NYC

KNTRLR added to The Deli’s B.E.A.F. electronic bill on 07.07 at Spike Hill

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Brooklyn’s electro-rock duo KNTRLR – who placed 86th in our latest Best of NYC Poll for emerging NYC artists – was just added to the lineup of our B.E.A.F. Fest‘s electronic night on July 7 at Spike Hill. The band’s latest single "Stabs" – from their upcoming full length, streaming below – features a sound that blends the industrial noises of Nine Inch Nails with slowly unraveling melodies sounding as if pronounced by a prophet of some sort. Which makes this song the perfect soundtrack for your commute back from Manhattan on the hottest day of the year – as long as you can deal with the thought of impending apocalypse and slow death by global warming.

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

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Sins of the Loose Buttons release EP + headlines Bklyn Bowl on 07.16

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A band that left the majors to do things their own way back in 2011, Sins of the Loose Buttons has a huge amount of material collected over the past couple years. And all of it is about to come out on their debut EP ‘Am Arcade.’ The sometimes hard rock, sometimes funk-driven alt rock quartet will be releasing their debut on June 2nd, and planning on celebrating the release with a trip to the Northside Festival on June 16th and headlining Brooklyn Bowl on July 16th. Check them out and watch their new video for ‘I Love Lucy’ here. – Mike Levine (@Goldnuggets)

NYC

Album review: The Clementines – The Clementines

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(Photo by Elise Del Vecchio at Lighted Stage Photography)

The Kansas City music community continues to thrive and expand, something The Deli KC is happy to support and report on, and this trend continues to build momentum with each passing year and each new album release. And by no means is this a boys-only club, of course; over the past several years there has been no shortage of great female singers in many genres: Abigail Henderson, Lauren Krum, Alicia Solombrino, Julia Haile, Danielle Schnebelen, and Shay Estes, just to name a half-dozen. These ladies can not only rock the mic—they do so fearlessly and effortlessly, providing a presence that is both captivating and unforgettable, and all are members of bands that bring great things to the stage whenever they’re on. There’s another name and another band vying for a place in your record collections, one that has been working the circuit, playing bars and clubs from Lawrence to Columbia and all points in between, and with the release of their full-length self-titled debut, The Clementines are ready for their well-earned time in the spotlight.
 
The Clementines started as a duo in 2011 with founding members Nicole Springer and Tim Jenkins each playing acoustic guitars and using their time to hone their singing and songwriting chops. They added the rhythm section of Stephanie Williams and Travis Earnshaw the next year, a move that gave heft and [if I may use a technical term here] oomph to support the power of Springer’s mighty pipes. And while they may have a lead singer whose voice can turn walls into rubble at any given moment, Springer doesn’t simply lean on her internal volume control switch in an effort to overpower her listeners. In The Clementines you’ll hear a great deal of control and command, as the music calls for presentation that runs from pensive to melancholy to victorious to daring to outright sassy. She’s got all the tools, and like any good carpenter or mechanic, she knows which tools to use and when to use them. No song features a delivery that seems out of place, and no mood is falsely presented.
 
Any band with such a commanding presence at the front runs the risk of being overshadowed by that voice, or of being seen as “hangers-on” who are only along for the ride because of the talent of the lead singer, not because of their own abilities. There is no such worry with The Clementines, as this is truly a band with quality at all positions. Jenkins has adapted and enhanced his guitar playing to accommodate both duo and quartet arrangements; his skills have progressed greatly since I first saw the two-piece version of the band on the recordBar stage a couple years ago. Earnshaw lends a stalwart bass presence, never pushing his way into the spotlight, but never fully conceding to the twin-mostly-acoustic-guitar sounds which he augments in fine fashion. His ability to set a warm, comfortable foundation to the proceedings is crucial to the cohesiveness of the music. And Williams is simply described in the band’s bio as “bad-ass drummer”; that’s about as spot-on as it gets. The Clementines features a wide array of genres and influences—rock, soul, jazz, Americana, gospel, blues—and their rhythmic timekeeper doesn’t miss a beat (literally and figuratively) throughout, keeping lock-step with her bandmates at every turn. If playing music with such a dominant frontwoman is a challenge, then Jenkins, Earnshaw, and Williams are more than up to the task throughout the album’s fourteen-track playlist.
 
