Bear Hands (currently #39 in our NYC Indie Popularity Charts here) have been on The Deli’s radar for quite a while (they were our CD of the month some time in 2008) and it’s good to see them do well. The band, who recently signed to Cantora Records (who launched MGMT), has just announced the release of the new "What a Drag" EP and a US tour starting with a performance at The Studio on 02.16. The band’s sound has evolved in new exciting direction recently, we recommend you check out their songs here.
Amoeba Music’s “Music Relif for Haiti” Online Store

As if they haven’t given enough reason to draw worship to their alter, it seems the ever fantastic and often dangerous (at least financially) Amoeba Music has taken it upon themselves to become part of the fast growing list of organizations raising money for relief in Haiti. Amoeba will match dollar for dollar and contribute all the proceeds garnered through a special online store to the organization Doctors with out Boarders, currently providing much needed medical care in Haiti. If you haven’t picked up your copy of the Girls self titled album (The Deli SF’s CD of the month) or would like to pick up a fancy new Blu Ray copy of the wonderful Talking Heads tour film Stop Making Sense, the click on over to their website and snatch yourself one.
Of course if you can’t find what you’d like on the site, apparently Amoeba will also be collecting donations in their stores coinciding perfectly with this weekends pet adoption day at the San Francisco location. Music, homes for pets, humanitarian aid – surely Amoeba you have performed enough miracles in your lifetime to warrant becoming the first inanimate saint. So this weekend throw caution to the wind and hop down to the store knowing that you may leave sans your next months rent, but at least you’ll have supported a worth while cause… and of course boosted your record collection.
-Ada Lann
Local Natives play “Airplanes” on Two Meter Sessions
Local Natives | "Airplanes" (Two Meter Sessions)
[via The Music Slut]
The Deli LA’s Artists of 2009 Local Natives are breaking huge, fast and now international: check out the video above of an unplugged rendition of "Airplanes," straight from their debut LP Gorilla Manor. Filmed for Amsterdam’s Two Meter Sessions, the group show that even a subdued version of themselves is worthy of recognition.
CD of the Month: AM’s “Future Sons & Daughters”

Singer/songwriter AM isn’t a stranger to having left his musical mark right under your nose; his last LP Troubled Times had every track licensed to all sorts of projects on television and film, an impressive feat not done since Moby’s mega-hit Play. With that kind of cred, AM has already proven a strong viability with most any audience, but without the necessary weight that comes in being a well-recognized mainstay. That’s about to change with his latest LP Future Sons & Daughters, a fully developed snapshot of AM in the context of, not just the single, but the lost art of the album.
Produced by Charles Newman (The Magnetic Fields), this lush and multi-faceted pop work is a testament to AM’s love of retro radio, analog warmth and laser-precise melodies. Nods range from ’60s Detroit to ’70s Philly, but intends to be current with a modern palette in production. Highlight track "Fortunate Family Tree" revives roots melody awash with steady organs, loose snares and hallucinatingly wavey lead guitar lines, all signs that this is a worthy trip to a past sound, sans the cringing generally associated in homage attempts. This is pop music for the refined ear, or, rather, the ear that remembers what pop music was really always supposed to be. -Hugo Gomez
Saint Motel want to feast on your blood this Saturday at The Roxy
Saint Motel’s 2nd Annual Valentine’s Zombie Prom
Sat., Feb. 13 | The Roxy | All Ages
Saint Motel have done well in their quest to kill the live show paper flier with viral video announcements, and they’re only getting better at it. Once you’ve checked out the video above of their barely Thriller-esque homage in promotion for their 2nd Annual Valentine’s Zombie Prom taking place this Saturday at The Roxy, save some cash by scoring advanced tickets.
And, of course, you could always check back on The Deli’s Twitter page if you think this is sufficient hinting for free tickets. We might post something there today.
Win 2 tickets to fifth annual Lucent L’amour Visionary Love Fest!
It’s Valentine’s week. Because The Deli loves you all so much, we’re giving away a pair of tickets away to this Saturday’s fift annual Lucent L’amour Visionary Love Fest, presented by The Do Lab. Made up of contemporary art fixtures, DJ sets and live burlesque and vaudeville performances by Lucent Dossier, the event (some of which isn’t all that foreign to Coachella attendees) is expected to turn out thousands again, despite the storm and the relatively high price (at $65 a pop, you’d be a fool for not entering this contest).
If you’d like to go, drop a line to @TheDeliLA after you’ve followed us and tweet us your favorite (and ultimately all-too repeated on KOST) love song. First person to tweet their tune of choice gets a pair to this Saturday’s festival.
Mississippi Studios Raises Money for Haiti While Giving Pat Robertson the Finger

