans of the British sound of the late 80s / early 90s (think anything from Stone Roses to Ride). Lazyeyes will be playing at the Acheron tomorrow (02.13) with Haybabies and Warcries.

These days it really seems like synths are taking over the world, or at least Brooklyn. And this time around, for some obscure reason, women are leading the charge. Skyes is yet another female fronted Brooklyn band that makes heavy use of synthezisers. Please don’t get that "yet" wrong: we love this new electro "wave," and all these artists sound nothing like each other; we are just amazed at the sheer number of submissions of this kind we’ve been getting. Skyes’ music could be described as synth-pop because of its melodic focus, but it trades that genre’s upbeat thoughtlessness with a dark-ish, experimental, non linear edge in the arrangement department, reminiscent at times of Kate Bush’s avant-pop. Their most popular single "A Girl Named Jake" (streaming) highlights the lead singer’s beautiful pipes and noteworthy production values for what we assume are home made recordings. Skyes will be playing Mercury Lounge on February 18 with The Bowery Riots, Everest Cale, American Darlings.

Michelle is editor of The Deli KC and plays in bands.  

Deli Readers,

The Deli Chicago’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. 

We happily announce the three top band in this contest: The Way Down Wanderers, Werewolves At Hour 30 and Burnside & Hooker!

Stay tuned for the finalcomposite 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 Chicago Artist of 2014.

1. The Way Down Wanderers

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2. Werewolves At Hour 30

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3. Burnside & Hooker

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

BEST OF CHICAGO 2014 – READERS’ POLL RESULTS   Artists Votes   1 The Way Down Wanderers 799 2 Werewolves At Hour 30 707 3 Burnside & Hooker 279 4 Secret Colours 133 5 Gramps the Vamp 127 6 Hand Practices 85 7 Bailiff 78 8 American Wolf 67 9 Zaramela 63 10 LWKY 48

The Deli’s Staff

Tei Shi is one of the most popular NYC "electro ladies" (there’s a bunch of them, see our article in the latest printed issue of The Deli). Her 2014 track Bassically took her popularity to new heights. The Brooklyn based artists just unveiled this video for that single, and also announced the upcoming release of an EP entitled "Verde," out on April 14, and her participation in SXSW.

Read The Deli’s interview with Tei Shi from March 2014.

We’ve always liked Pianos’ continued support of emerging NYC bands through residencies, so we couldn’t be happier to report that lately their number seems to have multiplied exponentially. We literally just blogged about the Jaguar Club’s February residency, and here we are already, telling you about another one involving the Brooklyn garage pop outfit that goes under the name of Dances. The trio’s four track 2014 debut EP " Whiter Sands" features a mixed range of flavours, from the melodic but fuzzy mid tempo tracks Doc Youth and Holy Fool – both exploding into way noisier choruses – to the relentless speed-garage of "Rat" (video streaming below). The EP’s closing title track is a menacing blues featuring a crescendo of guitars that’s somewhat reminiscent of The Pixies from the Tromp Le Monde era. Check out Dances live at Pianos tomorrow February 12.

 Table and Chairs is Seattle’s experimental jazz label that has brought us the way out Bad Luck; the prog-power ballads of Heatwarmer, and ever changing Racer Sessions. Tonight they present to us the electronic edition of their second Wednesdays at vermillion series currated by David Balatero of Sister Girlfriend who has assemble an impressive roster of Seattle’s finest improvisers. 

 Raica weaves pushy bass lines through electronic caverns, while stalac-pipe organs drip murky sounds onto the dance floor. White noise precipitates past our senses from the thick atmosphere, and light dissipates on the damp walls of our eardrums. She encourages the listener to take their time developing and evolving with her while she sets the stage for a subtle climax much like Daphne Oram’s outer explorations and the moonscapes of ‘Electronic Meditation’ –era Tangerine Dream.

