From a band who usually sticks to rocking out amid rakes of guitar fireworks and endless drum solos (like in their previous records ‘The Fiery Works’), new single ‘Writing Utensils’ from Brooklyn based A Great Big Pile Of Leaves reads with a sense of either relief, or possibly foreboding… depending on how you interpret its softly churning melodic lines, and gently washy vocals, interrupted eventually by an ominous ending that may be hinting at greater madness to come.

Could this portend a new range for the band? Are they really softies at heart, or sinister and ready to pounce? We’ll have to wait until they release their ‘Making Moves’ 7” slated for July 24th to find out. in the meantime, don’t miss their show at The Knitting Factory on July 13. – Mike Levine (@Goldnuggets)

I’m always impressed when I hear musicians take electronic elements, traditionally the materials of dance music, in a more challenging direction. With Teengirl Fantasy’s new track ‘End’ (streaming below) you get something closer to mood than movement. Like Eno, this is sculpture in time, rather than space. Nick Weiss and Logan Takahashi have distilled their elements to a simple texture, and the result is arguably one of their most compelling journeys yet. Coming off their strong 2010 debut ‘7AM,’ their latest record ‘Tracer,’ (True Panther Sounds) promises to delivery an even more symphonically complex experience… oh, and I hear Panda Bear’s got a track on it too. So stay tuned, with Teengirl Fantasy, a physical experience doesn’t always have to mean four-on-floor.

Watch for details on their August 23rd New York album release coming soon, and pick up ‘Tracer’ when it drops August 21st. – Mike Levine

This week we catch up with drummer and multi-instrumentalist Ryan Watkins of Dollar Fox. He talks about the distinct honor of Dollar Fox being named The Deli’s artist of the month, pottery, and, well, you’ll have to find out. Catch the beat right here!

On The Beat is a weekly interview brought to you by drummer Sergio Moreno (of Hillary Watts Riot and Alacartoona), and features some of the many talented drummers in the Kansas City area.

Brooklyn-based Cinema Cinema, featuring cousins Ev Gold (vocals/guitar) and Paul Claro (drums), cut together raucous, fast-paced, muscular punk with noise and math rock influences. The two-piece released their sophomore full-length record “Manic Children and Slow Aggression” on July 10. Between ever changing tempos, attacking drum beats, aggressive guitar shredding and pervading feedback, Gold and Claro’s explosive music never seems to take a breath. The duo dances with a penchant for punk and pushes through the thirteen tracks with fervor and intensity. Cinema Cinema will be honoring their new release at St. Vitus in Brooklyn on July 13 before undertaking East Coast dates with legendary Black Flag founder/guitarist Greg Ginn. – Meijin Bruttomesso

This Saturday, Kansas City favorites American Catastrophe will be playing their final show at recordBar. The band has been going strong for about 11 years, with an impressive resume. Its first and only album Excerpts from the Broken Bone Choir received positive reviews from reputable sources like Pitchfork and Paste, and the album debuted on the CMJ charts. The band’s signature dark Americana sound summons acts like Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, Tom Waits, Bauhaus, and Swans, with a tinge of hard-hitting folk. Saturday’s show promises to be an exciting one, featuring songs from the band’s entire catalog.

American Catastrophe will be joined by The Latenight Callers and Omaha’s drakes hotel. This show will likely sell out, so get your tickets at the link here.

$7 cover
9:00 p.m. Doors
10:00 p.m. drakes hotel
10:45 p.m. The Latenight Callers
11:30 p.m. American Catastrophe

 

I almost feel like every single venue should have residencies – our life would be so much easier, because no promoters would commit to give a band 3-4 shows in a month if they weren’t confident about the band’s quality, live show and drawing ability. Indie pop Brooklynites Fishdoctor just landed a July residency at Pianos and we can see why. Their May release "The Swell" is crammed with catchy and energetic songs which have the potential to entertain all kind of crowds. First show of the residency is on July 16 at 9pm.

The peeps in Pop. 1280 must like paradoxes, since their music isn’t poppy at all – dark, brooding, borderline evil rather. But maybe that dot means that "pop" stands for something else? Popsicle maybe? Popcorn? Oh, wait! It’s from a novel by Nick Corey, and "Pop." stands for "population."

Signed to Brooklyn’s Sacred Bones, these guys released a full length in January entitled "The Horror" (that’s more like it) which snatched a 7.5 from Pitchfork. I always say that I like tension and release in music, but… boy! Tense throughout, this stuff won’t let you off the hook, challenging most hears with truly edgy, clangy, and cacophonous sonic attacks, in perfect industrial/goth style – imagine an angrier version of Nick Cave’s Birthday Party. Pop. 1280 will be touring the US in September, but we can see in the band’s future an obvious destination, Germany and Northern Europe, true homes of angular and dark rock sounds. If this band was a painter it would be Edvard Munch. Check out their recent video of the song "Bodie in the Dunes" here.

Photo Source: Chastity Belt

Chastity Belt are going to play the venue Chop Suey a week from today on Tuesday, July 17th. The Space Needles and REDBOOK are booked to perform as well.