Pat Robertson is an insensitive asshole. I mean, really, who blames the devastating Haiti earthquake on voodoo or says they had it coming because they “sold their souls to the devil.” Because of Mr. Roberson’s batshit crazy response to the catastrophe, Mississippi Studios is hosting a Haiti Benefit appropriately entitled, “Hell to Pay – Fuck Pat Robertson and Rush Limbaugh.”
And what better way to donate money than a night full of incredible local music, including the fantastic avant-garde popsters Hosannas (formerly Church) and psychedelic folksters Blue Giant and The Minus 5. Add playing “Pin the Shit on Pat’s Face,” in the front half of the venue, and you’ve got yourself a real benefit!
Doors at 7 pm, show at 8. Tickets cost $15 in advance or $15-$50 at the door (sliding scale). All proceeds go to Mercy Corps
-Katrina Nattress
Interview with The Shills
The Shills are fast carving their niche in the Boston area scene with their music, songs that are simultaneously catchy, challenging and experimental in sound and concept. With their second full-length album Ganymede, a conceptual album about a misanthrope who is shipwrecked on an island and forced to confront himself, The Shills continue to hone their talents and distinct style as they assert themselves as a staple of the Boston scene. Recently, Bryan, Eric, Dave and James were kind enough to answer some questions for the Deli.
Deli: Could you give our readers a brief biography of the band? How you got together, what your musical and non-musical inspirations are, how you characterize your sound and style, etc.?
Eric: James, Dave & myself were in a previously existing band called Gallery. We fired our singer and were auditioning new ones when we came across Bryan. We all have different and similar musical influences, which is a great combination. The stuff we all like gives us a common ground to work from and then we can all bring in our own different influences and jumble it all together to create a new overall sound. It’s never been easy for us to describe our sound but it’s something like progressive pop/rock. We like to blend pop melodies and song structures with musically complex ideas and rhythms. The idea being that anyone can identify with sound right off the bat but there’s a lot of subtle complexities to keep it interesting. Basically we want my little sister and our music nerd friends to all dig it.
Read the whole interview by Meghan Guidry HERE
Is Xylos the New Abba? CD out later in 2010, Live at The Studio on 02.19

The love-inducing quintet Xylos has been bringing up-lifting dreamy soft tunes to the world since the release of their debut EP, Bedrooms in 2008. Their songs are a heavenly chorus of female and male vocals that will take you back to those Sunday afternoons at church harmony – ah! Don’t you ever miss those days when you could sing unselfconsciously during mass? As their name suggests there is plenty of xylophone-like percussive sounds here, plus gentle electric guitars and a laid back rhythm section. The band showcases a noteworthy musical maturity, channeling at times tropical influences (In The Bedroom), and experimenting at others with more daring ideas/song structures (Mission). The female lead singer’s vocals have the power to trigger instant attention and warmth. Their debut LP (produced by Britt Myers – the man behind bands like Chairlift and Yeasayer) will be out later this year, but in the meantime you shouldn’t miss their live show at The Studio at Webster Hall, Friday the 19th. – Chloe Schildhause
Indie BBQ this Friday

A trio of local acts is descending upon the most fancified BBQ joint in town: Ideal Soul Mart, Wiretree, and The Pons play at Lambert’s (401 W. 2nd St.) this Friday (2/12). (That’s Ruby Painter of The Pons pictured above, looking glam and contemplative all at once.) Fearless pop for the postmodern world, to steal a line from The Pons themselves.
The Rain
Mike Schpitz drops some knowledge over a borrowed 9th Wonder beat. “The Rain” appears on his mixtape Love Potion Number 9th: The Hangover.
Verbal Kent Mixtape and Tour

This month Verbal Kent will be unleashing his latest album “Save Your Friends”, and to hold us over, give us a peak, and mark Verbal Kent’s upcoming tour of Europe, Beat Trotterz has released a mixtape. This mixtape combines over 24 tracks spanning Kent’s career and contains “Example” featuring Lance Ambu and William Kurk from “Save Your Friends”. Kent has appeared on 20 release indie hip hop releases since 1999, and is one of the most prolific and respected emcees in town.
