The MidCoast Takeover fundraiser shows have been announced, with 5 incredible local lineups. Proceeds from each fundraiser will go to the Midwest Music Foundation for the local showcase at SXSW. The showcase will take place from March 13 through 16 at Shangri-La on East 6^th Street, and will include around 40 bands from the Kansas City region. All shows are $10 in advance or at the door. Here is the full lineup:

Formed by Baltimore-native Ryan Weiner, Lazy Talkers started as an outlet for the New School music student, who grew up favoring new rock classics like Talking Heads and Nirvana. His band’s sound, however, is based on a dreamy folk pop formula that doesn’t betray those early passions. Lazy Talkers have recently unveiled a couple of songs full of jangly guitars and pretty melodies, with the track “Killing Time” leading the way – we are premiering it below. The song effortlessly follows a lazy tempo, and its relaxed melody and soft vocals resonate with nostalgia and warmth. It almost feels like we are not in NYC nor in the midst of winter. The band will be releasing a full length later in the year – Devon Antonetti

Mp3: Lazy Talkers – “Killing Time”

With so many bands working their way through Brooklyn these days, it can apparently be easy to miss something. Guilty as charged when it comes to Haerts (no spelling mistake there for a change). Formed from veteran producer/label mate St. Lucia (pictured) and Nini Fabi (the former frontwoman of folk-tacular duo NINI + BEN), the two have now come together in one of the most exciting blends I’ve heard from a local group in quite some time. One part synth-pop, one part country croon, out comes an adoring blend that transcends both universes.

Latest single ‘Wings’ promises exactly that kind of flight. A trip through the clouds that not only shows off Fabi’s soaring soprano, but promises to re-kindle your long-lost relationship to Country music… or at least the process of healing can begin. – Mike Levine (@Goldnuggets)

This song was added to our curated SoundCloud playlist of the best songs by emerging NYC bands – listen to it here.

New Jersey psych rockers The Ugly Club (who placed 4th in our recent Psych Rock submissions to our Best of 2012 poll) stand out from the pack of guitar drone peers by placing sonic emphasis on keyboards (and – at times – horns). Their sound is less noisy, at times even borderline folky, with clearly understood vocals and lyrics delivered more emotionally than many of this genre’s counterparts. “Loosen Up” maintains ‘psych’ elements within a more structured pop format, allowing the aforementioned keyboard textures to provide improvisational patterns. “Under The Great Wave” (streaming) pulses with a heart-tugging pathos, adding trumpets and falsetto vocals to the mix, further contributing to the tracks sentimentally grandiose feeling. The band this week will be at the Railhouse in Rahway, NJ on the 19th, and then at The Studio at Webster on January 25th. – Dave Cromwell

Brooklyn based Californian brothers, Andy and Jayme Ralph work together to create a wall of sound which washes over your entire body when you listen to them – they named it Writer. Their music has definitely a thrashing quality, but not in a lo-fi way – every single element in their tracks sounds fuzzy but in a pleasing way. Among droning guitars and crashing drums they reveal tales of loves lost and hearts broken. Our favorite track "Miss Mermaid" (streaming below) sounds like an intriguing cross between The Walkmen’s slow burning and foggy instrumental intensity and vocal hooks reminiscent of indie pop masters like MGMT. These talented lads landed a residency at Pianos in January, we recommend you go check out on their last show on January 29. See their video for single "Cash for Gold" here. – Julia Kwamya

This song was added to our Deli curated SoundCloud playlist gathering all the best tracks from emerging NYC Indie bands – listen to it here (it’s awesome).

Brooklyn foursome Whale Belly kicked off 2013 right, with the release of their second album, “I Was Once a Bird,” on January 7. Singer Todd Bogin’s vocals that are reminiscent of a younger, rawer Van Morrison, but his band tends to experiment with more intricate arrangements, and an ubiquitous violin that brings to mind the sound of Camper Van Beethoven. Whale Belly’s songs have a definite sense of humor, but the lightheartedness of songs like “Selling Sh*t On Craiglist Just to Pay the Rent” or "Everything Causes Cancer" (streaming) still evokes genuine charm.  Devon Antonetti

This song was added to our SoundCloud playlist of the best emerging NYC folk artists – listen to it here.

This year 28 NYC "scene experts" helped us with our Best of NYC Poll 2012 for Emerging Artists by choosing their 3 favorite up and coming NYC acts. These jurors are comprised of local venue agents and other industry people who work with many local bands throughout the year (full list coming soon). Their votes this year produced a list of 68 artists, which means that – as always – most jurors voted for different bands. But some bands appeared more thans once in the "ballots": below we compiled a list of the artists who accumulated more points through the jurors vote only. Kudos to Foxygen (already on the cover of our 2012 CMJ issue) for getting the top spot.

The Best of NYC 2012 Readers and Fans’ Poll – including all the nominees – will start in a few days – stay tuned (since we have one of these polls happening in each scene we cover, we need to schedule them carefully to avoid to overload our server – thanks for your patience!).

ARTIST     1 Foxygen   2 Spirit Family Reunion   3 DIIV   4 Ambassadors   4 Ghost Beach   4 MS MR   7 Hunters

We call "Indie Pop" Pop music for the sophisticated minds. This genre achieves it’s "pop" status through melodic quality and uptempo bpm, while maintaining an "indie" edge through mild sonic experimentation and careful avoidance of cliches. The bands who submitted in this genre deviate from the mainstream with their unique sound and talent.  

Total submissions in this category: 45

Artists Qualified to the Poll’s Next Stage (starting soon):

1. Dalton – 8 (Out of 10)
1. Cultfever – 8
3. The Henry Millers – 7.83

Honerable Mentions (Score Above 7.16)

The Great American Novel, Battle flags, Brooms, RAILBIRD, Miracles Of Modern Science, The Universal Thump, St. Lenox, Hollands, Rebecca Brandt, Deb Oh &, the Cavaliers, Sinem Saniye, Emanuel & The Fear, Ludwig Persik. 

Jurors: Lucy Sherman (Deli Contributer), Hillary Anderson (Deli New England), QD Tran (Deli Philly)

The Deli’s Staff