Its official: NYC and SF scenes staples The Mommyheads have grown up. I guess that should be expected from a band fast approaching the 15 year mark, I just never thought I’d hear such an introspective sound from the kings of the hard indie groove. Not that they’ve lost any of the power and special weirdness that makes Adam Cohen and company such an iconic indie institution.

For the band’s just-released full-length ‘Vulnerable Boy’ (Dromedary Records), the band returns full of the quirks and charm that come from a group on par with Guided by Voices’s decibel levels. But you’ll find plenty more happening here on closer inspection that’s not quite as expected. In their latest single ‘Medicine Show,’ Mommyheads reveal a glow that swirls around their haunting ruminations on the limits of words. The song acts as much as a title track for the record as anything, and serves as a centerpiece of their new attitude. For a band that’s been around the block more than a couple of times, Mommyheads still have quite a few tricks up their sleeves. – Mike Levine (@Goldnuggets)

Free Mp3: The Mommyheads – "Medicine Show"
Free Mp3: The Mommyheads – "Science and Reason"

You won’t have to go through much of Ballroom Jacks‘ new EP ‘Do the Wolf Paw Waltz’ to understand what they brought you here for: it’s time to get moving, and you know it’s been too long. Sure you didn’t get the girl, but that’s no reason to mope around. As singer Will Arland says in closer ‘I Could Be You,’:”‘I don’t need you, I’m just jealous of you.”

A band exploring New York’s uptown in bouncy guitar-driven tracks like ‘Harlem,’ the quartet has more in common with Britpop icons like Blur and Arctic Monkeys than they might think. Like Albarn, Arlan channels personal relationship outcomes both good and bad to universal resonance with, band in tow. See them live at The Knitting Factory on July 21. – Mike Levine (@Goldnuggets) – This band submitted their music for review to The Deli here.

This past Saturday, American Catastrophe performed its final show to a packed crowd at the recordBar. The band was preceded by Omaha duo drakes hotel and Kansas City’s Noir-a-Go-Go darlings The Latenight Callers. Though both opening bands performed strong sets to a growing audience, the focus was clearly on American Catastrophe.

For 2 hours, the group played its acclaimed version of dark Americana to a crowd that continually hungered and hollered for more. The band performed favorites from its album Excerpts From The Broken Bone Choir, along with other signature songs including "Six Foot Whisper" and "Swing Edmond." By breathing life into these songs, American Catastrophe gave listeners a chance to hear why it’s been a mainstay of the Kansas City scene, despite releasing only one album in its lengthy career.

That night, each piece of music proved just as vital as the other. While the deep rhythmic foundation of Amy Farrand and Eric Bessenacher held down each song, Shaun Hamontree laid the groundwork with vocals that switched between a haunting low register and a brazen roar. As the multi-instrumentalist of the group, Terrence Moore enhanced the immediate mood of each song. An ominous banjo with a fearful, foreboding undertone; a chugging harmonica, navigating the listener through the nine circles of hell; or a screeching guitar, ripping clean through the soul. These are the types of sounds the successful 4-piece experimented with during its run and fully brought to fruition on Saturday. A fitting farewell to a fine, dynamic group.

–Michelle Bacon

Photos © Todd Zimmer, 2012. Please do not use without permission.

(Editor’s Note: We apologize for the extreme lack of timeliness on posting this recap.)

The Wilders played an exhilirating and emotional farewell show on June 30 at Knuckleheads. The nearly sold-out show lasted for over 3 hours, with the band playing choices from its successful 15-year run. The first set began with the band centered around a single microphone, characteristic of its early days, and by the end of the evening, a full band whose power suddenly became fully realized commanded the stage. Whether The Wilders were playing old country standards or its sophisticated original alt-country tunes, the crowd remained on its feet throughout. 

During those 3 hours, The Wilders showed why they are as critical to the Kansas City music scene as they have been for over a decade, and why they’ve been the darlings of music festivals and tours around the globe. As the wind picked up and rain began to trickle, the group played more ferociously and sang more passionately, culminating in a warm, yet bittersweet celebration of a legendary group.

We want to thank The Wilders for being such an important part of Kansas City and its music scene. To Nate, Phil, Betse, and Ike: Salud!

–Michelle Bacon

Photos © Todd Zimmer, 2012. Please do not use without permission.

If you haven’t figured it out by now, you might as well dance. I mean, you can try to avoid it if you want, but for your own sake I suggest you get down. As the overused meme states, do it like no one is watching. Might I also suggest you do so to the retro rampage sounds of The Hillary Watts Riot. With equal parts Prince, Blondie, and Devo, the band’s own sultry brand of freak pop is sure to get your hips moving. 

Straight out of some sort of half-swank/half-skank dive bar of late ’20s Chicago, the only thing A/S/L is missing is a 16-piece big band and an untimely bust by the prohibition police. Couple that with the tendency to thematically slip toward R-rated cheekiness. I bet Quentin Tarantino would love to take a stab at writing an accompanying movie for these songs. It could be the tale of the slightly nerdy girl from high school, the one with mussed stockings; her thick-rimmed, cat-eyed glasses always buried in a romance novel. Later, you’ll find out online that she eventually made it big on the East Coast as a burlesque dancer. I think balcony tickets for her show are still available.

