Electro-Psych-Rockers Tony Castles are definitely one of the most intriguing NYC bands right now – by the way, shouldn’t all psych bands have some electro element in them? Electricity and psychos have a history in common after all… Anyway, the band will be playing Union Pool on 09.17 and then tour with Tom Tom Club – yes, the "thing" that started as a side project from Talking Heads. Read a recent Deli interview with the band here.

We continue our "Best of NYC Countdown", covering every day one of the artists that made our Year End Best of NYC list for emerging artists (a chart compiled by a jury comprised of local bloggers, music writers, promoters, record store personnel, DJs, and our writers and readers).

So, what’s so special about the Freelance Whales? Lots…and many of you seem to know that already. Relative newbies on the scene (at least as a pod), The Whales busked and toured their way to a strong second place showing in The Deli’s recent Best of NYC 2009 Poll. The 5-member, infinitely instrumented and blazingly popular Queens-based act finds themselves adored for their unassuming and equally complex obscurity. – Read Michael D. Spencer’s feature on Freelance Whales here.

The Yes Way – currently our Deli Artist of the month – play an interesting hybrid of art rock, alt rock and indie pop. NYC scene follwers may be familiar with the voice and the guitar style of Aaron Mendelsohn, who was involved with the NYC pop band Xylos. The band doesn’t have an official EP out but they do have a video of the single "Mets", directed by Daniel Marks. They also just announced 3 CMJ shows – one of them will be a Deli party at The Delancey on October 19. you can catch them live on 09.16 at the Bowery Electric.

The Wicked Tomorrow is a new Brooklyn based duo that plays a dark brand of bold and melodically driven rock music. The band consists of Ian Jacobs (guitar/vocals) and MIchelle Feliciano (drums/vocals). The two have been making music together for the last 4 years in various other settings but it wasn’t until recently that they decided to start The Wicked Tomorrow as a duo. They debuted their songs at SXSW and The Northside Festival in 2010 and since then their single "Frenemy" has created some buzz in the NYC scene. That song and more are present on the 5-song EP that The Wicked Tomorrow will be releasing @ Cameo Gallery in Brooklyn on Friday, September 24th. The Wicked Tomorrow is also sharing the bill on 9/24 with The Highway from Boston/NYC who have gotten great reviews from The Deli Magazine New England, Performer and The Noise. – (as posted in The Deli’s Open Blog – post your band’s entries, videos, and Mp3s here).

Just premiered on Pitchfork, here’s the band’s website. Don’t miss tonight’s show at Glasslands in W’Burg.

Body Language – an electro-pop outfit we’ve been following for some time – put on a great show at Brooklyn Bowl last Saturday. This band can deliver rambunctious energy, booty shaking dancey beats, angelic melodies, experimental textures and mellower atmospheres at will. To get more from the band, you’ll be able to catch their music video to "Huffy Ten Speed" very soon and listen to their second EP in the fall, featuring three songs that they performed at Brooklyn Bowl and one never-before-heard track. Next NYC date at Highline Ballroom on 10.19 during the CMJ music marathon. – Abigail Devora

This Saturday, September 18th, Bisco Smith and brokeMC have put together a great night of hip hop culture. From 2004-2008 the FALLDOWN parties had their home at the original Bushwick DIY venue, Asterisk. Now they bring the same energy and diverse sounds to the new Brooklyn DIY venue Shea Stadium off the Grand St. L stop. Expect a slew of amazing painters slathering canvases right in front of your eyes, live screen-printing of shirts and bags and whatever you bring by Werdink.com, killer DJs, and some amazing local hip hop acts including Bisco Smith (pictured), Deathrow Tull, Rosetta Stoned and True Theory. If you never made it to a FALLDOWN party before, now is your chance to make up for it. $7 (Ladies free before 11pm), 18+, doors at 9:30pm.

Crystal Stilts was (probably) the band that started the whole "nu-surf-psych-punk" trend – and we liked their debut CD "Alight of Night" so much that we gave them the cover of our 17th NYC issue. The Brooklyn droners just announced the upcoming release of a new single (you can stream the two songs in it here and here) and of a full length album scheduled to hit our ears in early 2011. The band will play live at The Rock Shop in Gowanus on 10.29 after a long time – mark dat calendar of yourz!

Waking Lights‘ orchestral psych folk sure doesn’t lack in originality, character and good songs. And variety! These guys have the rare gift of sounding rootsy and innovative at once – a gift they share with The White Rabbits and Motel Motel. We really dig the song "Only the Sex", with its exotic sounding strings and Doorsy organ parts. The song’s overall psychedelic atmosphere (and the rousing chorus in particular) are reminiscent of our good old friends The Occasion (cover of Deli issue #5). In the band’s other tracks you’ll find some aggressive bluesy numbers and several folk-ish songs with "telephoned" vocals floating on a controlled carpet of – alternatively – acoustic guitars, keyboards, feedback and strings. The NJ/Brooklyn based band will celebrate the digital release of their latest record ""The Rabbit Hole" 7” on September 17 with a show at Maxwel’s in NJ – highly recommended!

Around for 7 years now, NYC heavy psych rockers La Otracina are about to release their fourth album and tour the US in the fall. Recorded in bass player Evan Sobel’s home studio and the band’s rehearsal space over two years (Sobel also recorded/produced NAAM’s s/t debut LP recently released on TeePee Records), "Reality Has Got to Die" blends classic hard rock, early-metal, and prog, but also includes forays into free-jazz, cosmic synthesizer music, and even folk. This is a band that you want to see live – don’t miss the CD release party at Union Pool on September 16.

Dive Index is the collaborative, cross-genre project brainchild of NYC producer/musician Will Thomas. The sophomore album "The Surface We Divide" (out on 10.12) features vocals by Joseph Arthur, Cat Martino, and even former Ride vocalist Mark Gardener, and instrumental appearances include cello by Julia Kent (Antony & the Johnsons) and drums by Kevin O’Donnell (Andrew Bird). They recently released this video featuring Cat Martino on Vocals.