It’s not easy to write a song that’s universally relatable without an ounce of cliche, but that’s exactly what Portland, Maine natives The Mallett Brothers Band accomplished on the title track of their fourth studio album, Lights Along The River.  The story of reflection on a long journey home is delivered in layered vocals that rise to a powerful climax, while bluegrass-style instrumentals manage to evoke the feeling of floating down river as clearly as the lyrics themselves. The Mallett Brothers are currently touring New England to promote their new album - find a list of their upcoming shows here: http://www.mallettbrothersband.com/#tour-section

-Glori Blatt
Photo credit: Nicole Wolf Photography

Letter Ghost, the latest release from Portland, ME’s Blood Warrior, is an eerily-beautiful record. The vocals on these tracks are some of the most honest and chilling I’ve heard in recent months. The lead vocals are dripping in sorrow and intense emotion--the singer’s voice rising, falling, even quivering on some notes. I guess the best way to put it might be that Letter Ghost sounds like a mournful musical eulogy.

My favorite track was "All Your Thoughts", with its poignant lyrics and ghostly backing vocals. This song is perhaps the best example of the dirge-esque qualities of Letter Ghost, evoking visions of a mournful procession slowly making its way to the burial grounds.

For more info about Blood Warrior (including upcoming shows), check out their website.

-Dan McMahon (@dmcmhn)
 

Ladies and Gents,

The SXSW 2015 issue of The Deli can be now read online here. 10k copies of this baby will flood the streets of Austin during SXSW Music Week.

It will be a busy time for us as usual, with the madness of the Stompbox Exhibit in full swing, joined this year by a sister expo called Synth Space!

So yeah... if you are attracted to nerds, come and see us at the SXSW Music Gear Expo inside the Austin Convention Center from March 19 to March 21 (11am-6pm)!

We'll also have a small live showcase, here are the details:

THE DELI'S SXSW 2015 SHOWCASE

FACEBOOK EVENT
WHEN: Friday 03.20, 4pm
WHERE: FLatstock Stage (Austin Convention Center)

4.00 Prinze George (DC Area)
4.45 Lazyeyes (Brooklyn, NY)
5.30 Roger Sellers (Austin)

See y'all in Austin!

The Deli's Staff

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!

BEST OF 2014 POLL FOR EMERGING NEW ENGLAND ARTISTS ****** FINAL RESULTS ******

ARTIST J OS W R TOT   1 Dark Rodeo 5.5     0.005 5.505 2 Gymshorts 4.5   1 0.003 5.503 3 Nathan Ventura & The Buttercups 5.5     0.001 5.501 4 Kid Mountain 3   2 0.003 5.003 5 Suitcase Junket 2     1.5 3.5   Smooth Antics 3     0.5 3.5 7 Derive 3     0.096 3.096 8 Particulars 3     0.041 3.041 9 Jake McKelvie & the Countertops   3   0.034 3.034 10 Hayley Sabella 3     0.025 3.025 11 Guerilla Toss 2   1 0.017 3.017 12 Elison Jackson 3     0.011 3.011 13 Alpenglow 3     0.008 3.008   As the Sparrow   3   0.008 3.008   Violent Mae 3     0.008 3.008 16 Butcher Boy 3     0.006 3.006 17 Mal Devisa 3     0.005 3.005 18 Biscuits & Gravy 3     0.004 3.004 19 Anchors Away 3     0.003 3.003 20 Paper Castles 3     0.001 3.001   Rye Pines 3     0.001 3.001   samuel james 3     0.001 3.001 23 Grundlefunk 1     2 3   Miss Geo   1 1 1 3   Ben Knight 3     0 3   Michelle Chamuel 3     0 3   Sirens 3     0 3 28 Clara Berry 2     0.085 2.085 29 And The Kids 1   1 0.064 2.064 30 BLKBX 2     0.061 2.061 31 Abbie Barrett and The Last Date 2     0.044 2.044 32 Daphne Lee Martin 2     0.031 2.031 33 Mosey Greams 2     0.017 2.017 34 Ports of Spain 2     0.009 2.009 35 Elephant 2     0.006 2.006   Neon Fauna 2     0.006 2.006 37 Pile 2     0.005 2.005 38 Moron 2     0.004 2.004   Notches 2     0.004 2.004 40 Dinnersss 2     0.003 2.003   Fire in the Field 2     0.003 2.003   Mini Dresses 2     0.003 2.003   The Hotelier 2     0.003 2.003   Tredici Bacci 2     0.003 2.003 45 Downtown Boys 2     0.002 2.002 46 Andy California 2     0.001 2.001   Bell and the Bees 2     0.001 2.001   Eric George 2     0.001 2.001   Humanbeast 2     0.001 2.001   Mendition Of The Quay 2     0.001 2.001   My Fictions 2     0.001 2.001   Somos 2     0.001 2.001 53 Annie Brobst 2     0 2   Eljebel 2     0 2   Life on The Sideline 2     0 2   Pours 2     0 2   Rabbit Rabbit 2     0 2   Rosie and the Rosies 2     0 2   Tom Kovacevic 2     0 2 60 Andre Obin   1.5   0 1.5 61 Pat and the Hats 1     0.091 1.091 62 Miss Fairchild 1     0.063 1.063 63 Jet Black Sunrise   1   0.053 1.053 64 Sarah Blacker   1   0.04 1.04 65 Doug Tuttle   1   0.023 1.023 66 Marina Evans   1   0.017 1.017 67 Radclyffe Hall   1   0.014 1.014 68 Plums 1     0.013 1.013 69 Joe Young 1     0.012 1.012 70 Tell Stories 1     0.007 1.007 71 Gracie 1     0.005 1.005 72 Zayde Buti 1     0.004 1.004 73 Blessed State 1     0.002 1.002   Couples Counseling 1     0.002 1.002   Madaila 1     0.002 1.002   Mister Happy Cloud 1     0.002 1.002 77 No Evil Star   1   0 1   Plains 1     0 1   Salitter 1     0 1   The Backyard Committee 1     0 1   The Coincidental Hour 1     0 1   We Were Astronauts 1     0 1 Legend: J = Jurors, W = Deli Writers, R = Deli Readers, OS = Open Submissions

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

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

---

2. Suitcase Junket

---

3. Mixx Geo

---

Here's this poll's top 10 chart, full results can be found here.

BEST OF NEW ENGLAND 2014 - READERS' POLL RESULTS   Artists Votes   1 Grundlefunk 366 2 Suitcase Junket 261 3 Miss Geo 231 4 Smooth Antics 193 5 Derive 96 6 Pat and the Hats 91 7 Clara Berry 85 8 And the Kids 65 9 BLKBX 61 10 Jet Black Sunrise 53

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