The songs are most certainly driven by the siren wailing of Hillary Watts. Though purposefully goofy sometimes, her performance is bold, brazen, and oozes with sensuality, at times bordering on humor porn. If you can take your attention off her long enough—a totally intended circumstance, I believe—you’ll find tasteful instrumentation painting the floor sticky with yesterday’s Maker’s Mark. The band does its part to perfection, keeping the groove alive and spunky for Watts to perform upon. The musical interludes and solo sections provide a nice, contrasting energy to her almost-paroxysmal vocal performance.

Although Morris Day and the mutha fuckin’ Time might want their “Jungle Love” riff back from the middle of “Killer Kind,” I see this as an appropriate homage to an often too forgotten legendary funk and dance outfit.

If you get a chance, check out these cats, especially Asia the ragdoll, live. Their high-energy performances pack in just as much bombastic sensuality as the record. This seems like the kind of music that is best listened to bouncing off your body at just a hair too many decibels.

The latest single from A/S/L, "Slap Slap," is available for download today. Check it out below.

Shake your hips on Friday, July 27 at The Brick. Hillary and her jumpsuited Drones will be playing with The Sexy Accident and Howard Iceberg & The Titanics.

–-Zach Hodson

Clinical Trials has just released a new music video, file it under "Best Inappropriate Use of Childhood Dolls." Directed & edited by Dan LeMunyan, it’s a fun downward spiral into the mind of a suburban housewife with more than a few dark secrets. Somer Bingham – frontwoman, founder, and creative thrust of Clinical Trials – is playing July 26th at Sullivan Hall. Check out more videos at Clinical Trials’ YouTube channel and more music at www.clinicaltrialsmusic.com. – (as posted in The Deli’s Open Blog – post your band’s entries, videos, and Mp3s here). The Deli’s NYC Open Blog is powered by The Music Building.

It’s a very rare day I would compare someone to George Harrison… but Matt Longo comes close. It’s hard to help when you hear the singer-songwriter’s purity of spirit, even when discussing the loneliness and frustrations of daily living.

His latest records ‘The Low Life’ and ‘Coward’ EP (released within 3 months from each other) contain these moments, meant to speak directly to these wounds. Doubting your dreams? ‘Lulu’ should do the trick. Wondering why she hasn’t called? ‘Say You’ll Be Mine’ is just what the doctor ordered. A breath of fresh air, Matt Longo’s acoustic meanderings will find their mark, right when you need them the most. – Mike Levine (@Goldnuggets) – This artist submitted his music for review here.

Photo Source: The Fruiting Bodies

The Fruiting Bodies will unveil their latest release coming up this Thursday, July 19th at The Comet Tavern. Their first and only prior release was 2010’s simply titled EP.

The two songs on their upcoming 7" – which is named Wilderness Pill – continues their catapulting efforts of instrumental-only precision. The eponymous track "Wilderness Pill" has echoes of a Torche song if the vocalist completely slipped from view; moreover, The Fruiting Bodies concentrate their energy with an experimental-bent that makes the guitars sound soaring and curious.

"Battle Stag" carries flashes of rock ‘n roll, post-punk, and progressive rock. The interplay of melodies on this song in particular demonstrates their propensity for brewing their own intelligent amalgamation of rock frenzy and stop/start rhythms.

Check out The Comet Tavern this Thursday the 19th to see The Fruiting Bodies, as well as My Best Fiend, By Sunlight, and Pranyx. Show is at 9:00pm for $8. Wilderness Pill is already available digitally to stream; listen to "Battle Stag" below and continue onto their bandcamp for more.

– Cameron LaFlam

Shaking Through is a music and video web series featuring emerging independent artists in the recording studio. In their latest episode – curated by Twin Sister – they filmed Deli NYC issue #30 cover band Ava Luna while finalizing a new song in the studio. You can hear to the results below, and see the video/article about that experience here. – Photo by Emily Raw

Noosa is for those late nights where for a variety of reasons, be they heartsickness, dance exhaustion, drugs or all three, you have come to occupy a dream space where you’re no longer entirely sure if the music you’re hearing is coming from your head or from the DJ. Singer/retro-knob twirlers Sky Barbarick and Matt Buszko occupy this space perfectly. Their hypnotic first single ‘Fear of Love,’ while coming pretty much out of nowhere, has stuck like glue to the meatpacking district since it first arrived back in March. Now the mysterious pair have just released a strong self-titled EP, and songs like the volleyball game-ready ‘Sail’ (streaming) and the folksy ‘Mirrors in the Moonlight’ give us a surprising breadth of material that work well against ‘Fear of Love’s’ colder electronics.

A confident start from a ambitious group just beginning their journey. – Mike Levine (@Goldnuggets) – This band submitted their music to The Deli for review here.

I wish all smart people made music like No Shoes – rather than getting too serious about it. Listen to the first minute of ‘Sharkjaw Beartrap’ (streaming below) and you’ll no doubt be amazed by some serious acrobatics, their insistent drum lines and overactive fret tapping guitar action. But while focusing on the band’s technical proficiency, you’ll also probably ask yourself why these guys are screaming about sharks… and what is that weird five-eyed monster doing drinking out of a straw on their bandcamp? While these are probably questions best left unanswered, you have plenty of other things to keep you busy here. No Shoes is a band in such lockstep that even the vocals are all sung in time like a tenacious chant repeated in unison throughout most every song from their new EP ‘Cow Drawings.’

Being smart is one thing… but still making sure your music is fun and raucous enough to make you want to learn all the lyrics to songs about ghosts and lightbulbs ‘Hopscotch (and Tumbling)’ – is quite another. And dammit… that’s what they’ve managed to do. – Mike Levine (@Goldnuggets)