More results from our NYC Best of 2011 for emerging artists poll, people! It’s time for the Singer Songwriter category…

NYC YEAR END POLL 2011 OPEN SUBMISSIONS RESULTS FOR SINGER SONGWRITER
Jurors: Mike Harper (Deli Portland), Juan Rodriguez (Deli LA), QD Tran (Deli Philly

– QUALIFIED TO THE POLL’S NEXT ROUND
The artists in this list qualify for the final phase of the poll, and will be added to the bands nominated by our jury of local scenemakers.

1a. Robin Bacior

Robin Bacior‘s intimate, honest lyrics and complex, ever evolving orchestral arrangements, show us a musician who is well beyond her twenty four years. Her comforting folk music is perfect for the winter season: a time of nostalgia and self-awareness yet utmost beauty.

1b. Bird Call

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Bird Call is that breath of fresh air the morning after your crazy night out. Equal parts regret and resolve, singer Chiara Angelicola lays it all out plainly with her mellifluous voice and softly pedaled piano. In tracks like ‘Waltz in the Snow’ and her revealing cover of Beck’s ‘Lost Cause,’ Angelicola’s torch song beauty reminds us of why the caged bird sings.

3. Mal Blum

Mal is that hyper-kinetic, fun-loving girl who everyone wants to be friends with. Full of humour and sweetness in songs like "Baltimore, San Cristobal," and her heartfelt contribution to the "It Gets Better" campaign, she is here to brighten your day and make you appreciate the little things a little bit more. As much as she loves her ukulele, you’ll love Mal too.

– ALMOST QUALIFIED TO THE POLL’S NEXT ROUND
These artists had good ratings from our jurors but won’t qualify to the next round of our year end poll.

4. Spottiswoode & His Enemies
Maybe you haven’t heard yet, but Spottiswoode & His Enemies have been quietly channeling New York’s late night spirit for well over a decade now. The band knows how to tell a story, because they’ve probably lived it before you had your first drink. With a voice carving a space between Warren Zevon and Ian dury, singer/songwriter Young Spott’s work takes you on a journey to a place inhabitated by hedonism and romance, but few regrets.

5a. Sydney Wayser
Expect big things from Sydney in 2012. At our Deli CMJ show in October we heard a few songs from her upcoming album – out in a few weeks – and were very impressed with them, without mentioning her beautiful voice, confident stage presence and… adorable red cheeks! This is a very talented young singer songwriter who is just about to reach her creative peak, keep an ear on her!

5b. Pat Hull
Soft and confessional, Pat Hull has something few singer/songwriters bother with these days: unfiltered vulnerability. Like Elliott Smith or Jeff Buckley, he somehow sounds his most explosive when at his most intimate. This is a rare gift, and considering how young this folk singer is, will only take him far.

HONORABLE MENTIONS
These artists also had really good ratings from our jurors and deserve to be mentioned: Emily Greene, Argyle Johansen, Itamar Ziegler, Mike Higbee
 

It’s time to unveil the results of the very popular INDIE POP/LO-FI category, relative to the submissions we received for our Best of NYC 2011 Year End Poll.

NYC YEAR END POLL 2011 OPEN SUBMISSIONS RESULTS FOR INDIE POP
Jurors: Mike Harper (Deli Portland), Kate Shepherd (Deli Seattle), QD Tran (Deli Philly)

– QUALIFIED TO THE POLL’S NEXT ROUND
The artists in this list qualify for the next phase of the poll, and will be added to the bands nominated by our jury of local scenemakers.

1. Caveman

We weren’t expecting NYC psych-pop masters Caveman – who graced our NYC mag’s cover in last summer’s issue – to submit for our year end poll, considering how much buzz they managed to drum up since their debut record was released. But that’s what down to earth musicians who self-release and self-produce their music do – they look for opportunities for exposure knowing that every little bit adds up. It’s obviously working for them, also because they are undeniably one of the best NYC emerging bands of 2011, whatever this poll’s results will end up being. By the way, what’s wrong with Pitchfork.com? It doesn’t look like they reviewed their album yet!!! – Read The Deli’s cover feature on Caveman here.