 While, Mood Organ marries the electronic harps of Ash Ra and a heft of FM synth funk, (minus a hand clap), Timm Mason’s solo efforts are more akin to the dense atmospheres of Popul Vuh and other musik kosmiche of that era. Curious to see the pairing with Kaori Suzuki, who uses her own custom built synthesizers to get to frequencies we weren’t quite sure existed prior to hearing them. Her company Magic Echo Music has been producing uniquely crafted electronics for a while now. On MEM’s website Kaori reports: “We’ll be using the MEM CICCS as a shared interface between the two of us. It will be part XOR logic guessing game, Rainforest-esque feedback and I don’t know what else?”

 And to round out the evening is Newaxeyes; who summon glitch-hop guitar lullabies that battle against cold the machinations of sampled drum pads.  Their recent 12” release, ‘Assange/Church,’ wouldn’t be out of place in-between the post rock scriptures of Constellation records and the swagger of ‘Yesterdays New Quintet.’ Though impossible to peg and ever evolving out of chaos, Newaxeyes carve out the notch in our record collections that we’ve been waiting to be filled. Go buy it now.

 The experiments sound off at Vermillion Gallery tonight at 8PM

Mike Wilson’s album "Fenix" shows an MC of venerable versatility. While many rappers discover they have a flow and stick to a single application of it, Wilson explores his flow from track to track. Hailing from Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn, his Native Tongue roots often show, but he also conjures equal parts LA and ATL. His new video for the track “Red Matter” is pretty much a single verse laying out his mission statement as an MC. He boasts, “I hash tag three sixes and steal police sketches to hire new priests based on police records. My goal is to implode the world. That’s one method to see your soul suffer and get one off the checklist.” From hooks borrowed from Broadway musicals to Star Trek references, Mike Wilson is reflecting on the whole spectrum. – BrokeMC

Brooklyn based duo Chargaux is one of the most intriguing artists we discovered through our Best of NYC Poll this year. The moniker originates from the fusion of the names of the two main band members (and violin players) Charly and Margaux. Violins (plucked or bowed) are front and center in their music, often – but not always – joined by their soulful vocals. There’s a lot of tasteful and sparse electronic programming in their music, which seems to be the product of collaborations with external musicians, probably the dude in this picture. Single "I’m So Pretty" (streaming), is their poppiest tune, in a repertoire that features mostly instrumental excercises flirting with eastern influences, jazz, and classical music – like the noteorthy "Lullaby." You can catch Chargeaux live at Coco 66 on February 22nd.

The sweet, rebellious sentiment of yesteryear’s sound is alive Jeremy & The Harlequins’ new album, "American Dreamer," out Tuesday, February 10. The record, their follow-up to their self-titled EP, and debut full-length, is a raw continuation of their throwback rockabilly sound, with recurrent nods to everything from beach-rock slow jams to the rolling acoustic rhythms of Americana to dance hall swing tunes, all penetrated by Jeremy Fury’s even more heavily reverbed vocals, to give the ghostly effect of the past returning to present. The record starts with the previously released “Step into the Light,” perhaps a little more polished here, and each of the ensuing nine songs is a step further into rock ‘n roll history, and a more pronounced denunciation of modern conventions of music. The first single, “You’re My Halo” is a slow, dreamy rocker that shows the full extent of Fury’s vocal dexterity, belting out mid-range verses, entering into falsetto in the chorus, and even quieting down entirely to hush out some quiet love murmurs. Stream the full album below. – JP Basileo

Footwerk is the DC Area Deli’s Reader’s Poll winner for 2014. A 6-piece pop outfit, combining all the parties into one big all night rager, Footwerk can’t help but be hugely popular and on the cusp of breaking across the nation. They just released a new video for single "Eyes Low" through Vevo, and their debut album Casual Encounters is set for a Spring 2015 release. Check out their new video, and get to know the diverse group with a little Q+A. Click here for the interview, watch the new video below, and check out Footwerk’s upcoming dates (including their record release show, Thursday, 4/23 at U St Music Hall). –Natan Press