Saturday brings us the 10th Annual Siren Music Festival at Coney Island. One of the highlights (if not the best) of the free summer concerts in New York, it starts at 1:00 pm and goes for the next 8 hours. Among the featured bands this time around are some of the metro areas finest up and comers. Topping that group is the now veteran Pains Of Being Pure At Heart (in the top picture). Still riding the two year wave of critical acclaim and mass popularity, we can’t wait to hear a new song or two in their set. "Everything Is Happening Now," perhaps? The Screaming Females will be showcasing songs from their impending fourth album release, “Castle Talk”; we are looking forward to admire gifted guitarist Marissa shredding and sweating on stage – she is bound to be the focus of this dynamic act’s set.

Cymbals Eat Guitars (2nd pic) have an appealing sound that incorporates, at times, frantic guitar strumming, impassioned vocals, a variety of blended keyboards – moving from quiet passages to all out blustery jams – all within the same song. They have no apparent inhibitions about incorporating alternately noisy and/or atmospheric passages within their mostly traditional song structures. Earl Greyhound blend the sprawling song structures (and chops) of prog rockers with a Dead-head hippie mentality, producing something unique and entertaining. All of the above are must see shows. – Dave Cromwell

Is NJ slowly becoming the coolest state in the US? I mean no seriously, lately the Garden State has produced some pretty awesome bands, in particular in the electronic department. Miss TK and the Revenge are one of them: sounding like a mixture of Santigold, Sleigh Bells and Prince, this collective’s music is like an electrified bonfire beach party jam. Led by the husband and wife duo of Tannis "Miss TK" Kristjanson on vocals, and Ari Katz aka "Mighty Lion" on drums, this gang has actually been dropping scattered bits of their punk disco dance hits since their 2004 debut XOXO. 2010 might be their break through year though, as Ernest Jenning Record is releaseing their debut full length " The Ocean Likes To Party Too". Don’t miss their live show at Santos Party House on 07.27. Check out the single "Beach Master" embedded here.

Not everybody likes quirky music – we do, in particular when the quirkness is supported by some good ideas and interesting songs. Mirror Mirror is the electro-psych-rock brainchild of three sick Brooklynites – sick in the head, of course. We are honestly having a hard time finding musical comparisons for these guys – there’s some early Pere Ubu maybe, early Pink Floyd at times, Peter Gabriel?? We couldn’t help but welcome this borderline wacky video with a smile, but check out also the rest of the material on their myspace page, as there are some more organic songs that deserve to be heard. The band will play McCarren Park on 07.14 at 6.15.

People have been singing the blues for quite some time now, and let’s face it, there’s nothing new about it. But the blues isn’t about being new – it’s about being real, grabbing your balls emotionally, and holding on to them until the song is over. It is quite rare to find performers who can do that (white ones in particular), and Trixie Whitley is capable of that, there is no doubt about it. This young lady combines killer vocals, fantastic intensity, and a look that’s between the angelic and the slightly tormented (how spot on!). Trixie will be back live in NYC at Rockwood Music Hall on July 27.

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).

After multiple rounds of categorizing, voting, narrowing down, and counting, Williamsburg, Brooklyn-based Midnight Spin landed at the top of The Deli Magazine’s “New York’s Best Emerging Artist of 2009 Reader’s Poll.” Freshly formed in 2008, Mike Corbett (vocals, guitar), Jim Terranova (guitar, vocals ), Danny Scull (drums), Ben Waters (bass), and Jeremy Cohen (keys) have been touring around town, selling out beloved venues in New York, including the Lower East Side’s Mercury Lounge, making headway at college campuses across the country, and leaving lasting impressions at this past year’s CMJ Music Marathon. The quintet has gained substantial support in their short time as a band, and with their recent victory on The Deli’s website poll, Midnight Spin may hold the keys to hitting the big time in no time. Their album “Through the Mojo Wire,” released last summer, resembles the type of record that would skip the Indie scene and head straight for the “Top 40s.” However, unsigned and New York-grown, Midnight Spin have benefited from the necessary acknowledgment by the neighborhood, a feel-good step in any emerging band’s career.

The Spring Standards – currently our artist of the month – are a NYC trio of multi instrumentalists who play rather mellow folky tunes. The band released their debut full length in April, showcasing a sound more varied than your average Americana band, enriched by beautifully evocative male/female vocals. Bells and Whistles is the song the trio chose for their debut video, which is tastefully (and quite literally) inspired to the song’s lyrics.

Inspiration works in weird ways, all artists know that. Brooklyn producer/musician Brad Loving’s recent experience can testify that: a trip to Mali, one of the most georgeous African countries – although almost completely electricity-less – inspired… an electronic album! The full CD, presented under the project name "Lobisonem" and produced by John McEntire of Tortoise, will be released in september under Tall Corn Records, but a track can be previewed (or should we say "pre-heard"?) here.

