Like a jack-in-the-box about to fall off the rails, Blanche Blanche Blanche keeps you guessing what’s coming next, the entire way through. Utilizing their penchant for 4-track and melodic approximation to produce an out of this world, grim inducing experience, this new-to-Brooklyn duo is crafting Ween influcenced lo-fi madness for a new generation. Listen to new LP ‘Wooden Ball’ and just try to make sense this robo-rock assault if you can. – Mike Levine (@Goldnuggets)

I’ll be the first to admit that I’m as infatuated with shoegaze as any skinny-black-jeans-wearing-hipster out there, but it’s refreshing when a band incorporates other elements into the genre instead of just serving straight up 90’s nostalgia. Brooklyn’s Cool Serbia has the sound of a psych rock band, but digs a little deeper into music history, pulling out qualities of the bubbly pop of the 60’s. The first track off of their self-titled EP “Dream Lover” sounds like a (dirty) surfer doo-wop number, until in the chorus heavy doses of noise and feedback bring out the blokes’ shoegazer soul in full display. Their track “Kill Yourself” is much more straight shoegaze, keeping their pop influence to catchy guitars and tambourines. They only just released their debut EP this past March, and they’re already gaining some heat, opening for Andrew WK a couple of weeks ago at Kent Ave. We expect to be seeing more from these guys. – Lucille Sherman

This track was added to our SoundCloud playlist of emerging NYC artists here.

The Harmonica Lewinskies aren’t the kind of band you usually expect to find over here in NY. The funk and blues group channels Clinton-era sexual intrigue in their name, and hard-driving horn sections in tunes like ‘The Ghost Pal Song’ and ‘Harlem River Valley.’ Ok… so perhaps they’re not the most serious guys in the world, but if second EP ‘Salad Days’ leaves you with anything… it’s that these guys know how to f***ing play. And that’s not something I can say about enough local bands. The band just ended a residency at Pianos – and almost won the latest Deli Artist of the Month poll gathering more than one thousand votes! See them live at Bowery Electric on April 13 with fellow Newyorkers Man in a Crowd. – Mike Levine (@Goldnuggets)

“Lovers are inside each of us, fighting and crooning. Reflections are outside of us, reversed versions of the self. . . I feel like these are the themes that haunt my music. Plus it’s just pretty.” –Regan Rebecca

At first blush, Lovers and Reflections first album Swords conjures nostalgia for the adventurous 80’s new wave and pop. One can’t help but hear Kate Bush and Elizabeth Frazier in Regan Rebecca’s vocals, or the sounds of bands like Soft Cell and the Switchblade Sisters in Chris Moore’s production. In most of the promotional material, and in other write-ups, names like Depeche Mode and Madonna are dropped. When I first listened to it I was struck by the apparent breadth of influences, seemingly pulling from every corner of 80’s synth-pop, and combining those sounds with a vocal style that, these days, is usually reserved for more reverb and delay-heavy guitar music. Though the 80’s feel of Swords is undeniable, while interviewing the band I realize that there is more to their artistic ambition than simply returning to and recombining the sounds, vocal and synth, of that decade. Continue reading…

I’m not sure what you said… but Big Ups (who made our Best of Emerging NYC artists list for the 2nd year in a row) is pissed off. Maybe not at you, but definitely at things like fresh meat and crappy basses too (at least according to their facebook). The band is probably one of the most ambitious screaming punk acts this side of the Hudson, basically clamoring to knock the doors off of any and all venues (and will probably sleep on your couch while they’re at it too). But don’t worry. These guys are so much fun, you won’t even mind getting hit by a sweat bomb or two when you see them play Shea Stadium on Wednesday, April 10th.

For those who don’t find the 80s electro-cheese backlash particularly riveting, NYC trio Cascading Slopes may be a more interesting (and stylish) electronic alternative. A project started by The Drums’ keyboardist Jacob Graham, Cascading Slopes is a "purist’s project" (not even samples are allowed in their tracks) that doesn’t distance itself from the pop format, but approaches it with a minimalistic attitude that references the rigorous German ancestors of the genre, rather than the many artists who climbed the charts in the 80s with their baroque tunes. See them live at Cameo on April 27.

This track was added to our SoundCloud playlist of emerging electronic NYC artists here.

As far as backstories go, The Dust Engineers have a rather unique one. Originally conceived by Zachary Meyer as the fictional home recordings of an imaginary South Dekotan teenager, The Dust Engineers’ are in fact a five-piece project based out of NYC. Teaming up with Sara Maeder, Erik Rosenbuerg, Jared Harel, and Ryan Egan, the band debuted as more than fantasy in 2011. Their brand of lo-fi roots rock with 90’s lo-fi influences gives them the sort of nostalgia and charm that would make their original backstory seem plausible, and in a way their music brings it to life. See them live at Rockwood Music Hall on April 19. – Read Devon Antonetti’s interview with the band here.

This track was added to our SoundCloud playlist of emerging NYC artists here.

New York based avant-indie band, DT ROTBOT are slated to perform twice in NYC this month. On April 8th, they will play Glasslands with Camadrone & Snark and Marble Fawn for an evening of super strange music to drink and sway to. On April 12th, DT ROTBOT will perform their compositional tales of love and woe, as they play “Two Song Cycles”, both of which are musical reenactments or interpretations of the classic stories of "A Place in the Sun" and "House of Mirth" at New York University. DT ROTBOT is an out of the box, and completely unique band.

You’re going to want to check them out. If you’re a DIY art house scene type of person check out Glasslands, and if you prefer a more intellectual environment, enjoy the free show at NYU. – @lovejordannah

Stephen Malkmus is apparently a huge fan of New Zealand’s Flying Nun Records scene, and Craig Dermody – the Australian native now New York based man behind Scott and Charlene’s Wedding  must have found similar influences in these groups’ approach to life and song. The way his band expresses mundane details in tracks like "Two Weeks" (streaming below) and new track "Epping Line" are part and parcel what makes for timeless slacker anthems.

Check out latest LP ‘Para Vista Social Club’ to learn all about Craig’s rejections, battles with train stations, and some of the best jangly guitar pop in years. The band placed at #74 in our Best of 2012 Poll for emerging NYC artists. – Mike Levine (@Goldnuggets)

This track was added to our SoundCloud playlist of emerging NYC artists here.

Ten years ago Shaun Hettinger’s musical output was LA synth-rock outfit The Squares, with co-songwriter/guitarist Jeff “Jiffy” Wild from E! Channel’s Chelsea Lately & After Lately. One Wham! obsession, a move to Brooklyn, a keytar tattoo, and five years later, Hettinger set his sights on crafting chillwave synth-pop in his new project Kitten Berry Crunch. With the release of a few hilarious cat-music videos & their 2012 Dreams EP, mixed by DFA producer Eric Broucek, Kitten Berry Crunch won the internet’s attention. Memoryy is Hettinger’s newest musical evolution. Retaining the core of Kitten Berry Crunch’s line-up, Memoryy ditches the tongue-in-cheek synth-pop for the sharp indie futurism found on their brand new "Electric City" EP, to be released on 04.05 with a show at Glasslands. This is an album based in 1983 but written for 2013 – Equal parts Afro-pop, disco funk, electronic & ambient, the five tracks create a sprawling musical journey for fans of Empire of the Sun, Twin Shadow, Passion Pit, Cut Copy & Phoenix. Electric City was produced by Attiss Ngo & David Vasallo, and featuring the mix work of James Benjamin (Purity Ring). Streaming below, the EP’s titletrack and single.