Psych Rock and related genres like Shoegaze and Dreampop belong to a very interesting musical niche with lots of loyal fans – NYC hosts a good share of them. Here is the list of bands from these categories who submitted to our Best of NYC 2012 poll and qualified to the next stage.

Total submissions in this category: 34

Artists Qualified to the Poll’s Next Stage (starting around 01.10)

1. Lazyeyes – Average rating: 8.33
2. Eastern Hollows – Average rating: 8.16
3. Napoleon – Average rating: 8

Honorable Mentions:

4. The Ugly Club – Average rating: 7.83
4. The Widest Smiling Faces – Average rating: 7.83
6. dead leaf echo – Average rating: 7.66 
6. Sunglasses – Average rating: 7.66 
6. The Midnight Hollow – Average rating: 7.66 
9. Cave Days – Average rating: 7.5
9. HOUNDSds – Average rating: 7.5

Jurors: Dawn Reed (Deli DC), Ben Toledo (Deli Portland), Lucy Sherman (Deli Seattle)

The Deli’s Staff

Brooklyn Lazyeyes does the shoegaze thing right. There is a spacious ambiance to the guitars and appealing cathedral qualities on the vocals. Solid straightforward percussion creates an unadorned anchor for all of the other cerebral qualities brought in by voices and guitars. Their lush melodies descend on us straight from the 7th heaven. The overall feel (and progression) brings to mind classic mid-90’s dreampop, one of the true golden ages of indie rock. If the streaming single "Wait" had been put out back then (and had been made in the UK) this band might have made the cover of NME (or good old Melody Maker). The band topped the list of Psych Rock/Dream Pop artists who submitted to be considered for our Year End Poll for emerging NYC artists, with an average rating of 8.33. See them live at Glasslands on February 1. – Dave Cromwell

With their EP “Days Ahead” released in July and their single “Summer’s Dead” out just a few weeks ago in December, 2012 was a busy year for Brooklyn based psych rock band Eastern Hollows. Meandering guitars, cymbal heavy drumming, and languid vocals give their music a dreamy edge reminiscent of classic shoegaze sounds with a refreshing indie twist. The band placed second in the Psych Rock/Dream Pop submissions for our Best of NYC 2012 Poll with an average rating of 8.16. See them live at Glasslands on January 7. – Lucy Sherman

The cool thing about Brooklyn band Napoleon – currently our NYC artist of the month, see pic next to The Deli’s logo – is that they play a brand of dream pop that DOES NOT refer back to the usual suspects of the genre like Cocteau Twins, The Sundays or My Bloody Valentine, but rather to other dreamy musical giants like Jeff Buckley, Low, and Elliot Smith. However, their sound is overall truly their own – although admittedly single "City Girls" features Arcade Fire influences.

Check out our favorite tracks Mad (streaming below) and Sarafan (video here), and go see Napoleon live at Big Snow Buffalo Lodge on January 08. The band got an average rating of 8 out of 10, which granted them 3rd place in our Best of NYC Poll’s Psych Rock/Dream Pop open submissions. – PDG

The results are in from the Open Submissions stage for our Nashville Year End Poll for Emerging Artists. All of the submissions were ranked by Deli Editors from other scenes and the list of acts that have advanced to our Readers’/Fans’ Poll phase are below. We will also be releasing the list of nominees chosen by our local "scene expert" jurors very soon. 

Originally from Wisconsin, Foreign Fields began working on their debut LP, Anywhere But Where I Am, two years ago in an abandoned office building. Shortly after, the five-piece moved their project down to Nashville, where their electric folk sound has become part of the aggregate of bands changing the perception of what Nashville’s modern music scene really sounds like.

Anna Haas is one of the rare natives of the local music scene. After growing up in Nashville and following a career in dance to Boston and then to NYC, Haas found her place in the music industry as a singer/songwriter. Armed with years of stage training and a razor-sharp wit that bleeds through to her lyrics, Anna Haas draws inspiration from various sources, each of them creating a new layer to her textured career.

Born and raised in St. Louis, Herschel Garrison moved to Nashville at the age of 16. After learning to play the guitar and taking the stage at a few open mic nights, Garrison followed his talent to Arizona, where he studied audio engineering and learned to make all of his own beats. Discovering an affinity for rapping, the singer/songwriter-turned-beat maker learned to blend his mosaic of musical talents and returned to Music City, where he currently produces, records, and mixes all of his own music, which he describes as "Lupe Fiasco meets Kid Cudi." 

Described as a side project of Rosemary Haskins, Waked Lunch was inspired by William Burroughs and Angelo Badalamenti and is edited using Burroughs’ writing technique, "the cut-up method." After working with saxophonist Steve Mackay on his experimental jazz album, Haskins decided to create her own niche just off the beaten path, utilizing samples, strings, atmospheric sounds, and a myriad of instruments to define her sound. 

Geeks everywhere unite! Erica Glyn is that rare spirit who’s both responsible for the lyrics and vocal delivery of her songs… as well as the world of sounds occupying her music. Indeed, she does all the heavy lifting herself on latest full-length ‘Static,’ and the result is a deeply personal grinder against life’s grinds. Glyn is not one to suffer silently, and her razor blade grooves cut deep on rejoinders like album opener ‘Commonplace.’ Not to say the record doesn’t have its lighter moments, but even when things are quiet, Glyn is always just one step away from throwing her full sonic arsenal into the action. New video ‘I’m Not Here’ perfectly captures Erica’s worldly misgivings by depositing her face around New York landmarks while she tries to convince you otherwise. A true tour-de-force, Erica is a whirlwind of ideas with an attitude to match. – Mike Levine (@Goldnuggets)

This artist submitted their music for review here.

(Photo by Todd Zimmer)

John Bersuch plays drums, raps, records music, paints, creates. The drummer of Thee Water MoccaSins tells us about his true musical passions, his creative outlets, and his love of whiskey. Bersuch will be playing on New Year’s Eve with TWM at recordBar for a special celebration. Find out more about him; catch the beat right here!

–Michelle Bacon

On The Beat is an exclusive feature from The Deli Magazine-Kansas City that showcases many of the talented drummers in the Kansas City area. 

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