Bern & the Brights will be celebrating the release of their new EP, Swing Shift Maisies, on Saturday, July 17th, 9PM at Maxwell’s in Hoboken , NJ . Their first full-band, studio release promises to satisfy ravenous fans who’ve come to love the infectious energy of a Brights’ live show. By recording the core of each song live in the studio, the band was able to capture the magic and chemistry that arises when they play as a five-piece act. Every aspect of Swing Shift Maisies— from song selection to production to album artwork—was meticulously handled by the band, and they’re eager to share this labor of love with you. More on the band: Bern & the Brights have opened for such notable artists as Butch Walker, Rhett Miller [of the Old 97s,] Nicole Atkins and the Black Sea, Living Colour, and Mike Doughty [of Soul Coughing] and will be opening for Richie Havens this summer. In addition to touring the northeast, the Brights have graced the stages of major venues such as Webster Hall, Maxwell’s, The Stone Pony, The Bitter End, Spike Hill, and Southpaw. – (as posted in The Deli’s Open Blog – post your band’s entries, videos, and Mp3s here).

As Brooklyn’s 4th Annual LC Fest heads into its fourth day, look for performances from 13 artists including Danny Ross, The Courtesy Tier and Jessi Robertson (in the picture). Classically trained Ross brings his polished piano rock to the stage and his latest album, Danny Ross Presents One Way, while Brooklyn duo The Courtesy Tier, ranked #35 in The Deli’s current Best Of NYC Bands list, layers raw guitar riffs over catchy rhythms for a full-on rock sound, as heard on their recent EP, Map and Marker. Batting cleanup for the night is Robertson, one of the Local Correspondents founders, whose dark, lyrically driven songs and whiskey and honey-soaked voice will soon be exposed to a wider audience when her first studio album is released later this year. Performances begin at 8 p.m.

Sunday July 11’s, the final night, highlights include performances by Craig Chesler, Bryan Dunn (picttured), The Rambler’s Jeremiah Birnbaum, and nine others. Ukulele and guitar player Chesler mixes ’60s pop and ragtime into easy songs that practically scream summer, as heard on his latest CD, Little Craiggy Chesler & The Musical Proverbial Knee-Highs. Dunn, whose high-octane band shows pack ’em in at Mercury Lounge, brings his Americana rock out for a rare solo performance before heading into the studio to record a new album. Birnbaum, who fronts bluesy, alt. country act The Ramblers, will be serenading the crowd with songs from their latest release, Getting There. For the complete schedule of all five nights (from July 7th to the 11th), go here. For 42 free MP3s from festivals artists, split into four volumes for easy downloading, see here.

Ah, the delights of The Deli’s Open Blog! NYC duo Very Fresh posted an open blog entry here a few days ago – we checked out their songs and… we were impressed! "Marker", in particular,  is a splendid song, very fresh sounding, slightly reminiscent of Liz Phair for the honest, fun delivery and the surprising melodic turns, but more chilled and intense – Phair’s material was always so: "yeah whatever, this isn’t really affecting me at all, dudes…"
This song shows a ton of potential and earns the band’s EP "Americana" the Deli NYC’s CD of the Month title. Amongst the other tracks we also like spare and dark "On Moot Point", while "The Clientele", which also displays a Barretesque love for unexpected melody twists, would benefit from better performances. Don’t miss these guys’ live show at Les Poisson Rouge on July 10; they’ll be opening for Larkin Grimm, in whose band singer Cindy Lou Gooden plays the bass. Actually, we should write something about Larkin soon too…

The third night of Brooklyn’s 4th Annual LC Fest features free performances from Casey Shea, Lowry, Great Elk and ten more NYC indie acts. Shea (smaller pic) is a local celeb whose latest release, Love Is Here to Stay, combines vintage ’60s pop with pleasingly modern layers of noise. Indie rock band Lowry’s alt-country, psychedelia and rock sound has put them on the bill with bands such as Mates of State and Grizzly Bear, and their new album is scheduled for a fall release. Great Elk (bigger pic) just released their first self-titled studio EP, which is replete with haunting, sparse melodic rock. Performances begin at 8 p.m. For the complete schedule of all five nights (from July 7th to the 11th), go here. For 42 free MP3s from festivals artists, split into four volumes for easy downloading, go here.

The Rassle were born of the ribs of The Virgins and The Young Lords. This NYC psych-noise-pop band has the potential to attract the interest of a mixed audience of hipsters and "civilians" thanks to their droney guitar sound, combined with pristine and beautiful pop-folk melodies and dancey beats. Sit patiently through the 30 second intro of this video to meet a song that’s equal parts Jesus and Mary Chain, Happy Mondays and The Pogues (those Irish genes stuck in your system are always ready to pop up and be acknowledged, huh?) Thumbs up also for "Celebrate The Days", reminiscent of J&MC and Spiritualized, which you can find on their myspace page. Check out this noisy psycho-poppiness live at Union Hall on July 14.