My Cousin, The Emperor is like a country version of Pavement. They have nuances of a lo-fi 90s band, mixed with a country acoustic twang. And the fact that the band dresses like total dandies is mesmerizing.  The pluck of a banjo is always best when done by Steve Martin or someone wearing a newsboy cap and a waistcoat. This good old country quartet has created a debut album that is a modern Dixieland treasure. My Cousin, The Emperor is to country what Back to the Future III is to cowboy movies, for their mixture of country with other genres makes country more accessible to those who hate it. My Cousin, The Emperor definitely has the power to convert the skeptics. – CS

Elephant Parade is kinda cutesy, kinda sappy, kinda heavy in the pseudo-folk guitar strumming. But Estelle’s vocals really are the major touchstone: something syrupy, pliable, wrapping around those little accents of keys or horns, the tricky little drumbeats. We’re a little slow on the uptake, here – they’ve been putting out music for the better part of five years. The duo makes for an easy listen – sort of like The Blow not on blow – with flighty, sometimes light-hearted lyrics that resonate once in a while. The kind of limitless DIY that takes you to a meadow and an open sky, and now and then there’s an awesome animal traipsing about. – DWE

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

Dinosaur Feathers are a quirky, different kind of pop — both undeniably and instantly likeable. There’s a lively looseness about the Beach Boysie and XTC-type musical arrangements that come across as laid-back and cool, rather than sloppy. Strip away all these strange goodies accompanying the songs, and at the bare fruit revealed is smart pop-island music, clearly influenced by now-extinct dinosaurs of the 60’s. Only a band with a warped tropical mindset, fusing fun and talent, could produce such passionately diverse music (check out “Vendela Vida”), all while retaining an anchored uniqueness. Failing to get excited about Dinosaur Feathers is not an option. The band is currently busy touring the US, they’ll be back home in late August with a show at Littlefield on the 28. – Paul Dunn

These guys’ open blog blurb is as blurred as their vocals: "Two manual zombie tape releases this summer, they’ll probably cost $5 and you can probably buy them at shows, but we’re not playing anymore shows this summer, so maybe you can get them in the fall." – (as posted in The Deli’s Open Blog – post your band’s entries, videos, and Mp3s here).

"In Sequence" is a track off of the upcoming album, Atlantic/Pacific, by Brooklyn-based indie rock/pop singer-songwriter Greg Thomas. Atlantic/Pacific was recorded over 5 days at Brooklyn’s The Bunker Studio with Aaron Nevezie (Wakey!Wakey!, Lowry) with musicians Kirk Schoenherr, Steve Purcell and Tim Lappin. Atlantic/Pacific will be released with a show at The Living Room on 08.18 – preview a track here. – (as posted in The Deli’s Open Blog – post your band’s entries, videos, and Mp3s here).

Pin Me Down probably wouldn’t exist without the magic of the "internets" (as ex-President Bush gloriously renamed them a few years ago). The band is an electro-pop-rock cocktail (according to its members, their genre is “apocalyptic pop”), consisting of spicy vocalist Milena Mepris, a multi-talented musician from New York, and her illustrious foreign friend, Russell Lissack, in-your-face lead-guitarist from UK indie-sensation Bloc Party. After almost 5 years of constructing songs through email exchanges, the duo has finally finished working on their self-titled debut, which was released this April on Milena’s own label ‘Animalized Music’ – and it’s available for download pretty much anywhere on the… internets, of course! – Mikhael Agafonov

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

Taking on different aspects of pop music can get you varying degrees of success and Brooklyn band The Depreciation Guild has found a way to mix it up with their take on shoegazing emo/pop running alongside Nintendo backing tracks. The band started turning heads and ears in 2007 after the release of their album "In Her Gentle Jaws" as a free download. Their 1st release “Nautilus” was a 3 song EP that got them the attention of 8-Bit People, a small label whose love for video games is not hidden in shame. The bands’ sophomore release, Spirit Youth, sees a departure from the lo-tech 8-bit blips that made the debut album so recognizable. We find instead an even more pronounced shoegaze element in layered guitar and ethereal vocals.