Originially hailing from Walla Walla, WA – (like the previously spotlighted group Dude York) – this foursome dig on some punk and rock ‘n roll mojo. Despite their claim that "Chastity Belt is the worst band to ever exist," the group’s EP effort Fuck Chastity Belt immediately undermines that statement with charm and musicality.

Opening track "God Damn" begins with Julia Shapiro (guitarist/vocalist) shouting those words with conviction before the instruments jump in. Pay attention as the song peels into a new section where the line "He’s gold" is repeated; it maintains a great, captivating melody throughout.

Lyrically, the thematic center(s) to their material seem to be sex and violence – but these motifs come off as intriguing and sincere, soaked in their fusion of pop melodies, grainy riffs and off-kilter drums. Listen to "A Bloody Spiral of Unyielding Fury" to get an idea of what these girls are capable of.

Fuck Chasity Belt came out in May of this year and features four songs in total. Stream the leading track "God Damn" below. You can follow the link to their bandcamp to hear and download the whole thing. Make sure to check them out live at Chop Suey on the 17th of July. The show is 100% free!

– Cameron LaFlam

I can’t even imagine the Lower East Side without The Cake Shop, which has been going through some financial hardships as of late. The loss of this venue would mean that the more noisy, experimental, and DIY side of the NYC scene would have abandoned Manhattan once and for all. And noisy, experimental and DIY music is a huge and seminal component of what this scene has expressed since the 60s. Ya man, it all happened in Manhattan – nobody gave a crap about the Brooklyn scene until the aughts! This is why we should all make an effort to visit The Cake Shop more often, in particular this Saturday July 14th, when 4 great local bands and legendary DJ Dan Selzer (of NY Happenings Yahoo Group fame) will entertain hopefully a packed house in support of the Ludlow Street rowdiest venue. Hilarious drunk punks Wild Yaks willheadline, bringing the usual dose of unruly fun on stage, preceded by Shilpa Ray‘s charismatic and imaginative freak folk (one of her songs streaming below). The opening bands will be soul-rock quartet The Immaculates and ungooglable garage-blues band DON’T. There will be also a photo exhibit by local photographer Ebru Yildiz.

This past weekend, CBGB Festival extended the 4th of July celebration and extra four days. A music, film, and spirits conference, the first CBGB fest in NYC featured a spectrum of artists throughout Manhattan and Brooklyn. I was able to catch a handful of the performances, starting Thursday night with edgy, dark and punky quartet, Black Wing Halo at Trash Bar. Southern rockers from NY, Hollis Brown (pictured and streaming below) rocked The Living Room on Friday, July 6. The quintet hit the stage twice in one night, at 9pm and 12am, showcasing tracks off their recent EP, “Nothing & the Famous No One,” and summer single, “Cold City,” which are both available for free download. Not too far away, Bowery Electric hosted the highly anticipated come back of The Virgins, who have only recently returned to the scene to play shows in conjunction with the release of “Venus in Chains.” Saturday afternoon was a scorcher, but that did not stop a record number of passersby from taking advantage of the music in the center of Times Square. Two stages alternated acts, as the audience hustled back and forth. Kicking off the lineup, GLINT, an electro-rock project comprised of its one and only official member, Jase Blankfort, joined forces with orchestral back up to mesmerize with contrasting styles and impassioned vocals. A few blocks up, the other stage erupted with Big Apple veterans, The Hold Steady’s playful heartland rock which was followed by quirky indie synth-pop, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah. –Meijin Bruttomesso

Forget everything the last decade taught you about the so-called aesthetics of punk, and welcome back to the days of angry fist-in-the-air pissed-up antics. Hating on hipsters since 2009, Foster Care released last month their debut LP ‘Bad City Vibes’ (Jackshack), a furious set of 13 fast tracks bursting with pure antagonism. I’ll refrain from the critical urge to give them credit for the lyrics (not as thick as one may think) or even the noise (tighter than it sounds) to get straight to the point: these guys are Brooklyn’s straightest answer to an oh-so-docile scene, furiously sticking it up to… Gee, the list is long. As a target of choice, NYC posers beware: they will be down at Legion on Wednesday (7/11), dishing out some rabid hardcore punk to a crowd that may make you swallow your tote bag. – Tracy Mamoun

New York based indie darling Janet LaBelle has released a series of two live videos revealing her brand new single “Just a Little Rain” and a performance of her song “Goodbye, Baby.” Drawing from her pop tinged roots and 1960’s influences, the video series follows her release of the “Blossom & Blue” EP. While this latest EP demonstrates an exploration of styles channeling her main influences from Diana Ross to Tom Waits, from Astrud Gilberto to Fleetwood Mac, LaBelle’s voice emerges as one of its own. Check out the official live video of “Just a Little Rain” (filmed by Chris Carlone at Studio 201) here, and listen to our favorite single "Losing all the Way", streaming below. You can catch Janet with her band at the Mercury Lounge on Thursday 7/12 at 6:30pm. – (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.