2. Starlight Girls

Spooky, sexy, at times psychedelic, Starlight Girls imposes a carefully constructed facade built from French cabaret, soulful ’60s nuggets and downtempo sultriness. Their songs are are invitingly simple, but hold you fast until you’re caught up in the depth of their sinister and artful dance party. Vocalists Christina B and Karys may have adopted their name from the band featured on ’80s cartoon Jem, but their sound is built from another place entirely.

3a. Chappo

Do you believe in doppelgangers? Alex Chappo does. In his zonked out debut Plastique Universe, Chappo and band embody sci-fi bandits that screw with their doppelgangers and rock out the way Wayne Coyne fights aliens. Don’t even try to stop them. These guys are on a mission to make sure you visit their dimension, and eat their hard rocking acid while you’re out there.

3b. The Bandana Splits

This infectious girl group reminds us of the sweet simplicity that can come from three great voices. We could just as easily see Lauren Balthrop, Annie Nero and Dawn Landes doo-wop’ing a Phil Spector Ronettes session as ending the second episode of this season’s Bored to Death (best one of the year). Either way, The Bandana Spilt‘s brand of catchy pop is far too much fun to ignore.

3c. Indyns

Indyns makes dance music for people who like spending time alone in the bedroom. Moody and atmospheric, singer/songwriter Adam Jones and band produce a dream state formed from the simplest of elements: synth, beats and reverb-drenched guitars. Somehow these elements come together to produce catchy fog machine dance anthems perfect for your next pillow party.

– ALMOST QUALIFIED TO THE POLL’S NEXT ROUND
These artists had good ratings from our jurors but won’t qualify to the next round of our year end poll.

6. These Animals
For anyone wondering where all the guitar groups have gone, look no further than These Animals. Four guys who met at art school and came together to bounce and groove their way around some of the catchiest power pop since The Dismemberment Plan, These Animals have catchy hooks as locked down as their dense harmonies and flashy basslines.

7. Schocholautte
Schocholautte borrows Violent Femmes’ upbeat enthusiasm, Guided By Voices’ casual melodies and Dinosaur Junior’s explosive guitar parts to concoct one of the most fun NYC records of the year so far.

8a. dDiILliIAaNn
dDiILliIAaNn scares me a little… but that’s a good thing. Sounding like Beck got a little rowdy with Ariel Pink, this maniac brings the party to the freaks. Too crazy to turn your back on, but too catchy to forget, dDiILliIAaNn might be one of the more interesting of Brooklyn’s recent psych-pop party acts.

8b. The Tablets
Who knew toy drums could sound this sexy? Liz Godoy’s deadpan dreaminess brings the love out of otherwise tin can percussion in songs like Sugar Coated and Armistice, all with the help of her power-stomping nine piece band. Godoy has fronted more than a couple great bands in her time, but The Tablets brings out her inner dancer more than anything I’ve heard yet.

HONORABLE MENTIONS:
These artists also had really good ratings from our jurors and deserve to be mentioned: Overlord, Baby Teardrop, The Smoking Jackets

Gauchiste, a metal trio composed of Tannon Penland (of Loincloth), Tomas Phillips and Craig Hilton, will be releasing their self-titled debut album on Little Black Cloud Records. The band, though based in black metal, describes the album and their music as more of a sonic exploration of the “otherness” or other types of music in the world. After meeting in North Carolina, the three members of Gauchiste created the band and made it into their “everyday routine” , adding composing and making the music into a crucial part of their lives.

Gauchiste will be released on January 17th digitally and with a limited edition physical run of 100 records and 100 CDs. Go to gauchiste.bandcamp.com for more info. -Amanda

After the NYC Electronic and the Traditional Roots Music results published last week, we begin 2012 with the names of the bands that qualified to the next phase of our Year End Best of NYC Poll for Emerging Artists from the Alt Rock/Revival Rock category. What do we mean by "Alt Rock/Revival" you may wonder? We mean bands that play modern rock music with a strong, often bluesy, melodic element, or any other rock genre that faithfully recreates a sound from the past like Garage Rock or Glam Rock (hence "Revival").