A few CliffsNotes-sized looks at some of those tracks:
 
“Rough Times” – The first single released by the band; Americana-rock sounds with an underlying jazz snarl. To say that acoustic bands can’t groove is ridiculous, and this track serves as Exhibit A of that argument.
 
“Soul, Mind, Role, Survive” – The one electrified song on the album, with an added punch that gives it a ‘90s alt-rock vibe. A great change of pace.
 
“Could Have Been” – A menacing slice of backwoods swamp-pop swathed in Southern-fried goodness. Undeniably catchy and hooky.
 
“Say” – The most intricate playing by all four members, showing off the instrumental skill sets that make this band a quadruple threat.
 
“Responsibility” – This may be my favorite track on the album; Springer’s delivery goes from delicately soft to passionately earnest without breaking stride.
 
“Sightless” – Acoustic rock doesn’t get any better than this, pure and simple. Maybe *this* is my favorite track?
 
“Should I” – A delicate arrangement that made me think Western madrigal, which I can’t explain but it just sounds like it fits. If you’re a fan of Calexico (and you should be), this is a track for you.
 
“Moved” – A textbook closing track musically and one of the most lyrically powerful, an expression of longing and love lost; a very courageous move on the part of the band to close with a song that does not offer the listener the prototypical “happily ever after” ending. Okay, THIS might be my favorite track.
 
We all like to see friends and neighbors succeed, and when they’re willing to bust their asses to make good things happen for themselves, it’s all the more rewarding. Bands like Making Movies, She’s A Keeper, and The Latenight Callers are proof that constant work, abundant publicity, and outright ability will get your music heard. The Clementines fit that bill, with an increasing number of shows over the past few months which have led to their self-titled album being a reality—and a reality which you should tune in to. As Springer sings in “Bayou”, the album’s opening track: “I leave it up to you when we’re at the bayou / to renew my existence, to sanctify my consciousness.”
 
Existence renewed, consciousness sanctified—and efforts very much appreciated.
 
Be sure to join The Clementines this Saturday, June 1, as they release their self-titled debut album at The Brick. They will kick off the show at 9 p.m., playing the album in its entirety. Root and Stem will perform afterwards. Facebook event page.
 
–Michael Byars
 

Michael Byars wrote most of this with one hand, as his other arm has gone numb from his editor’s constant punching—but he thinks she’s pretty cool anyway. [Editor’s Note: She is. *punch*]
 
 
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NYC

Mary Alouette’s video for ‘Angel’

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For reasons beyond our comprehension, the dudes here at The Deli seem to have a weakness for videos with gorgeous ladies bathing au naturel – we are talking about any videos, not just music videos by the way. You can imagine their excitement when they saw the first 30 seconds of this new, beautifully shot MUSIC video by Brooklyn electronic artists Mary Alouette, which features footage of the young lady while having a dream-filled dip in the tub. What makes the whole thing even more exciting though is that the music is actually good! The track is a trip hoppy number, landing somewhere between Tricky’s intense musical marijuana whiffs and some kind of new-age-that-doesn’t-suck placidity. A song about a good, but also weird, trip in the tub, nothing sounds better than that right now… (isn’t that how all David Lynch movies should be watched?)

NYC

The Kickdrums release new EP ‘Inspiration for Conversation’

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Brooklyn’s The Kickdrums are one of those acts who can play it all — indie, rap, soul, synthpop — and make it sound tight. The title of their new EP, Inspiration for Conversation, might as well be the mantra for hipsterism too, as the accumulation of good taste is pointless if not shared. The EP’s opener, “Hum,” starts out mixing drunken dub beats to a glistening ‘60s sci-fi melody, which, really, would be enough right there. But Andrew Fitts’ pub-soaked vocals (which kick in about a minute later) take things in a decidedly Britpop direction, promising that all that good taste won’t go totally pastiche. “Machines” continues the Euro-psych vibe by matching a basic hip-hop breakbeat to soaring wordless vocals that, while feeling like a million songs you know rolled into one, sound like nothing else. – Brian Chidester

