Folk/Country
Alpenglow tours + plays Rough Trade on February 19

Having been hard at work on their new LP for the past few months, Alpenglow is getting ready to stretch their wings and debut a full set of new songs in a mini tour of the Northeast. The new album, which is being produced by Sam Cohen (of The Yellowbirds), promises for an even trippier, more insightful continuation of their lonesome-traveler, psych-folk sound, drawing from the essence and experience of perhaps one too many New England winters, and translating their move to Brooklyn into audible incentives by which to live. The psych-soul underlining of Cohen’s vision will introduce only the most effectual tonal brilliance to Alpenglow’s already established soul-searching sound. The tour stops at Rough Trade on February 19, with support from Barsuk Records’ Laura Gibson and Wild Leaves . –JP Basileo
Best of New England 2014 for Emerging Artists: FINAL RESULTS: 1. Dark Rodeo, 2.Gymshorts, 3.Nathan Ventura,

Deli Nation,
Our Year End Poll for Emerging New England Artists was - as usual - a painstaking (and somewhat excruciating) process, but we pulled it off with remarkable flair!
Heavy and earthy, Dark Rodeo applies a punk attitude and and song format to country lyrical themes and guitar tones. Congrats, guys!
Gym Shorts are threw some high-energy surf punk in our laps with last years record No Backsies. Check out their tune "Viberator" and take it to the slopes while we're waiting for the snow to melt.
Nathan Ventura's back with a band, and released Pucker Up in February 2014. It's definitely a weird one. Check out Nathan's wild vocals and the band's experimental garage feel. Definitely some novel sounds on every track of Pucker Up.
Honorable mention to Kid Mountain, for their killer free New Years Eve show in Brighton!
Here is how it all went down: first, we let the local bands submit their music (for free), and got our Deli editors to pick the nominees. Then we polled a list of 15+ New England scene experts (our jury) and asked them to nominate 3 more bands of their choice each. Then we polled our writers, then we polled our readers. We tried to keep things open for each single genre, from Indie Rock to Roots Music to Hip Hop.
If you are a geek interested in all the subtelties related to how this poll works, you can read its rules here (happy reading!). But if all you care about is the awesome new music New England produced in the year 2013, this list is all you need. Enjoy!
Jurors List: Sam Potrykus (Boston Hassle), Erich Hagan (Harlem Globetrotters), Ellie Molitor (Great Scott), Greg (The Oak and the Ax), Ryan (Salty Speakers), Lionel Train (Mid East Club), Conrad Benjamin, Jacob Nathan (AS220), Paul Mayer (Cafe Nine), Nicholas Firine (The Space, CT), Alex Lalli and Quillan George (Signal Kitchen), Joe Adler (Radio Bean, VT), Cresta (The Red Door, NH), Mariam Saleh (Fat Creeps), Noah Britton (The Deli), Erich Hagan, John Fleming (John Fleming Enterteinment), Nick (Deep Thoughts JP), Luke O'Neil (Alternative Press), Joseph Graham (NE Music Awards), Adam Tercyak-Morgan (Surviving the Golden Age), Daniel G. Kuhn, Perry Eaton, Malcolm Tent (Trash American Style).
Hope you'll find some awesome new artists you weren't aware of!
The Deli's Staff
Haint Blue's Company of Ghosts.

If you’re looking for a little fiddle, banjo, and soul on Valentine’s weekend, Folk-pop septet Haint Blue is coming to the Velvet Lounge in Washington, D.C. on February 13th. This band’s sound is alive, with bluegrass fiddle and banjo, powerful harmonies, and melancholy lyrics. One lyric in “Company of Ghosts” (the title track to their newest album) is, “Promise myself I’d retire much older, but I still abide,” hauntingly beautiful due to the sparse instrumentation and seamless harmonies that go along with the words. Though the album is only seven tracks, it feels cohesive and complete, due to the range of emotion and sound of the songs. “Father Abraham” is an upbeat, foot-tapping song with spiritual lyrics, while “Wherever You Go” is a cynical, slower, and darker song with lyrics that are not afraid to surprise the listener. This band promises energy, passion, and musical finesse.
The show on the 13th is a must-see, with Big Hoax and Dear Creek joining them at The Lounge. If you have to miss it, though, Company of Ghosts is on sale on iTunes and Bandcamp. They are also playing closer to their Baltimore home the next night at Cafe Nola in Frederick, MD on February 14th. --Nancy Macmillan
Best of New England 2014 for Emerging Artists: Readers' Poll results

Deli Readers,
The Deli New England's Best of 2014 Readers and Fans' Poll for local emerging artists is over, thanks to all those who cast their vote in support of the emerging local bands and artists in our list of nominees.
Here is the top ten, and streaming track of the top three bands - which we congratulate!
1. Grundlefunk
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2. Suitcase Junket
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3. Mixx Geo
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Here's this poll's top 10 chart, full results can be found here.
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Stay tuned for the composite chart, to be released soon, which will include details about the point nominees accumulated from the jurors and Deli writers' votes, and will crown The Deli's Best EmergingNew England Artist of 2014.
The Deli's Staff
The Polarizing Poetry of Puppy Problems

To appreciate the brilliance of Beat Happening's "The Fall" or "In My Memory," one must look past their trademark lo-fi production, off-key singing, and simple song structures. Puppy Problems will probably elicit the same confused judgments BH did at first, and that's a real shame, because Sami Martasian's lyrics often hit the listener in the gut halfway through a seemingly simple story about getting lost or celebrating Christmas.
Puppy Problems plays Tuesday at Midway Cafe with Sports Coach, Nathan Ventura, and ACLU Benefit.