We haven’t covered orange redhead Reni Lane in a loooong time, and at some point we must have missed the release of her new album "Ready" and of the videos of her single "Place for Us". Yes, ladies and gents – the lady has 3 videos for that song. We posted the grungier one because we are grungy indie lads. Since we last covered her, she has also signed to Motown/Universal (which may explain the budget for the triple video) – who is obviously investing long term on this talented and cute emerging NYC singer. Those who like like rocked-up mainstream pop (and redheads) might want to go to her show at Pianos on 08.26.

Singer/Mover/Shaker Hesta Prynn (formerly in the all girl hip hop band Northern State) has kept pretty busy lately: she put out an EP called "Can We Go Wrong" + an accompanying 7" called "Pepper" which features a cover of a Butthole Surfers song in collaboration with Clown from Slipknot. She also found the time to tour Europe with Tegan & Sara. Plus, she has a couple of upcoming DJ gigs in NYC. The material – recorded with producer Chuck Brody – bears a definite rock edge (we dig!), check it out here.
 

Noisy electro-poppers Small Black‘s first full-length album New Chain will be released on Oct. 26 in the U.S. and Oct. 25 in the U.K. under Secretly Canadian. The band has released a free mp3 of the first single, entitled "Photojournalist" (streaming here). The band will perform live in NYC at a Todd P curated event at the Monster Island Basement in Brooklyn on 09.17.

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).

Dave Longstreath has a reputation of being difficult to reach for an interview (although he did concede one to The Deli back in 2006) . I’d suggest nailing jello to a wall would be an easier task than getting the Dirty Projectors front man to sit down for a one-on-one chat. The few who have managed to snag him find him incredibly guarded, giving short, snappy answers. “The band are not doing interviews right now,” the e-mail from the bands PR people when approached about this piece. That’s in contrast to the non-reply one usually expects when an artist isn’t interested, so maybe the point they’re making is deliberate. Point being that there are few bands in the world right now hotter than Dirty Projectors. They can afford to blow off the odd piece of promo, right?

Their 2007 release Rise Above, an album of songs by the band Blag Flag performed from memory, broke down a lot of walls for Longstreath and the revolving door of musicians he calls Dirty Projectors. High concept perhaps, but it brought critical success and a sizeable fan base to a band that had begun as a solo project from their main man’s freshman dorm room at Yale. The record combined the band’s experimental leanings with influences that ranged all over the map from Chicago soul to Nigerian afrobeat. In that respect, they can be thanked for paving the way for a certain Vampire Weekend.

Still, there was a certain feeling on the release of 2009’s Bitta Orcha that this is what the Brooklyn band’s seven year career had been building towards. Now signed to indie powerhouse label Domino, the album was a significant move away from their more experimental leanings and towards a more absorbable sound. What emerged was one of the most important art-pop albums in years. In essence Longstreath learned to put his own eccentricities to one side (2005’s The Getty Address was a concept album about musician Don Henley for example) and inject some playfulness to his sound.

Take the album’s most box-office moment and first single ‘Stillness is the Move’. It’s one of those rare moments in Dirty Projector’s back catalogue that sounds like a solo release. A magnetic riff dripping with African influence, some kitchen sink drumming and a soulful groove, it was easy to predict this one would be a breakout success. It’s perhaps a testament to the quality of Bitta Orcha then that it wasn’t left behind by the juggernaut success of its most potent song. There’s the nimble acoustic picks of the sickly sweet ‘Two Doves’, the psychedelic shrieks on ‘The Bride’ or the sprawling digirock-opus ‘Useful Chamber’, this was a record studded with highlights. A bona fide breakthrough made by the band.

Longstreath may continue to cut somewhat of an enigmatic figure. “It’s like I’m gradually putting something together where anything belongs, and it works,” said Longstreath in a rare interview, ironically given to Interview magazine. “I find a way to unify the different music I’ve written under a larger thing," he added. If this “larger thing” continues to grow into a stunning, vibrant collection of such fine records then his fans won’t mind remaining at arm’s length. – Dean Van Ngyuen

"Corporation Town" is the new single from Queens singer-songwriter Thomas Patrick Maguire. Listeners have drawn comparisons to Nirvana and Elliott Smith, and his music was praised by New York Newsday as "utterly hypnotic." The new single is available as a green vinyl 7-inch record from www.weemaykmusic.com or as a digital download from iTunes and Amazon. A full-length album called TEMPER TANTRUMS CAUSE DELAYS is due in October. – (as posted in The Deli’s Open Blog – post your band’s entries, videos, and Mp3s here).

This new video by Yeasayer (starring Kristen Bell, the star of Veronica Mars) is pretty friggin’ weird, enjoy it – if you can…

On Saturday August 21, 2010, at Sullivan Hall, Long Island native Craig Greenberg will be taking the stage to celebrate the release of his second EP, “Spinning In Time.” In this long-awaited follow-up to his first EP – “The World and Back” (2007) – Craig explores a deeper level of lyrics and sound experimentation: the record bears influences that range from Broadway and Billy Joel to Phish and Ben Folds. Greenberg, along with a full band, will be performing both older material as well as songs off the latest record. The EP was produced, recorded and mixed by Roger Greenawalt (Ben Kweller, The Pierces, Julian Velard) at Shabby Road Studio in Brooklyn. – Christina Morelli

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).

Brooklyn’s The Antlers are led by Peter Silberman, an exceptional singer/songwriter who seems more than a little broken hearted. Now we haven’t sat at the fireside desk in our study and thoroughly pored over his lyrics just yet, but it seems the man has lost a few loves along the way. But his sadness is, sorry Mr. Silberman, our gain because his soaring and heartrending croons are pretty much perfect to listen to no matter what mood you’re in. You see, this band (Silberman, Michael Lerner, and Darby Cicci) rocks out often too, so that definitely cheers up the mellow mood. Anyway, Silberman is one of those artists that just sort of sound smart when he sings. We like mostly smart songs, but not really SUPER smart songs. We call bands who partake in super smart songs "PhD Pop" (probably the most famous current example of a PhD Pop band is The Decemberists — maybe Vampire Weekend — basically if The New Yorker likes you, you’re PhD Pop and you’ve most likely lost us along the way). – OhMyRockness.com

Side projects and super-groups are on the rise, and AM to AM is one of the new and noteworthy. Fashioned and fronted by Jon Schmidt and Will Tendy of New York’s Morningwood, AM to AM is perfectly power-poppy just like their previous project. However, this quintet augments their sound with electronic elements, a grungy edge, and a concoction of danceable rhythms. “Sew” ties together a series of dynamic guitar riffs and falsetto vocals, qualities that become signature “AM to AM” features. The syncopation and tension of “Pop as Science ” quiet to a shuffle that transitions into the forcefully quick “Outline,” while title track “AM to AM” slinks along with hushed vocals, synths, and strings, exploding into a sinister chorus. "Feed Me to the Ghoul” serves up a feast of electro-effects and techno beats, and concluding “Mirror Clear” decelerates into a waltzing, fusion of brass. AM to AM will be out on the town, August 19th at Crash Mansion. –Meijin Bruttomesso

Check out the new video by Screaming Females, currently touring the US in support of their latest release "Castle Talk".