Caged Animals, a relatively new project by Soft Black frontman Vincent Cacchione, creates music that is poppy and infectious, yet slightly unsettling under the surface. The songs weave atmospheric flourishes with electronic quirks, pitch-shifted and distorted vocals, and catchy hooks. Although Caged Animals could easily be described as “chill-wave” for its bedroom-recording aesthetic and penchant for synth lines and electronic drums, there’s more to the music then that. Cacchione isn’t afraid to venture into the odd psychedelic landscape here and there, and some of the songs sound almost alien, haunting the listener with otherworldly vocals and odd, discordant bits of noise. Check out “The Way It Feels to Be Hunted” (embedded here) to get an idea. Caged Animals create some forward-thinking pop music, and will hopefully be released into the wild to find a wider audience in the near future. – Bill Dvorak

Karen Rockower‘s creepy, dreamy rock band bills up with powerpop indie rockers Diehard and friends from CT Ovlov for a co-ed night of bromance at the Cake Shop on April 27th. Doors at 8pm, show starts at 9pm. $7 cover. Here’s some press:
“Finally. An indie rock band who doesn’t drench their songs in so much reverb that it covers up the lack of songwriting abilities. Diehard, a fairly new 4-piece out of Brooklyn, is actually bringing the old beloved sounds of the 90s rock back to us with just enough pop flavor to make them become one our favorite new discoveries.” – BeatCrave.
"Rockower, is so far from a normal singer songwriter, that she’s practically in a class all by herself. She takes the solo artist template, crumbles it up, and sets it on fire." – The POP! Stereo
(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. 

The Nico Blues is a NJ/NYC based rock band that sound a little bit as if Oasis (and at times Blur) were born in Seattle in the mid 90s instead of the UK – which is a way to say that they write good pop songs with great harmonies and then drench them in grungy distorted guitars. The band has just released this video and will be performing at Arlene’s Grocery on May 3 and at Party Expo on May 5.

This video by Jonka is probably too cute to please the hipster in you, but there’s something refreshing about the lack of pretension, without mentioning the catchiness of the tune, slightly reminiscent of Nik Kershaw – one of my favorite pop stars when I was a teenager, who unfortunately "let the sun (of stardom) get down on him" – if you don’t get this sentence just listen to his most famous single.

In a crowded market of loop-based, one-man-band type artists, Mira Cook does things a little differently. With a child-like curiosity, she adds whatever ingredients to her stew she has handy, whether it’s her new drum machine, a well-placed dulcimer, or any number of interesting vocal machinations. Her playful perspective comes to life whether she’s dreaming of traveling to India or discussing the many seeds inside watermelons (way too many if you ask me).
Mira Cook is an artist for the kid in all of us. So be prepared to come away from her shows seeing things a little differently.
She’s beginning a free residency at Piano’s Upstairs Lounge on May 8. It’s anyone’s guess what beatboxes/sounds/dulcimers she’ll show up with… so get over there and be part of the fun. – Mike Levine (@goldnuggets)

The Rassle – who placed at #90 in our latest Best of NYC Emerging Artists Poll – present a bratty vocal style and ramshackle rock band sound on songs like "Celebrate the Days" and "Full Speed Ahead." Positioned between the happier side of The Jesus and Mary Chain and Mick Jones’ Big Audio Dynamite. The band played several Deli shows, including one in Austin during SXSW. They will be also performing at one of The Deli’s B.E.A.F. (Best of Emerging Artists Fest) show at Brooklyn Bowl on May 26. – Dave Cromwell

Sweet, airy vocals lead this piano-driven pop band fronted by Australian singer-songwriter Johanna Cranitch, who had a residency at Pete’s Candy’s store in March. Her music listens like a childhood fantasy, a healthy mixture of controlled harmonies, string orchestration, and clever synth pop arrangements that envelop you into her world and experiences through lyrics and sound. A light shining in a community of often dark souls, Johanna and the Dusty Floor is the perfect pick-me-up as we embrace the long-anticipated long days of summer. Be sure to check out their CD release at The Living Room on May 5 at 9:00pm. – Christina Morelli

Papercranes, brainchild of LA and partly also NYC based composer/singer Rain Phoenix, play dark and somewhat disturbed "mid-fi" ballads that convey a sense of beautiful fragility, like those crooked Amsterdam buildings on a rainy day. The band has been around since the early 2000s, and just released their 3rd record, "let’s Make Babies in the Woods" which was produced with a "no rest or retakes allowed" rule, as an exercise in ‘stream of consciousness’ writing. Previous to papercranes, Rain Phoenix worked with The Red Hot Chili Peppers, REM, Angela McCluskey, The Causey Way and is a performer with the notorious NYC political cabaret collective The Citizen’s Band.

We must have missed this somehow – I can’t find any press release about it in my inbox… Deli Summer 2010 cover band Bear Hands just released a new EP (High Society) at the end of March 2011 under Cantora Record – you can stream it here. They also released a video from their debut album’s single "Crime Pays" – check it out under this blurb. The band is currently on a US/Canada tour and has no NYC gigs scheduled.
 

Ducktails (brainchild of guitarist Matt Mondanile) deserve more credit than just the "lo-fi" or "chill wave" genre branding. While the home recorded bedroom grainy recordings are obviously there, their songs carry an intense brightness and warmth with them, triggering nostalgia for happy childhood days – maybe that’s the reason of that playful band name… The band will be playing an all ages show at 285 Kent Ave @ South 1st in W’burg on April 22, do not miss.

With wide range vocals reminiscent of some Brit bands of the 90s (Primal Scream and happy Monday maybe?), and a growing set of eclectic songs incorporating pop, soul, dance, electro and rock elements, Jump into the Gospel are an up and coming NYC band with a sound that doesn’t go unnoticed. The resulting compound is a lot of fun, in particular when the guys get the chorus just right, like in "Photovoltaic". We recommend you check Jump Into The Gospel live at Mercury Lounge on April 25.