After a successful kickstarter campaign, and a seemingly interminable build, the folks at the Mama Coco’s Funky Kitchen (MCFK) collective have finally completed construction on their new studio. To celebrate they’ve put together their second show this month, this time at the Gutter, Brooklyn’s premier bowling alley/venue which isn’t Brooklyn Bowl. The showcase will feature the gleaming psychedelic soul pop of ghostpal, Goodman’s excoriating garage pop (both Deli NYC Artists of the Month) as well as Toot Sweet, NoPop (whom are not to be missed), The Brooklyn What, and Awkwarium. Stream MCFK’s latest compilation below, and catch them tonight (1/23) at the Gutter. -Emilio Herce (@emilioherce) photo cred: Dan Bracaglia

The Pluto Moons play with magic. It’s your garden-variety, bass-based, synth and sample, four-on-the-floor sort of magic, but magic no less. Their latest, the E$pooky EP, is something of an evolution from their debut, Mannequin Legs, but retains the playful instinct that’s a staple to most of their music. “$pooky,” the first song on the album, begins with a whisper and a bang, Jachary’s undulating bass refrain quickly vaporized by the rest of the of the band’s entrance. It comes back to haunt you later in the song, bigger and more insistent than before, like most of the Moon’s catalogue. The Pluto Moon’s will be playing Bowery Electric on 2/5 with a Mellencamp. -Emilio Herce (@emilioherce)
 

Brooklyn experimental trio Zs has always been defying expectations, and their latest release, the mesmeric Xe (pronounced Zee), is no different. The record features some of Zs’s most accessible work, yet remains as challenging and captivating as any of their previous releases.  “Corps,” the third track on the album, begins with the hypnotic plucking of Higgins’s guitar, and is immediately matched by Fox’s tom heavy fills, a machine gun patter played between toms and their rims. Hilmer’s saxophone refrains, sinewy and versatile, modulate the band’s volume and energy throughout. The rest of the album remains meticulously composed, but because it was recorded live in studio, captures the frenetic energy of their live sets. Zs will be releasing Xe tonight with a show at (Le) Poisson Rouge. – Emilio Herce (@emilioherce)

During my coverage of the CMJ Music Marathon 2014, I had the pleasure of being introduced to this Toot Sweet‘s (extremely fun) groove-tunes in a live setting; the band caught me completely off-guard. Their music oscillates seamlessly between the lighthearted and carefree, pained romanticism and everything in between, all with the nostalgic tone of an age lost to most modern culture, but with a euphoric freshness that instills new relevance and desire for such original songwriting. I had a chance to reach out to the band’s front lady Mary Spencer Knapp, to ask a few questions about her band, her influences, and her accordion. It seems rare that a modern day band beckons the sound and feel of such a distant and specific place and time, that it makes you question age or origin. Or at least when done as well as NYC’s Toot Sweet, who play a mean funk-infused cabaret style of pop, quite the drastic change from the 90’s revival everybody’s been talking about.

LINKS: Read JP Basileo’s interview with Toot Sweet
UPCOMING SHOWS: Live at The Gutter on Friday 01.23 with Ghostpal, the Brooklyn What, Goodman, NoPop & Awkwarium.

Thanks to all the artists who submitted their music to be considered for The Deli’s Best of Nashville Year End Poll for Emerging Artists. We had a record number of submissions from Nashville this year – 49! – thanks so much for the overwhelming response!

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4. I’m an Island – 7.66

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5. Chrome Pony – 7.5

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6. Jack Berry – 7.33

6. Smooth Hound Smith – 7.33

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8. The Cunning – 7.11

Honorable Mentions (scores above 6.5)

Koa, Yumi And The System, Stewart Eastham, Everyone Moves Away, Creature Comfort, DEDSA, Aaron Moses, The Double Intenders, Sugar Lime Blue, David Newbould.

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WHAT’S NEXT: These results end the first phase of the poll. We have already unveiled full list of nominees that also includes the artists nominated by our local jurors (see left column here). It’s now time for our readers to influence this Year End Poll for Emerging Nashville Artists with their vote – look out for th readers’ poll on the right column of this same page!

The Deli Nashville

 

Here are more results from the NYC Open Submissions for The Deli’s Best of NYC Year End Poll for emerging artists. We are tackling now the entries in the REVIVAL ROCK/GARAGE ROCK category, genres that have seen a resurgence in NYC in the last few years.

Total submissions in this category: 23

Jurors: QD Tran (The Deli Philly), Jordannah Elizabeth (The Deli SF), Paolo De Gregorio (The Deli NYC).

Artists qualified to the next stage (i.e. the Readers’ Poll, starting around 01.25):

1. Winstons – 7.33 (7.33 out of 10)

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2. Jeremy & the Harlequins (7)

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Honorable Mentions (score above 6.25):

WYLDLIFE, Whiskey Bitches, The Teen Age, The Bottom Dollars, Jane Lee Hooker, Carbon Mirage.

