Jeff Allyn Szwast’s avant-indie rock project Giving The Table A Name specializes in angular guitar progressions punctuated by thumping, crashing percussion, and vocals leaning towards the slithering and cerebral side. Titles like "epiglottis" and "harpies" may not make immediately clear what the intended subject matter is, and often parts of the lyrics are so distorted/quiet in the mix that entire sections can be made out by the listener – something that actually applies to a huge catalog of rock music. "Anything can happen now, I’d be too far gone to tell" is as good a lyric as any, but the band’s real focus is on creating atmospheric textures that flirt with ambient music and quality, vintage prog-rock of (think King Crimson rather than Yes). On one of our favorite tracks, "snowpack", a deeper, more bass-heavy guitar tone is incorporated. The voices are doubled in harmony for emphasis and depth. A bright tambourine takes the timekeeping duties, while tom toms are free to roam outside the structure. The band’s latest LP titled "Pillbug" is out now and can be purchased from a variety of sources. – Dave Cromwell

Free Mondays is a new live music weekly event at The Rock Shop in Gowanus) consisting in a series of free shows featuring some promising up and coming New York artists. The series started in May and hosted among others Ravens & Chimes, Murder Mystery and Freak Owls. On May 23 (tonight) it’s the turn of Tiny Animals, Midnight Spin (in the picture), and Eiko (a band that apparently doesn’t have a website). – (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.

Michelle Casilla’s Ursa Minor was one of our latest more pleasant discoveries – see what we wrote about them a few weeks ago here. The band (comprised of incredible musicians who played among others with Norah Jones, Feist, Lounge Lizards and Bjork) will play a live preview of their debut CD at Joe’s Pub on May 24.

In her new EP "V the Volcanic", NYC electro diva KRISTEENYOUNG,  makes the epic out of the forgettable through an in your face brand of glam pop driven by her almost overwhelming soprano and energetic electro-pop beats. Sounding like an explosive cocktail of Kate Bush, Queen and Lady Gaga (the latter mostly for the over the top attitude) KY offers here a collection of songs that are all (but one) focused on supporting characters from classic films. "Fantastic Failure" and "I’ll Get You Back" are the stand-out tracks of the EP. The first one – also the EP’s single – is the one exception to the supporting character rule, focusing on Elizabeth Taylor’s 1963 Cleopatra, and featuring some impressive vocal work and a driving drum beat that gives way to the genius thought of the chorus: "fantastic failure’s more fantastic than mere success can ever be." "I’ll Get You Back" focuses on the Angry Apple Tree from 1939’s The Wizard of Oz, and it is catchy and clever, featuring rapid-fire words spelled at you…almost the way your parents used to do when they didn’t want you to know what was going on around you – except this time you’re being threatened… watch out! KRISTEENYOUNG will be at Piano’s four times this June, the 7th, the 14th, the 21st and the 28th, giving you plenty of opportunities to live out small dreams with big results. –allison levin

Warning: French Horn Rebellion (a.k.a. Robert and David Perlick-Molinari) may cause uncontrollable running/dancing in place and the flailing of arms and legs that is equivalent to an aerobic workout. On Thursday May 26, they will be playing at Glasslands with Savoir Adore and Golden Pony, celebrating the release of their newest album "The Infinite Music of French Horn Rebellion". Before starting the band, the Perlick-Molinari brothers were dabbling in opposite ends of the music pool. While Robert was playing French horn for the Chicago civic orchestra, David was producing MGMT’s “Time to Pretend” EP. So the story goes, it took a moment for the boys to wake up, come together to create FHR, and since then they have toured Europe, played with bands like Sleigh Bells, Cut Copy, and Hot Chip. So grab your headbands because you are about to hear plenty more from this duo. – QD Tran & Caitlin Clive. French Horn Rebellion place 41st in The Deli’s latest Best of NYC Emerging Aritsts poll.