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

NYC

Baby Alpaca releases preview tracks from EP, plays NYC twice in June

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Do you think it’s possible to be too well-traveled? Try telling that to Baby Alpaca, a band that sounds like they’ve traveled to the Caribbean and borrowed some tropicalia, then shot over to medieval Europe to borrow an autoharp, and finally ventured to cyberspace for electronic gear… and none of these instruments are used in a way I’ve quite heard before. Latest single ‘Wild Child’ (streaming below) is a crooner reminiscent of Roxy Music from their romantic 80s peak, and presents a traveler’s vision of freedom, complete with Chris Kittrell’s mellifluous tenor, and backed by a road trip all their own. Things get even slower and sparser in the other preview single "Sea of Dreams," which has a beautiful video you can see here.

The band will be traveling back to Brooklyn just in time to announce a new record ‘Baby Alpaca EP’ and play June 27th at the Wooly and the day after at Mercury with Firehorse. – Mike Levine (@Goldnuggets)

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

 

NYC

Brooklyn’s Phaseone releases debut LP ‘IF I TELL U’

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For the cover of Phaseone’s new album If I Tell U, a glass cube structure hangs over a hazy, blank space, perfectly embodying both the concision and ambient space at this music’s core. “Bianca,” the album’s first single (streaming), is a trippy chillwave number built around a minimalist melody so liquid that it reduces the lustiness of soul music to just a few key-strokes. The rest of the album is just as tight, and by that I mean, precise, like Don Draper (minus the serial virility). Yet behind this shiny wall of neatly arranged synth-scapes lies the suggestion of a crack forming in society’s wall. (You don’t need no education.) – Brian Chidester

We added this song to our curated playlist of Emerging Electronic NYC artists.

NYC

Touring Europe with Ha Ha Tonka: An interview with Lennon Bone

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The last time we caught up with Lennon Bone, he was getting ready to embark on Ha Ha Tonka’s first European tour (see our interview with him). Now the group has just come off its second European tour (literally—they just returned to the US today), which has proven to be successful. Ha Ha Tonka has also been busy at work on a follow-up album to its critically-acclaimed 2011 LP Death of A Decade. Read on to find out more about their travels and what they have in the works.
 
The Deli: Where in Europe have you toured?
 
Lennon Bone: We started out in Prague, went through Germany, the UK, The Netherlands, Ireland, Norway, and Sweden to go. 6 weeks total. 
 
The Deli: Coolest place you visited?
 
Bone: Prague and Dresden are the most beautiful places I’ve ever seen. So old and amazing. The architecture is so spectacular, it’s like being in a book or something. Not to mention all the history that you hear about, but becomes so much more apparent when you actually see things like soot on buildings from where they were bombed, or gold placards on the footsteps of doors that show when a Jew was ejected from their apartment building. It’s pretty intense stuff. 
 
Hamburg is the most fun city we’ve been in, I think. We saw the sun rise two days in a row and the people weren’t even close to done partying. To list a few of the events we saw take place: a drunk Brit stripped down to his underwear and jumped off his party barge and had to be rescued before he drowned; someone actually died just before the show right next door to the venue we played; we saw a ton of prostitutes next to Burger King; we chased down a guy that stole some girl’s phone, and just had an absolute blast. It was a wild couple of days. 
 
The Deli: What’s the most fun venue you’ve played so far?
 
Bone: Hmmm…. that’s a tough one. The most fun venue would probably have been in London, for me. Great crowd, pretty packed and it was a Tuesday night. Over 100 different bourbons to try. Plus we got fed by some friends that work at a restaurant called River Cafe the night before. To give you an idea of how posh this place is, Elton John is doing a private event there next month and dudes like Bono and Chris Martin frequent the restaurant. 
 
The Deli: How have these European tours changed your perspectives as a band?
 
Bone: I think it’s made us reevaluate our plan as a business. We see the potential in all of these new markets, and have an opportunity to break out somewhere besides the States, which can also help our draw within the States. 7 months ago we were arguing whether or not we would even be able to do a European tour, and now we’ve spent 3 months there in that time. 
 
As far as our relationships, it helps keep us all positive to do new things. We’ve toured the States so much in the past 8 years that we recognize gas stations from coast to coast…. it’s revitalizing to see new territory and even get lost now and again. 
 
