Portland

From the Deli Portland Open Blog: Lasers for Eyes Party Programme

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Lasers for Eyes

Featuring former members of Phoenix band Bodhisattva and Portland’s short-lived, exclusively house show band BOOKENDS, Lasers for Eyes is a bass-crunching, drum-rattling duo who draws influences from Northwest post-punk and noise like Blood Brothers and The Get Hustle, as well as San Diego-area psych and hardcore like Antioch Arrow.

Though often compared to bands like Death From Above 1979 because of their bass & drums lineup, the band is moving into a more psychedelic and garage sound and away from dance.

Their next show is at Backspace, Friday, February 5th. featuring newcomers Wizard Rifle, and – fresh from a European tour – veterans KidCrash.

NYC

Best of NYC 2009 – Deli Writers Chart: Real Estate + Cymbals Eat Guitars

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1
  Cymbals Eat Guitars
 
  Real Estate
3
  The Antlers
 
  Beach Fossils
 
  Dirty Projectors
 
  Freelance Whales
 
  Motel Motel
 
  Sharon Van Etten
 
  The Vandelles
 
  Woods
This year we gathered so much data for our Year End Best of NYC Poll that we can even give you a chart of our Deli writers vote – here it is.

The top two bands received 3 votes from our writers, while the groups of bands in 3rd place received 2 writers’ votes each.

The Deli’s Staff
 
L.A.

Relief Alert: Haiti benefit at Echoplex on Friday

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The folks at Manimal Vinyl are putting a stellar line-up together this Friday for a Haiti relief benefit show at the Echoplex. If you haven’t given already, or are willing to give up some more, The American Red Cross will be standing by to collect the $10 entry fee for immediate relief. Scheduled to play: Nico Vega, Adanowsky, Jenny O., SoKo, Corridor, Pizza!, and the LA Ladies Choir. RSVP on the Facebook event page for more updates.

San Francisco

Year End Best of San Francisco Readers’ Poll – Final Top 10!

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1
  Orchestra Of Antlers
2
  Grand Lake
3
  Le Vice
4
  A B & the Sea
5
  Leopold and his Fiction
6
  Baby Dino
7
  Michael Zapruder
8
  The Downer Party
9
  Honeycomb
10
  TV Mike & the Scarecrowes
This is our final Top 10 for the Year End Best of San Francisco readers Poll – full breakdown of the votes here.

On Thursday we’ll publish the results of the Best of San Francisco 2009 Poll, which is calculated through a rather complicated system involving a jury of scene makers, The Deli’s writers, our readers, the bands’ fans, and also through an initial open contest – rules can be found here. – Stay tuned!

The Deli’s Staff
 
New England

Year End Best of New England Readers’ Poll – Final Top 10!

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1
  McAlister Drive
2
  M Bernier & the Uprising
3
  28 Degrees Taurus
4
  The Organ Beats
5
  The Day’s Weight
6
  Dave Alpert
7
  Myra Flynn
8
  Jesse Dee
9
  The Points North
10
  Township
This is our final Year End Best of New England Fans Poll’s Top 10 – full breakdown of the votes here.

On Wednesday we’ll publish the results of the Best of New England 2009 Poll, which is calculated through a rather complicated system involving a jury of scene makers, The Deli’s writers, our readers, the bands’ fans, and also through an initial open contest – rules can be found here. – Stay tuned!

The Deli’s Staff
 
San Francisco

Best Albums of 2009 from the SF Bay Area

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1. WHY? – Eskimo Snow
Its hard to believe these songs were written at the same time as Alopecia way back in 2007. A perfect mix between weird, poppy, and intelligent that is incredibly fun and satisfying.

2. Man/Miracle – The Shape of Things
A band with some of the most original mixes of influences, think Talking Heads doing sometimes darker indie dance songs, Man/Miracle is one of my favorite bands in Oakland. Every song on The Shape of Things becomes your favorite as you listen to it. A late release in November of 100 copies has already rumored to be sold out, but it will be re-released by Third Culture Records in February of 2010 making it a safe prediction that The Shape of Things will make it on this same list next year too.

3. Girls – Album
It seems that there are a number of people who are “over” this record or sick of hearing about it on Pitchfork and other prominent music blogs but, to be frank, those people are idiots. Excessive publicity aside, Girls made a really amazing record. Interesting song writing and Christopher Owens’ voice made most of the songs on Album impossible to not enjoy. Was there a better opening song on a local record this year than “Lust For Life” or a better almost seven minute slow tempo pop song than “Hellhole Ratrace”? No, there wasn’t.

4. Grand Lake – Nevermint
Grand Lake’s debut with their original 4 person line up blew me away when it was released in March. Short minimal pop songs became controlled explosions for all 7 tracks of Nevermint. The songwriting of Caleb Nichols is complemented perfectly by the wild guitar abstractions of Jameson Swanagon. Grand Lake may have moved on from these type of songs, but none the less Nevermint is one of the better listens from the East Bay scene this year.