Coming off a year that most bands would give their drummer’s right arm for, it’s not surprising that Fang Island’s Chris Georges is in an upbeat mood. Reflecting on a 2010 that saw the release of the group’s self titled debut album, critical acclaim and huge upsurge in their profile, the guitarist has spent the new year just trying to make sense of it all. Read Dean Van Nguyen’s feature here.
The Deli celebrated this unusual band by giving them the cover of The Deli’s 1st SXSW issue, and Fang Island returned the favor by accepting to headline our NYC B.E.A.F. fest – don’t miss the show on May 27 at Brooklyn Bowl. DJ Nora of irockiroll will entertain the crowd before the show with a selection of tune (mostly) by NYC artists! Click here or on the picture below for the fest’s full schedule.
 

Sunday May 22 is the final night of the free Deli-sponsored 5th Annual LC Fest, organized by independent music community Local Correspondents at Bar4 in Park Slope, and it features performances by aCloudedhed (top picture), Matt and Elijah of Two Cent Revival, and The Whispering Tree (bottom pic). ACloudedhed is a four-piece band that combines old soul and modern rock influences, while Two Cent Revival is the new folk-tinged Americana meets classic country project from Brazilian-born, Texas-raised singer/songwriter Matt Jones. Their new EP comes out June 15, 2011. The Whispering Tree is an indie/folk duo who’s releasing a new music video for the title track of their album, "Go Call the Captain," on June 9th. For the complete schedule of performers for the entire festival (doors open at 7 p.m., music starts at 8 p.m., through May 22nd), go here.

Niall Connolly, Abby Ahmad (in the picture) and Paula Valstein performed on Friday May 21 alongside 10 other local artists at the free Deli-sponsored 5th Annual LC Fest, organized by independent music community Local Correspondents at Bar4 in Park Slope. Irish songwriter Niall Connolly’s busy schedule had him performing 250 gigs in 10 countries over the last year, and his new album, "Super Cool Fantastic" is out in U.S. on May 28th. Alt. folk-rock musician Abby Ahmad blends intelligent lyrics and intense, intricate guitar playing, while sultry pianist Paula Valstein’s participation on Israel’s highest-rated rated television show, Kohav Nolad (which is kind of like "American Idol"), means she can’t walk unrecognized down the streets of Tel Aviv. Her debut album will be released in the U.S. in October, 2011. For the complete schedule of performers for the entire festival (doors open at 7 p.m., music starts at 8 p.m., through May 22nd), go here.

Arlington based urban folk rock’s the Justin Trawick Group are heavily gigging all over the DMV, and hitting the 9:30 Club stage this Saturday May 28. And 9:30 wants to make sure you get in on it, so we’ve got some passes to this show! All you have to do is email us here, and let us know what your favorite Justin Trawick song is and why, by 3 PM on Friday May 27. The winner will be chosen at random, emailed back, and announced on this blog.

For more info on the JTG, check out the interview below where Trawick talks about getting the crowd to waltz, their Iota Club residency, and their plethora of ex-girlfriend songs.

A little bit blues-y, a little bit folk, The Spring Standards give and take a little bit of everything in their music. The low-key melodies, gentle harmonies, and plodding along keys and drums make for wonderful ditties to nod one’s head to or get lost in. The band clearly has tons of passion and compassion (see their kitten stuck in a car story in the interview here), and a tight knit camaraderie all of this shines through their bright vocals and down to earth instrumentals. Some songs border on being ballads, while others are downright country-blues tunes. – See the band live at Bowery Ballroom on May 24, read Lauren Piper’s interview here.

Secondstar, Heidi Sidelinker and Third Wheel Band (in the picture) are among the 13 acts playing tonight at the free Deli-sponsored 5th Annual LC Fest, organized by independent music community Local Correspondents at Bar4 in Park Slope. Secondstar plays folk-pop that veers from bright and shiny to dark and melodic, while Heidi Sidelinker’s solo work as a singer/songwriter (she’ll also perform tonight with her band Lowry) combines wistful, lilting tunes with sweetly melancholic acoustic underpinnings. The Third Wheel Band is an American roots group combining influences as varied as bluegrass, country, folk, talking blues, early jazz and rock ‘n’ roll. Their debut album On Willow Street was released in November 2010. For the complete schedule of performers for the entire festival (doors open at 7 p.m., music starts at 8 p.m., through May 22nd), visit the LC website.