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More results coming soon, we are getting there!

The Deli’s Staff

Thanks to all the artists who submitted their music to be considered for The Deli’s Best of Portland Year End Poll for Emerging Artists. We had a record number of submissions from Portland (70!) thanks so much for the overwhelming response!

After tallying our editors’ ratings for the Open Submissions stage, it’s time to release the results. Please note that to avoid conflicts no local editor was allowed to vote for bands in her/his own scene.

Total submissions from Portland: 70.

Jurors: Jurors: Michelle Bacon (The Deli KC), Roxy Morrison (The Deli Toronto), Paolo De Gregorio (The Deli NYC).

Acts advancing to our Readers/Fans Poll:

1. The Lower 48 – 7.8 (out of 10)

2. Just Lions – 7.6

2. Jackson Boone – 7.6

4. Dirty Revival – 7.5

4. Jeffrey Martin – 7.5

4. The Binary Marketing Show – 7.5

4. Anna Tivel – 7.5

8. Kool Stuff Katie – 7.3

8. Mermaid in China – 7.3

9. Mothertapes – 7.16

Honorable Mentions (scores above 6.5) 

Future Historians, Dogheart, Souvenir Driver, Foxy Lemon, Talkative, LiquidLight, Ezza Rose, Neka & Kahlo, The Adaptive.

WHAT’S NEXT: These results end the first phase of the poll. We have already unveiled full list of nominees that also includes the artists nominated by our local jurors (see left column here). It’s now time for our readers to influence this Year End Poll for Emerging Portland Artists with their vote – look out for th readers’ poll on the right column of this same page!

The Deli Portland

Thanks to all the artists who submitted their music to be considered for The Deli’s Best of Chicago Year End Poll for Emerging Artists. We had a record number of submissions from Chicago this year – 90! – thanks so much for the overwhelming response!

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2. Secret Colours – 7.5

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3. Sunjacket – 7.33

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4. SMOKER – 7.16

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4. Purrple – 7.16

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4. LWKY – 7.16

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Honorable Mentions (scores above 6.5)

The Avantist, COUGAR ISLAND, MISTER SUIT, Will Phalen, Impulsive Hearts, Absolutely Not, Dial In, the Textiles, My My My, Frances Luke Accord.

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WHAT’S NEXT: These results end the first phase of the poll. We have already unveiled full list of nominees that also includes the artists nominated by our local jurors (see left column here). It’s now time for our readers to influence this Year End Poll for Emerging Chicago Artists with their vote – look out for th readers’ poll on the right column of this same page!

The Deli Chicago

Since the turn of the millennium, Surf Rock has been a crucial influence on the sound of the NYC scene, and two Brooklyn residents (via Chicago and Melbourne) decided to celebrate this genre, in a paradoxical way, directly in their band’s name: Surf Rock is Dead only has one track available for streaming, but there’s no need to wait more than a few seconds to realize that they don’t really mean what they… call themselves. With an approach that’s way more pop than rock, the duo follows in the footsteps of sunnily melodic acts like The Drums, although with a more melancholic tinge to their sound – at least in this one song. Surf Rock is Dead landed a January residency at Pianos, the next show will be on Januray 22.

On Martin Luther King Jr.’s day it seems more than appropriate to publish the Open Submissions results of a category dominated by African American and Jamaican musicians, i.e. the HIP HOP + OTHER category (where "other stands mostly for R’n’B, Reggae, and Afrobeat. These are genres that are getting more and more space in The Deli, also because NYC’s Hip Hop, after a few years of "stagnation" seems to be going through some sort of reinassance.

Total submissions in this category: 11

Jurors: Travis Leipzig (The Deli Portland), Michelle Bacon (The Deli KC), Paolo De Gregorio (The Deli NYC).

Artists qualified to the next stage (i.e. the Readers’ Poll, starting around 01.20):

1. Morning Sun + The Essentials (Reggae) – 8

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2. Mike Wilson (Hip Hop) – 7.75

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Honorable Mentions (score above 7):

George Grant and The Mighty Templars, Ajo, Reggie Mills, Justin Morelli.

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More results on their way.

The Deli’s Staff

In just about one year, Brooklyn based synth pop trio Prinze George has been churning out a series of singles that have been gathering a lot of attention through the internet, before the band had a national touring presence or an official release (soundcloud seems particularly effective in promoting electronic singles, also thanks to the sharing algorhythms concocted by sites like hypem.com). In 2014, single Victor went on to gather half a million plays, while other most recent tracks didn’t do too shabbily either, with around 100k plays each. Our favorite song is mid tempo electronic ballad "Make Me" (streaming below), which beautifully blends space soul-pop with very light ragga influences, in a way reminiscent of a more gentle (and Caucasian) Santigold. Check out also brand new single Upswing, and see the band live at Mercury on February 10.

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