THE DELI

A staple of the avant-pop Brooklyn scene, Monogold has been around long enough to have witnessed the "MySpace days," and in a showcase of true anti-comformism they haven’t abandoned that profile yet. The trio just released their third record, a six tracks EP entitled "This Bloom," which develops their shimmering and textured psychedelia in a more gentle and transparent direction. The band announced that this will be the first record in a series of three. Check out single "Under Daisies" below and don’t miss them live – the band can deliver on stage.

The NYC scene’s rediscovery of the music of the 90’s isn’t limited to the gutar based sound of grunge and slacker rock. With their first three singles, released in quick succession in the last three month, electronic trio Bottoms tap into the (mostly) European sound of industrial dance, a dark wave born from the marriage of the minimalistic production of Acid House and the goth tendencies that "plague" the home country of anything angular (Germany), but also, kind of unexpectedly, sunny European countries like Italy. The NYC band, comprised (as they say) of "two shitty drag queens, a 303 and a drummer," makes that language their own, by introducing grotesque vocals that, together with the obsessive repetition of their beats and the noisy nature of their arrangements, push their music to extreme levels of paradox and alienation. Their sound is charged with what they call "gender problemizing" content, also recurrent in the sexually provoking cyberpunk imagery. Check out their latest single HIV (released on World AIDS day), from the upcoming debut "Goodbye EP," out on January 20. You can catch them live at Baby’s All Right on December 14. 

"Desert" is a word that lately has been visiting our blog more often than usual. The aesthetics of "desert rock" are kind of vague, but in most cases refer to rather slow burning rock music with epic overtones and psychedeliic influences, often featuring also roots music and Morriconian elements (our favorite band in this niche was Thin White Rope). Brooklyn trio Desert Stars – whose latest single "Hamster Wheel" recently got some love from NME – fits this description quite well, although they relinquish the typical tension of the genre in favor of a dreamier and more harmonious approach, as if the desert was inhabited by angels rather than bandits. Unless, of course, it’s all just a heat induced hallucination… Find it out for yourself tomorrow night (12.02), when the band plays Glasslands.

We added this song to The Deli’s playlist of Best psychedelic songs by emerging NYC artists – check it out!