Painting enigmatic conversations as surreal portraits with his trademark baritone, Rob Ward’s band Food Will Win the War explores a space Iargely unexplored even in Brooklyn’s dense music scene. There’s a delicate balance in this music between the fun of surrealist fantasy and the acceptance of life’s realities. This is a man whose lyrics speak of traveling to far off destinations, even as the music speaks of already being home. Don’t miss the band’s residency at Rockwood Music Hall on March 10 and 24. – Read Mike Levine’s interview with Rob Ward here.

Brooklyn indie rockers Grooms are ready to drop their sophomore album Prom, with the record being slated for a July 12th release. Plenty of time then for us to prepare by revisiting their much-lauded debut record Rejoicer, reading lyrics from Prom that the band have been previewing via groomsmusic.blogspot.com or checking out their Myspace where you can hear an ardent cover of Chris Isaac’s ‘Wicked Game’ which demonstrates some of the Sonic Youth-y textures they’ve become known for. A sleepy number, the song most probably came from the late night Prom sessions where the band reportedly slept in sleeping bags on the studio floor. But despite this, we’ve been promised a “more mature, unique, adventurous, and most of all, accessible record than Rejoicer” to look forward to. Dean Van Nguyen (@deanvannguyen)

Today we start covering (almost) every day one of the artists that made our Year End Best of NYC 2010 list (a chart compiled by a jury comprised of local bloggers, music writers, promoters, record store personnel, DJs, and our writers and readers). It’s a countdown!

Steve Shiffman’s relocated to New York City after a successful run in Toronto-based trio 4-Star Movie. Teaming up with members of The Figgs and Holy Ghost to create The Land Of No, he’s well on his way to the upper echelons of the city’s burgeoning garage-rock scene, playing to fans across the city and placing third in our Best of 2010 Indie-Rock poll. The band’s self-titled debut, released by Tiny Beast Records, forgoes the frills and shticks associated with many post-millennium acts, instead opting for that distinctly lo-fi flavor, as if birthed from the same mother as Pavement and Guided By Voices. While their sounds stand against genius of times past, they also tell original tales with blues and folk elements.

Brooklyn loud rock band with rootsy influences The Bottom Dollars have just released their first Single entitled: "PRIZEFIGHTER." An excerpt from their upcoming debut, "The Halcyon Days" (to be released 04/19/2011), PRIZEFIGHTER is an intense rock and roller that steamrolls as an intimate love story. The Bottom Dollars paired the release of their first single with the lush, vocal harmony driven Soul Ballad "JAMESON." This Power Trio remind us that Rock’ n’ Soul isn’t quite dead yet. Both songs are available for free at their Bandcamp Page. – (as posted in The Deli’s Open Blog – post your band’s entries, videos, and Mp3s here).

I just stumbled upon this new Brooklyn band called Heaven, and they made me think of all the Velvet Underground and Jesus & Mary Chain fans out there. These guys have good songs and add a little electronic variation to their classic droney sound, which at times stirs things in an atmospheric direction a la` Air. Heaven will be playing Union Pool on March 5th and has a bunch of SXSW dates booked.

There’s been a lot of renewed interest in the 90s recently. From the opening credits in the premiere of Carrie Brownstein’s awesome new show Portlandia, to Pearl Jam turning 20, It looks like its now safe to bring the flannel out of the closet once again.
To that end, Sam Siegler from CIV (remember them!??), Walter Schreifels, my favorite vegan and frontman from the grossly under-rated bands Quicksand and Gorilla Biscuits, along with members from Youth of Today and Iceburn, have come together as supergroup Rival Schools.
Though it may not feel like it, Rival Schools have actually been around in one form or another for quite some time now. After disbanding shortly after the release of their first full-length in 2001, they’ve now come back together to carry their ‘post-hardcore’ torch for all who miss the quiet-loud-quiet-loud rock of their youth. Lyrically, they remind me (oddly enough) a bit of the Foo Fighters’ later songs that discussed redemption and acceptance, topics that get by well enough on their honesty, but sound a bit tired to me after hearing these themes for so long.
The real draw here is what a great sound these guys have when they all come together. While none of this material will surprise fans of many of their other projects, maybe that’s not a bad thing. Listening to Rival Schools’ new single (video embedded) heading off their forthcoming second full-length album Petals (Photo Finish Records), the band sounds confident and fun, like no time has passed at all. This record may be a decade too late, but better late than never.
Join them when they stop by Santos Party House on March 8. – Mike Levine

Last Wednesday at Rockwood Music hall Stage 2 pulsated with the smooth, soulful sounds of Brooklyn-born Aabaraki. Recently, the quartet self-released an EP downloadable on Bandcamp and showcased several of these tracks which oozed seduction, jazz, R&B, soul, and not-so-subtle double entendres, at the jam packed show. One highlight, “Girl,” slinked along with sultry syncopated guitar slides and impassioned vocals. Tri-part harmonies opened “Haters” and interchanged with solo sexy vocal runs and instrumental accompaniment. Hushed guitars and drums snuck up on listeners during “Terrified” and spotlighted vocalist Aamir Bermiss’s impressively expressive vocal range. The audience screamed with delight as the band began the obvious favorite, “Karate,” a song full of innuendos rhymed with various martial arts names backed by the band’s fusion style. “Happy Ending” embarked on another soulful sound journey with samba beats that relaxed into ringing guitars that bloom into an energetic funk bridge. Be sure to catch Aabaraki live as they bring the groove back to NYC music. –Meijin Bruttomesso