The Deli: What’s changed and what have you learned since your first European tour?
 
Bone: We learned a LOT about how to save money from really screwing up on the last one. Everything from getting cheaper ferry rides to buying water at a grocery store (at a gas station it’s 2 euro 60 per small bottle… You can get 8 liters for the same price at a store) and recycling the bottles (Bottles are worth .25 each). 
 
We’ve seen some markets like London and Ireland grow exponentially, which is great. We had two pre-sold out shows in Ireland. I think they were sold out almost 3 weeks in advance, one of them around 6 weeks out. So, we’re seeing that things could go really well if we treat it all correctly. 
 
The Deli: How have crowds responded to the music? Do you plan to go back?
 
Bone: Crowd reception has been great! Even at the smaller shows, people seem to get rowdy and be really appreciative of us coming over here to play for them. We’re already making plans to come back next year.
 
The Deli: There are a lot of bands that have pipe dreams about going on an overseas tour. What is your best advice to any KC band looking to do this?
 
Bone: My best advice would be to tour the States relentlessly before going anywhere else. We’ve been touring nationally for nearly 9 years now, and if we didn’t have the knowledge we’ve learned from being on the road at home, we could have easily lost so much money being in Europe. I mean, we lost some money on the first trip anyway. It’s just really expensive to make it happen. Promoters over there actually do their job as well. One of our booking agents is so committed to knowing how things are going that he’s jumping in the van with us for a week. That being said, if we didn’t have the tour history at home that has also brought us press that they can see, we wouldn’t be having this amount of interest here… at least I don’t think. If you want to tour and have it be successful, you just have to know how to tour, period. It’s much cheaper to get your feet wet in the States before possibly losing your ass overseas. On the other hand, if you just want to take a vacation and play some shows, go ahead and book your tickets. Just like anywhere else, I’m sure you could find some places to play. It’s really just about what your goals are. 
 
The Deli: Tell us a bit about the album you’re currently working on. What can we expect?
 
Bone: The album is officially done, and we’ve never been so excited about something that we’ve made. It’s still totally us, but it’s like the Tonka we’ve always wanted to be, if that makes any sense. It was produced by Dan Molad out of Brooklyn and The Ryantist from here in Kansas City. In my opinion, two of the best producers that nobody’s really heard of. Yet. I’m not saying our record is their ticket, I’m just saying that these guys were my personal first pick from day one because they’re outstanding at their jobs. We’ve grown enough as a band that we were ready to really include the producer in the role of constructing and rethinking the songs, and Dan and The Ryantist really helped bring them to life in a way we never expected. 
 
We recorded the bulk of the album in Omaha where they did all the Bright Eyes and Monsters of Folk records. The whole team is basically the same age, and we’re used to working with producers that are older than us. For me it really felt like we were the junior high kids trying to show up the high schoolers. We just had all these mics and snare drums and shit everywhere in the room. Double-necked guitars, synths, organs, whatever… and we just had the best time making an album. We went back to recording live, so all the basics are the four of us (or sometimes the producers would just hit record and join us in the room to play other things) playing together. It just feels good to me. I can’t wait for people to hear it. 
 
We’re planning on a fall release. We’ll take off after this next US tour for a few months and get all the logistics of the new album worked out so we can start a full nationwide tour at the end of September.
 
The boys will be returning to the mainland and playing in Kansas City on Friday, June 14. They’ll be supporting Reverend Horton Heat at CrossroadsKC at Grinder’s. After that, they’ll head on a short US tour with Someone Still Loves You, Boris Yeltsin. Visit the band’s website to see the rest of the US tour dates.

(Photo by Todd Zimmer)

–Michelle Bacon

Michelle is editor of The Deli Magazine – Kansas City, and also holds down half the rhythm section in Drew Black & Dirty Electric and Dolls on Fire. Her?