3. The Courtesy Tier

Not new to our blog and year end polls, The Courtesy Tier before 2011 belonged to the ever expanding category of "prolific rock-blues duos that sound as loud as full bands". Then, in their 2011 EP "Holy Hot Fire" (which followed a full album released earlier in the year) they re-discovered acoustic guitars, suddenly sounding like… an actual duo! This exemplifies The Courtesy Tier’s songwriting and performing range.

HONORABLE MENTIONS:
These artists also had really good ratings from our jurors: The Shake, Shy Around Strangers, Black Suit Youth.

After the Electronic category results published on Tuesday, we have for you the names of the artists that qualified to the next phase of our Year End Best of NYC Poll for Emerging Artists from what we call the Traditional Rootsy category. The other roots music categories – to be unveiled soon – are Alt Folk and Songwriters/Rootsy Pop.

P.S. If you are interested in understanding how our Year End Poll for Emerging Artists works, please go here.

NYC YEAR END POLL 2011 OPEN SUBMISSIONS RESULTS FOR TRADITIONAL ROOTSY
Jurors: Jason Behrends (Deli Chicago), Jessica Pace (Deli Nashville), Paolo De Gregorio (Deli NYC).

– QUALIFIED TO THE POLL’S NEXT ROUND
The artists in this list qualify for the next phase of the poll, and will be added to the bands nominated by our jury of local scenemakers. The top two are tied with a combined rating of 8 out of 10.

1a. The Reverend John Delore – read 2011 Deli interview HERE.

Not your typical country crooner, The Reverend John Delore plays Americana music full of character that avoids stock country tropes, 12 bar blues, or Nashville’s underestimation of its audience. Like all the best songwriters, his keen observational style and sense of place can turn every day life experience into something more subtle and, ultimately, satisfying. – Read a 2011 Deli interview with the Reverend HERE.

1b. The Bottom Dollars

Like those serial heart-stealers out there, The Bottom Dollars may appear at first as charming gentlemen drenched in traditional values, but it doesn’t take too long to realize they are actually just a bunch of fun-loving, rocking sons of guns. As it happens, it will then be too late to withdraw your heart… check them out live at Spike Hill on 01.08.

3b. Tall Tall Trees
How much can the Americana genre be innovated without sounding like something else? Probably as much as Tall Tall Trees innovate it in their self titled debut album, which features an "outside the box" production, and tastefully blends bluegrass with varied influences ranging from pop, orchestral and even funk at times. This band has been slowly building a local following (which is a very good sign indeed) and it’s now playing regularly in NYC. You have 4 opportunities to see them in the next two months, the next one at union Hall on January 20.

3c. The Third Wheel Band
Serving their own brand of unadulterated roots music, The Third Wheel Band has the power to make your feet stomp even though they lack a drummer. A hefty dose of charm is brought to the table by vocalist and upright bassist Steph Allen, who sings the bluegrass with disarming spontaneity. Catch them at the Brick Cafe` in Queens on January 04.

– ALMOST QUALIFIED TO THE POLL’S NEXT ROUND
These artists had outstanding ratings from our jurors (they all shared a final score between 7.330 and 7.66 out of 10) but won’t qualify to the next round of our year end poll.

5. JP & The Gilberts
You know how pretty much any song is SO MUCH MORE FUN when you speed it up by, like, 50 bpm or so? That’s what JP & The Gilberts like to do to country music, with devastatingly entertaining results. Their faster songs, like the one streaming below, call for cowboy moshing – I’d love to see something like that actually – although they also offer plenty of more traditional slower numbers.

6a. Mercy Bell
Traditional American music can be communal old time party entertainment, or it can be a lonely and thoughtful kind of thing, like in Mercy Bell’s case. This lady moved to NYC bringing with her a duffle bag, an air mattress, and a guitar; and her warm and caring voice, which animates introspective, soulful songs about that ongoing absurd mystery we call life.

6b. Natureboy
Natureboy, the musical project of Sara Kermanshahi, injects its folk ballads with dreamy elements, creating songs that will haunt you down memory lane. Read a 2009 interview with the front lady Sara Kermanshahi here.

HONORABLE MENTIONS:
These artists also had really good ratings from our jurors (tied at 7.16 out of 10): Toby Goodshank, Piñataland and Little Anchor (who should have probably submitted as "Rootsy Pop" instead of "Americana").