Brooklyn based, atmospheric electronic duo Beacon was already on our radar, but this new single from forthcoming EP ‘L1’ is emitting a signal whose strength we can’t ignore. We are digging pretty much everything about ‘Fault Lines,’ from the almost granular sounding, obsessive initial two note keyboard line, to the frantic but essential drum programming. The song builds slowly through a measured accumulation of layers, while an expanding line of arpeggiators drops unexpectedly at minute 3.11, and seems to reset everything. Beacon will play Terminal 5 in NYC tonight with Tycho and Christopher Willits, while ‘L1’ EP is scheduled for a December release.

 

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

 

Twin Sister recently changed name to Mr Twin Sister (wow, even rather established bands seem to have name copyright problems, huh? I guess there are more bands than decent band names!). Check out the preview single from their upcoming sophomore album, and see them live at Baby’s All Right on 10.03.

Recently signed to Daniel Lopatin (aka Oneohtrix Point Never)’s record label Software, Bushwick’s Gabi belongs to a growing wave of artists (for unknown reason mostly female) who choose to rely almost exclusively on vocals for their songs’ arrangements, relying on the help of looping devices. Gabi’s single/video ‘Koo Koo’ (streaming) has an ascetic, almost new wave-ish quality to it. You can see how she pull this off live at Baby’s All Right on October 2nd.

In "Summer 99" – a track we are premièring below – eight piece collective Every Flavor Weather Machine sing stories about driving, girls and cheap wine, in a vein reminiscent of a more lighthearted Lou Reed. Even though the rest of their past repertoire is more influenced by the party sounds of funk and rock-soul – their other recent single Bullhorn (Get To Work) is a good example in this regard – the band sounds convincingly comfortable in these new shoes. The group hails from Beantown but now calls NY home, and their music comes complete with all the makings you’ll ever need to host your own banger: a wall of synths, another wall of brass, and plenty of emceeing about late nights and indecent uses for arithmetic. Every Flavor Weather Machine will be performing at the Knitting Factory tonight with The Harmonica Lewinskies, Graveyard Kids and Double Knot, and then during the upcoming CMJ Music Marathon on 10.21 at The Parkside Lounge. 

We didn’t have any psychedelic track on the NYC blog today – it’s time to fix this! Gold Lake is a Brooklyn band that treated us to a little drone-pop gem last year, entitled "We Already Exist." They are now unveiling a new tune entitled "Lovers" (streaming) that significantly slows down the BPM (at least for most of the song) without losing the band’s signature charm and intensity. 

It’s quite interesting how two places as close as Brooklyn and New Jersey tend to excel at producing completely different brands of rock’n’roll: while the home of the hipsters is constantly churning out genre-bending music with experimental tendencies, just a few miles away the majority of the artists active in the Garden State’s scene seem more interested in perfecting the tradition of American Rock. NJ’s Long Faces fit this profile quite well, blending classic and modern rock to forge intensely evocative tunes. In the past few months their breezy summer single "Leave It There" triggered a fair amount of interest in blogs around the globe, and The Deli is now premièring this new single "All This Confusion," a slower and more atmospheric number that confirms the band’s propensity towards melancholic subjects and sonics. 

Brooklyn’s folk rockers Great Caesar absolutely floored us at our latest NYC B.E.A.F. Fest‘s Rootsy stage, with a performance full of emotion and dynamism at once. The band had a great 2014 so far – and it’s not over yet: their video for single ‘Don’t Ask Me Why’, unveiled in January (streaming), got an astonishing 250k plays on Youtube, and, after being included in our Year End Best NYC Emerging Bands list, the group spent September touring the US. Without wasting any time, they are now ready to celebrate the release of a new EP at The Knit on October 4. This kind of hard work is what it takes to go places in the band business.

Brooklyn’s “Warranted Queen” Arum Rae is a delightfully edgy cyber-soul singer who has so far managed to dodge generic stereotypes. Her latest release is masterfully threaded with bits of dance, pop, soul, R&B, and even a little hip-hop and industrial. The NYC based, Austin native’s sultry voice powers through eclectic synths, sound effects, and backup vocals of her own creation. If you dig the title track here, or the industrial blues of "I’m Smoke" (streaming below – at times reminiscent of early Suicide!!!) be sure to check her out at The Music Hall of Williamsburg on October 12th, followed soon thereafter by a November EP release. – Jillian Dooley

 The Cowards Choir, the celebrated project fronted by DC’s Andy Zipf since 2009, is set to release their new EP, Cool Currency, on October 4th at Iota. Cool Currency is Andy’s first release since 2013’s Reunion EP. Fans of The Cowards Choir will rejoice to hear yet another set of catchy, delicate, romantic guitar-pop. The production is immaculate, every evocative guitar tone seemlessly layered with other instruments, accentuating every idea and feeling in this gorgeous and emotional set. Four songs, each with sweet flavors baked delicately into a fulfilling whole, like a dessert-cart of perfect pastries, and each more tantalizing than the last. The Cowards Choir will be joined at Iota by Justin Jones, and you can get your tickets here. Check out The Cowards Choir performing "Soul Got Weight" for The Circus Life podcast last week below. –Natan Press

The NYC scene is famous for its rock bands, but it’s becoming apparent that electronic music is rapidly taking over the Big Apple. Brooklyn based celestial synth-pop duo My Body is yet another proof of this shift. Active for just over a year, the duo has already released a handful of quality singles that stand out for their imaginative arrangements (incorporating hip hop, 8 bit and jungle elements among others) and for Jordan Bagnall’s unconventional melodies. The band recently opened for Lia Ices at The Mercury Lounge, and is about to release their new EP 6 Wives in November.

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

As you may have noticed, our blogger Jake tends to favor bands with a DIY punk philosophy and an unpredictable, often uncompromisingly noisy sound. And that’s what you are going to get at the show he organized – under the moniker "The Colonel Presents…" – at Palisades on October 2nd.  The show is headlined by noise rockers Honduras and The Gradients (check out album opener ‘Growing Pile,’ streaming), who are actually not that noisy, but play a brand of poppy post punk that’s as good as (and in part reminiscent of) that mind blowind phenomenon that was early XTC. On the bill also macabre Brooklynites Show Me The Body (pictured, check out their bizarre but engrossing track ‘One Train’ below) and fast paced fuzz pop quartet Heeney.