In Early 2009, guitarist Jamie DiTringo, lead singer Joe Montague, keyboardist Adam Weissman and bassist Steve Brown teamed up with drummer Matt Teitelman and guitarist Saul Slotnick to write and play some twangy tunes reminiscent of their parents’ record collections. Hailing from Hoboken, New Jersey the six musicians make up the summery "Post Classic Rock" band the Rosewood Ghosts. But with the southern feel on their self-titled album, the guys belong on a hay truck in Dixie Land not a neighborhood of NYC. Some of their songs sound as cheesy as O.A.R. but their best songs give off a Black Crowes vibes; in fact the vocal similarity between Montague and Black Crowes’ frontman Chris Robinson is uncanny. Their fifth track, "Cape Cod," is the kind of song you’d enjoy hearing as you dance around a bonfire with your new summer crush. "Store Bought Drugs," is a catchy melody with a message redolent of Wilco’s "Handshake Drugs" and Ben Harper’s "The Drugs Don’t Work" and a series of guitar rifts any hippie will dig. Throw the C.D. on, light a BBQ, open a bottle of Evan Williams and enjoy. Check them out live at Rocks Off Concert Cruise on 08.12- Bill Dvorak

Octant can be described as a one-man band featuring mainly acoustic robotic musical instruments that back up front man, Matthew Steinke, like a player piano as he sings, shouts, and plays various home brew instrumentation. For the upcoming performance at The Tank, Octant will perform an initial set of current and old songs ranging from dark melodic melancholy to bursting atomic pop-punk . The second part will include a live soundtrack to a projection of Steinke’s film, "Your Quest for Excellence" , a hypnotic abstract hand-drawn animation inspired by optical illusions and time lapse photography.- (as posted in The Deli’s Open Blog – post your band’s entries, videos, and Mp3s here).

Raking a turquoise rag across the deluge on his forehead during a performance at Queensbridge Park, courtesy of Summerstage, Pharaohe Monch wasn’t about to let the heat slow him down. As his rapid fire staccato echoed back from the housing projects adjoining the park, it felt like even the clouds were drawing closer to join the convergence of hard-core Pharaohe fans. His hour-long set touched on tracks spanning his entire career from conscious verses released with Organized Konfusion in the early 90s to the more soulful jams from his most recent solo release “Desire” (2007) to a couple new tunes from his upcoming “W.A.R.” Closing the set with his biggest hit “Simon Says,” Pharaoh laughed his way through the uncharacteristic misogyny that propelled him into the mainstream as if it were all a part of some Andy Kauffman-esque joke. If he had followed that track’s trajectory, he could have flown into the sun. Luckily for those of us rocking with him in Queens that day, it was damn good to see him still rooted firmly in the ground. – BrokeMC

In the NYC music scene you don’t find that many people born and raised in the Big Apple. Curiously enough, most of the REAL Newyorkers aren’t even hipsters, did you notice that? They are just regular "civilians" (that’s our new way to define "non-hipster" types), like Mark Bacino. So in case you forgot about this, we just wanted to remind you that this hipster thing is mostly an imported phenomenon – Todd P is from friggin’ Indiana, for Chrissake!
This being said, Mark Bacino has been making music in his home town for quite some time, releasing his third album just a few weeks ago (the first one in 1998!). He is probably one of the few people in this city who have the right to use the term "B&T" (for the uninitiated, "Bridge and Tunnel"), which is actually the title of a song that graciously enough doesn’t (seem to) mock our neighbors from NJ. Mark’s music often plays with influences from mainstream pop classics of the 50s & 60s, and finds a more personal chord in sparsely arranged blues ballads like Blue Suit. Pete’s Cady Store’s intimate room will be perfect frame for Mark’s music to resonate on August 2.

Brooklyn-local, Eli "Paperboy" Reed and his band, The True Loves, are back from Europe. To celebrate the release of his debut CD, "Come and Get It", Eli and band are playing at Le Poisson Rouge Aug. 11th at 7pm. With sounds reminiscent of Otis Redding, Sam Cooke and Wilson Pickett – Eli "Paperboy" Reed’s amazing live show is what you need this summer; A soul searching, sweat dripping, good time. Check out www.elipaperboyreed.com for music, tour dates and news and videos. – (as posted in The Deli’s Open Blog – post your band’s entries, videos, and Mp3s here).