All the urban Nietzsches running around screaming that “Rap is dead” have been listening to the wrong MCs. In “Fall FWD,” YC the Cynic (featured in out Best NYC Emerging Artists on 2010 list) stands up and refutes the mob of naysayers with his signature patterns of potent poeticism. With a voice that conjures a blend of Mos Def and Q-tip, YC croons “Truthfully, I don’t let that ish influence me. It’s not cool to be cold, it’s not in to be G, it’s all bitches and hoes, there’s no intimacy till I enter the scene.” It’s a running theme in the mixtape, that ability and integrity transcend both time and genre. Building on the sturdy shoulders of last year’s “You’re Welcome” mixtape, “Fall FWD” raises the bar in every aspect and will undoubtedly generate substantial hype for his upcoming album, “The Spectacle.” In the closing track, he sums up his ethos proclaiming confidently, “I know mad cats that have had it with rap, but incidentally, soon as I got their attention they were listening intently.” Celebrate the release at Southpaw tonight (Tuesday, March 1). – Broke MC

Most music lovers discover the discreet charm and amazing therapeutic power of gentle music when their lives enter the hectic phase (late 20s?). Here at The Deli we created a genre category for this kind of music, called "Mellow Core". Belonging to this genre is Careful, the project of published writer, orchestral composer, visual artist, and part time builder-of-robots Eric Lindley. His tunes, tied together by a soft, whispered approach and by attention to texture, mix more or less traditional songwriting with sparse and dreamy electronic effects, often slightly dissonant, but always tastefully realized. Careful will be playing live at Death By Audio on April 30th – mark your calendars.

An amalgamation of big names (Matt Berninger of The National is featured on the latest single "Fire to the Ground"), admirable musicianship, odd tempos and a chilled-out demeanor, The Forms are a great example of approachable "alt". Alt-what I’m not entirely sure… but does it even matter? The melodies swirl on "Steady Hand (feat. Andrew Thiboldeaux)", but the percussion keeps the listener at least slightly grounded on the trippy adventure. I was most impressed, however, by "Fire to the Ground," perhaps because of the strikingly original string arrangement. Unlike in most ventures, these are actual strings, not computer facsimilies. There is a lot to be said for the power of bow to instrument. And that kind of attention to detail is key. The Forms’ EP "Derealization" dropped February 15th on Threespheres / Ernest Jenning, and now they’re are touring the US, some dates with The Dismemberment Plan. They will also play 3 shows in Austin during SXSW (check myspace for dates). But will they bring the strings? – allison levin

I had a gigantic infatuation for Kim Deal when I was about 19 years old – yes, she was quite cute at the time, but it was her voice that did it: I can still confidently state that her voice is one of the best if not the best female voice in the indie rock genre. Austin up and comers Love Inks‘ vocalist Sherry Leblanc has a tone very reminiscent of Kim, which – of course – got me excited. The only song you can currently hear from this band (embedded here) is a very simple pop gem that seem designed to allow indie pop lovers to fall for Sherry’s voice and melody. Well I think it works. The band just announced the release of their debut album, due on May 11. They’ll be playing at Cheer Up Charlie on March 10 and then at 3 different Austin venues during SXSW.

Deli readers,

The Deli will travel to Austin this year for the renown music fest, and we will also present a show together with The Musebox down there – not an official show, but one that will happen during the music festival. If interested in attending please RSVP HERE. Here are the details:

Venue: Lipstick 24 (606 E. 7th St. Austin, TX 78701), 18+
Saturday afternoon March 19, 2011

*** WE’LL HAVE FREE 
ARIZONA TEA AND BAREFOOT WINE
FOR A LIMITED TIME ***

INDOOR STAGE
1.00 The Lines (UK)
2.00 Living Days (NYC)
3.00 Delicate Steve (NYC)
4.00 Kopeky Family Band (Nashville)
5.00 Fang Island (NYC)

OUTDOOR STAGE
12.30 Quiet Company (Austin)
1.30 R.G. Morrison (UK)
2.30 Adam Cohen (LA)
3.30 Tristen (Nashville)
4.30 The Rassle (NYC)

The Deli booked 5 of the 10 artists on this bill. We also booked 3 more bands at a separate show on Tuesday 03.15 (Tech Mashup Party):
Golden Ages (Philly), The Wandas (Boston), Kendra Morris (NYC). 7 of these artists were chosen from the ones that submitted through our system in January.

The Deli’s Staff

P.S. We’d like to thank in particular our sponsors Ascap and SoundToys, since their early support allowed us to organize this event.