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Album review: A Light Within – Preface (EP)

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There are millions upon millions of songs that celebrate happiness: “I’m in love!” “She said yes!” “It’s a great day to be alive!” All valid emotions to be sure, and hooray for those who get to experience life in those circumstances … but what about when the feelings you’re feeling are along the lines of “It’s cloudy outside” or “Why won’t she talk to me” or “I can’t take this anymore”? These are also valid emotions which deserve musical voice, and in their debut three-track EP Preface, A Light Within delivers on the desire to hear the darker side of the psyche being celebrated in bombastic, beautiful anguish—doing so not only with thunderous power, but with a deft touch as well.
 
The titles of the three songs are page numbers that reference the concept of the album: the writings of a man reflecting upon his life, from beginning to end.  The words, in concert with the music, reveal a life lived in doubt and anguish, as the protagonist struggles to reconcile his time on this planet before the last grain of sand falls through the hourglass.  Lyrics such as “These open eyes are closing down / I’m too tired to sleep through life alone / This gallant heart is a fairy tale grown old” (“Page 32”) and “Whoever feels irrelevant has become as one with death to the living / Whoever claims innocent is blinded by a sun that can’t be seen” (“Page 18”) offer a window into a soul that is indeed lurking among the shadows rather than relaxing in the warmth of the sun.  These are places where many would rather not tread, but we all find ourselves battling our own army of demons at some point in our lives (whether they originate from external sources or are self-inflicted)—and even in the more sinister realm, there is a beauty to be found that may end up saving one’s sanity if one clings to it tightly enough.  The beauty of these tracks lies in the arrangements that somehow manage to be musically uplifting and inspiring … even though the words and emotions may not be.
 
When dealing with the harder, more somber edges of post-rock, the easy path to follow is to overwhelm the listener with volume, both from an instrumental and a vocal standpoint. “We’re angry, we’re pissed, we’re going to bludgeon you over the head with our seismic swagger”. A Light Within knows well enough to rein in this urge when properly called for, but is unafraid to let the reins loose as needed. Preface shows the raw power and melodic maturity of a band that, even though it may be in its infancy, has a lot to say—and, more importantly, knows how to say it for maximum effect. 
 
Here’s to the next chapter that this preface is leading us into.
 
 
–Michael Byars
 

Michael Byars is desperately trying to reunite the legendary 70s Welsh hip-hop band Honey Black Dolphins for his next birthday party. He’s also thinking about reinventing himself as a busker in England. They need to know the time and temperature over there too, right?
 

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LI’s No Good News opens for Less Than Jake on June 11

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No Good News have nothing but good news lately, with probably one of their biggest shows yet to take place on June 11th at The Emporium in Patchogue, LI with ska-punk notables Less Than Jake, Hostage Calm, Pentimento and Last Great Hero. Formed in 2011, this rapidly rising band emerged from the LI Scene and has a knack for Pop-Punk that we think is pretty cool. Chris Regan’s powerful vocals and the band’s industrious power chords give the same feel as if a tanker of amplified kerosene were to smash into a wildfire of pop-punk causing an explosion of energy like no other, in a good way. Their most recent album, ‘In Constant Comparison,’ was dropped on 3/2 and can be streamed for free or purchased for $5 on bandcamp – Michael Haskoor (@Tweetskoor)

NYC

Starlight Girls debut “7×3” video + play Glasslands on 07.02

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Starlight Girls recently debuted on Stereogum this video for their new Xiu Xiu produced single ‘7×3’ (streaming below) which showcases a slightly noisier approach to their retro-pop. We are looking forward to a new release from this talented female fronted band that already delighted us with some fun, 60s infused pop gems. Mark your calendars for July 02, when they’ll play Glasslands with Zula, Tony Castles, and Ursula Starship. 

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

NYC

Appomattox is back: EP release + Big Snow Buffalo on 06.01

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"If The Police grew up on Fugazi and sang more about the financial crisis." This is how Brooklyn-based Appomattox describes their post-punk brand, which has stormed the NYC scene with one of the best live shows in town. The band’s unique take on the enormously influential punk rock genre is invigorating, and that’s just scratching the surface. The band is set to release their new EP ‘3Against2’  later this summer and will be playing Big Snow Buffalo Lodge on June 1st with Grass Is Green, Ovlov, and Miniboone. Check out the single ‘Radiator’ – from the upcoming EP – streaming below. – Michael Haskoor (@Tweetskoor)

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