5.Tall Grass – Nothing, Nothing Tra La La
Tall Grass made my favorite CD-R of 2009. The songwriting of Andrew Macey is both emotional and hilarious allowing it to touch the listener in a special and unique way. Like their performances, Tall Grass is best enjoyed in an intimate setting where you can feel as close to the acoustic guitar, fiddle, harmonies, and subtle percussion as possible.

-Glenn Jackson

L.A.

Coachella speculation frenzy ends; include appearances by Deli LA favs

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We never wanted to partake in the Coachella line-up guessing game because, well, we might as well be writing fan fiction, so we patiently waited for this glorious graphic to surface this morning. Unless you’ve been living under a proverbial digital rock, here it is. Congrats to Deli LA favorites Mayer Hawthorne and Local Natives for scoring a spot on one of the most diverse bills the festival has seen in recent memory. We’ll be bringing you a complete round-up of LA artists slated for Indio in days to come, just in case the itch for a local preview hits you.

Nashville

Year End Best of Nashville Readers’ Poll – Final Top 10!

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1
 The Protomen
2
 PUJOL
3
 Bad Cop
4
 Milktooth
5
 Diarrhea Planet
6
 Vermicious K’nids
7
 Square People
8
 Heartbeater
9
 Marj
10
 Look What I Did
This is the final Deli’s Year End Best of Nashville Fans Poll’s Top 10 – full breakdown of the votes here.

On Wednesday we’ll publish the results of the Best of Nashville 2009 Poll, which is calculated through a rather complicated system involving a jury of scene makers, The Deli’s writers, our readers, the bands’ fans, and also through an initial open contest – rules can be found here. – Stay tuned!

The Deli’s Staff
Austin

Year End Best of Austin Readers’ Poll – Final Top 10

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1
  Stereo is a Lie
2
  International Waters
3
  The Sour Notes
4
  Drew Smith
5
  Missions
6
 Whitman
7
  Harlem
 
  Survive
9
  Brazos
10
  The Calm Blue Sea
Deli Readers have spoken – final results are in for our 2009 Readers’ Poll, with STEREO IS A LIE narrowly edging International Waters for the top spot. Bronze goes to The Sour Notes.

The champs play Beauty Bar this Friday (along with Buttercup, Ideal Soul Mart and Bear Bones). International Waters recently returned from the Cavern in Dallas and are slated for the Mohawk this Feb. 11th, and the Sour Notes, who just dropped their fourth album It’s Not Gonna Be Pretty on New Years Day, will also play the Mohawk on Jan. 28th. Get out and see how they earned the top spots. 

The Deli Staff

 
NYC

NYC artists on the rise: Sad Red’s CD release party on 01.22 at Union Hall

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They might be called Sad Red but they definitely have a thing for blue – and math. This Brooklyn based quintet plays some kind of "avant-math-emo" rock, whose blue, melancholic atmoshperes match the dominant color of their debut album’s cover. The drums, guitars and keyboards rhythmic interplay recalls at times King Krimsons’ madly intricate interwoven patterns, while the overall atmosphere of their sound is alternatively not too distant from Radiohead’s moody exhistentialism and Soundgarden’s indie blues (there’s that color again). Other more relaxed tunes showcase an impeccable gusto for consuming songs that build in intensity and are not afraid to indulge in controlled guitar solos – like peeps used to do in the good old days, remember? Sad Red will celebrate the release of their CD "elder" with a show at Union Hall on 01.22, definitely worth checking out.

Chicago

Songs For Haiti

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Chicago’s Andrew Bird and Umphrey’s McGee are among the 200 plus artists who have donated MP3s (many unreleased) to this new charitable music site established by Paste Magazine. 100% of money contributed through “Songs for Haiti” will be spread among three charities active in Haiti: Doctors Without Borders, Red Cross, and Wyclef Jean’s Yele Haiti Earthquake Fund. If you have already donated you can tell “Songs For Haiti” where you donated and still gain access to site. Although we are a music site, this is not as much about the music that you will gain access to, but the act of giving in this time of need.

Chicago

CD Review: Bullets In Madison

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It’s too easy to compare Bullets In Madison to bands like Coldplay and Radiohead. Besides when you listen closely you will find that the band is not as pretentious as Coldplay and hungrier than Radiohead. On their latest album, We Became Your Family When You Died, the band does an exceptional job of creating and sustaining a complex and heavily textured atmosphere. The album opener, “Impossible Grave” is the perfect example of their craftsmanship, a mixer of aggressive drummer, angelic violins, rhythmic guitar, and floating vocals.

This album is remarkably well put together for a self-released project, and it shows how dedicated the band is to their sound. All too often young bands are still searching for their sound and try to do too much, but Bullets In Madison have perfected the orchestral atmospherics like no other. My favorite track on the album has to be “Riots”, it encompasses all the many elements that really make this album one of the first standout albums of the year. You can download the album for free at Bullets In Madison’s website.