THE DELI

Jam bands, improvisational music classes and Philip Glass’ five-hour opera “Einstein on the Beach” are just a few of the unexpected influences cited by The Deli’s Best of NYC Emerging Band of 2013 – i.e. punk outfit Big Ups, who graced the cover of our spring 2014 issue. In fact, the group – known for chaotic live performances and a sound that recalls classic 80s hardcore and 90s post-hardcore – are not hesitant to admit that some of them used to listen to Phish or that they don’t really consider themselves a punk band. The band is currently touriong Europe, which has so far been more receptive to their sound than their home country.

LINKS:
– Bill Dvorak’s interview with Big Ups
– The Deli’s coverage of Big Ups
– The Deli’s playlist of the best punk/slacker rock emerging NYC bands

Foxes in Fiction started out as a project based around Warren Hildebrand’s interests in tape machines, field recordings, and sampling and the manipulation of those mediums.  His music is ambient, intimate, and surreal; almost all of his tracks feel like they’re floating on air, existing in a dream like state.  The manipulation of the sounds from the environments that surround us has long been explored (starting with the futurist painter Luigi Russolo and his manifesto, The Art of Noises, in 1913!!), and it brings us joy that there are people still exploring those mediums in the NYC DiY community.  Taking music past the point of what our ears are conditioned to experience, Foxes in Fiction near the connection between music and Earth by combining the two: the world is an instrument, and Foxes in Fiction shows us this in a beautiful way.  

Hildebrand also co-runs Orchid Tapes, who put out records by both Alex G and Elvis Depressedly.  The reason I mention those names specifically is because all three of those artists are playing a show at Shea Stadium this Saturday August 16 along with Emily Reo.  Alex G was our best emerging artist of 2013 for the Philadephia blog, and Elvis Depressedly is soon to be no more, so it’s definitely a show worth checking out.  Stream Foxes in Fiction’s song "8/29/91" below -Jake Saunders

Among the plethora of Brooklyn indie bands these days stands out Control Group, a refreshingly clean-sounding, catchy rock outfit with infectious tunes for those who enjoy simple, unpretentious and somewhat muscular indie rock. They’ve just released a Modest Mouse & Yuck-esque new single called ‘The Sky Is The Same’ which you can listen to here. It’s taken from their upcoming album ‘Hot Swap’, which is due out on Sept 16. And if you’re near Pianos on 8/21, check out their show. –Michael Haskoor (@Tweetskoor)

There’s something really quite special about the fuzz rock that comes from the minds of 60’s psychedelia-influenced artists like Ty Segall, The Orwells, The Black Lips. Here’s one more for you, straight out of Brooklyn: Dances is a three piece that just put out an EP, Whiter Sands, featuring four glorious songs worth of gut busting, psych-rock fuzz-jams.   Specifically telling of the band’s style is the quite surreal video they just released for their song, "Doc Youth."  The song features a guy being followed around by another guy toting a rifle and garbed solely in tight whities and a freaky looking mask.  It’s definitely one for the books.  Peep the video below. – Jake Saunders

Tomorrow, August 12th, Father/Daughter Records will officially release Rivergazer’s first full-length album, “Random Nostalgia.” Rivergazer is the moniker of songwriter Kevin Farrant (also guitarist in Porches), who enlisted producer Hunter Davidsohn and musician Kolson Pickard to craft a sound worthy of road tripping and soul searching. Farrant couldn’t have thought of a more fitting title for the collection; while he rarely offers up names of people or places he sings about, he surely lets their presence overwhelm the listener through his suggestive lyrics. The album is dreamy at heart, but Kevin’s earthy vocals, his heartbreaking lyrical imagery and the songs’ recurring twangyness veer it towards a decidedly alt folk direction. Listen to our favorite piece “Lonely” and be sure to catch the release next week. – Jillian Dooley

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