We just stumbled upon this very cool cover of Tom Waits’ "Going Out West" by Brooklyn artist Seasick Mama and couldn’t help but blog about it. Seasick Mama is a self-described "intense creative go-getter […] curating gallery events, designing apparel and working on her new debut record…" – a release we are looking forward to.

Two years ago Brooklyn pop songwriter Ben Lear had an idea to write an album that tells the story of a young guy convinced that everything he’s ever lost in his life has drifted out to the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. This seed expanded into Lillian, "an edgy and experimental folk-opera blending acoustic guitar songs with percussive chamber and orchestral music" (LA Times). For the first time ever, a full-realization of Lillian came to Le Poisson Rouge on Oct. 25, complete with a 20-piece band/orchestra, gospel choir, light sculptures made from plastic bottles, costumes, projected animation and more. Ben also plays more intimate shows, the next one will be at Rockwood Music Hall on December 26. – (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 and APS Mastering.

Emerging Brooklyn based music/art collective Pass Kontrol just released the video for the song "Gates", which features a dog and an interesting, almost funk bass line surrounded by avant-indie elements and thoughtful falsetto vocals. Their debut album is full of surprises, Check out their latest album here, and see them out live at Union Pool on 11.09. – (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 and APS Mastering.

Carl Creighton is nothing if not autobiographical. On the website of his boutique label, The Homesick Collective, you can read of his past 27 years in minute detail, and get the impression you’re witnessing an artist purge from an eventful past. Carl’s work as Howth similarly reads better as catharsis than concept. Truly a songwriter for our times, his emotional letting is rarely perfect, but maintains an almost embarrassing honesty when discussing topics ranging from Occupy Wall Street ("Belly of the Beast"), to kissing someone named David ("David"), to paying off his student loans ("Alexander Hamilton").
The past couple of years have found Carl traveling frequently across the US. Now living in Brooklyn, Creighton uses these geographical signifiers as touchstones through his ouevre. From describing the blinding lights of Bloomingdale’s, to the darkness found at Alexander Hamilton’s grave, there’s a hodgepodge of ideas here that reflects the bouncy journey of a twenty-something just beginning to discover life’s joys and disappoints. It’s the kind of America you find in Jeff Mangum and Paul Simon, where discovery meets disillusion, but the journey makes it worthwhile. – Mike Levine (@goldnuggets)

Bonnie Prince Billy (aka Will Oldham, in the picture) has always been a bit of a spooky guy. From ‘I See a Darkness,’ to his work with Dawn McCarthy, he’s dwelt in the darker corners of country-folk for some time. But his new project with Dominic Cipolla of Brooklyn’s Phantom Family Halo brings his work closer in line to early ’70’s psych-country like Hawkwind and The Byrds Sweetheart of the Rodeo. This is one of the more unlikely unions of the year, bridging a gap between Cipolla’s brain-melting retro-machinations to Oldham’s country road tales. The collaboration didn’t sound like an obvious idea in the world to me at first, but on listening to ‘The Mindeater’ off their new EP of the same name, those thoughts melted away. I mean literally melted, this is some far-out stuff. They’ve recorded three songs so far (fittingly from the 2nd floor above a funeral home in Brooklyn) and expect a full-length to be released early next year. Pick up their new EP Mindeater (Knitting Factory Records) wherever spooky psychedelia is sold. – Mike Levine (@goldnuggets)

The Dub Trio guys are a little bit like the intellectuals of the NYC Metal scene. Being an intellectual metal-head is a little bit like being a powerful super-hero who writes essays for a living (since super-heroes aren’t paid, right?). I mean, it’s really like having it all, the superior brains and the brute force. As suggested by the name, they mix Metal with Dub, but also inject a fair dose of noise rock in their tracks. Their experimentalism is not of the self-indulgent kind – led by drummer/sample triggerer John Tomino, these guys are concise, tight, and explosive. If this resonates with you, don’t miss the release of their new album "IV" at Mercury on 11.10.

Lana Del Rey‘s grip on our NYC charts’ #1 position is a testament to the fact that there is no such thing as bad press. The controversial Brooklyn based chanteause has created a rare wave of negativity amongst some bloggers about her image and music. As a result, many music listeners became familiar with her music and – evidently – enjoyed it. Constant news regarding new releases, remixes and shows in the UK are contributing to keep her on top of our NYC charts (see top 20 on the left, and top 300 here). Whether bloggers want it or not, it looks like a new NYC star was born!

NYC psych pop quartet Thieving Irons just released the first single from the album they just finished recording, "Behold, This Dreamer!", scheduled to be released early in 2012. The song, entitled "So Long" has already been picked up by KEXP as "song of the day" for today. With its interesting sonics, the beautiful melody drenched in reverb, and a rather quick, danceable pace, this is definitely an appetizing soundbite that makes us look forward to the full release. See Thieving Irons live at Zebulon on 11.28.

Toward the end of 2009, in a bedroom in Stockton, CA, a 21-year-old Justin Vallesteros began layering simple synth and guitar lines to create the sound that would become Craft Spells. What began as an experiment soon became a vibrant world of elegant guitar chords laced over looped rhythms, heavenly synth melodies, and pulsating bass. When Vallesteros recorded his first track "Party Talk," an outpouring of online enthusiasm led him to return to Seattle and flesh out a full band for the debut LP Idle Labor, released on Captured Tracks in Spring 2011. If you love Felt, The Smiths, Echo & The Bunnymen, and the beautiful monotone drone of Ian Curtis, Craft Spells are right up your nuevo-new romantic alley.