Artist: The National

Deli LA Readers, Here's the chart of the top 15 bands as voted by our jurors of local scene makers. Congrats to Allah-Las and Fidlar , the only bands to gather more than one juror's vote. 1. ALLAH-LAS "Catamaran" b/w "Long Journey" by Allah-Las 2. FIDLAR Wake Bake Skate by FIDLAR [...]

Ravens & Chimes showcase the kind of urgency you usually expect to hear from folk frontmen desperately running from a broken heart and delaying the pain of unrealized expectations. Lead singer Asher Lack may share many of these same issues, but on sophomore record "Holiday Life" (out April 3rd On Better Looking Records), he handles it all with deft songwriting and a wandering curiosity that launches this record to some surprising places. Filled with sudden stops and orchestral interludes, "Holiday" is very bit a symphony as much as it is a Baroque pop classic. Like them [...]

• Ravens & Chimes - Night

It's been a wild ride to the finish line, but the dust has finally settled and we are excited to announce the overall final results of our "Best Emerging Act of 2011"! We would like to thank all the bands who were in the running. Together, along with many other talented acts not listed, your efforts make up the vibrant music culture that is increasingly drawing the attention of the national spotlight. Keep fighting the good fight in 2012 and we look forward to hearing all the latest jams! Congratulations to this year's top three acts! 1. [...]

The Extraordinaires are arguably Philadelphia's most exciting nostalgia-core, acousto-pop Jamboree band. While their year may have been relatively slow in terms of musical output (one 3-song EP The Postcard ), the band was anything but quiet. As we have come to expect from The Extraordinaires, if there was a holiday approaching, the boys made sure to stop at nothing to perform outlandish and wholly invested theme shows. This included their Mr. Roger's-esque Holiday Revue , fully equipped with hung stockings, fake fires and many a special guest. Their Halloween extravaganza with The Deli was no less an [...]

Most musicians dream to to be recognized and praised by their own musical heros, and that very admiration often triggered their ill advised decision to try the rockstar route. This dream suddenly came true for Brooklyn and CT based The Stepkids when, on January 28, none other than Radiohead's Thom Yorke posted this blog on the band's site. Since we picked these guys for our cover in our Fall 2011 issue of The Deli, we also feel like a little dream has materialized... MAYBE THOM YORKE READS THE DELI!?! Here's the song mentioned in the Radiohead [...]

Philly's own Dr. Dog will be on CONAN tonight! They just dropped Be the Void yesterday - their best record yet. Team Coco has been really supportive so you can check out the album HERE for yourself. Congrats to the canine crew!

Below is an in-studio video of The Lawsuits performing an interestingly named new track called "Hot Girl Makes Porno." It was recorded and filmed in South Philly's HotBox Studios. The band will be having a release show for their upcoming EP Hot Love on Saturday, April 7 at MilkBoy Philly with Cheers Elephant , Penrose , Levee Drivers , and special guests Ground Up .

2/8 (TONIGHT) @ Kaufman Center. Wanna attend with a guest? If so, then like A Heart Is A Spade on Facebook and leave a shout! A winner will be randomly chosen on 2/8 @ 3PM. Buy tix here. Arcade Fire recently dropped by WBEZ. Purchase Arcade Fire items via Insound. MP3: Arcade Fire - The Suburbs (Zambri Mix)

Brooklyn-based folk rock band Jones Street Station will be previewing their new EP, "The Understanding," this Tuesday (February 14) on Spotify.com for 2 weeks and then will be releasing it officially on February 28th. Several tracks from the EP are accompanied by CJ Camerieri (Bon Iver, The National and Sufjan Stevens) on the horn and the music video for the title track (streaming below, directed by Adam Reid) features Danny Pudi from NBC's "Community." The band will also play a gig on February 12th at Public Assembly in Brooklyn with Ben Lovett's (Mumford & Sons) Communion, David Wax [...]

A cohesive theme can be a determining factor of whether a live show is actually a show or just a bunch of performances by different artists thrown together by time and space. So, at first blush, the lineup at Webster Hall on the 10th seems like a mishmash put together by a clueless intern. Funky pop ( Turkuaz ) with hip-hop ( Deathrow Tull - pictured) commencing with folk-pop ( Futurist )? That would probably leave those unversed in the actual sounds and energies of each band scratching their heads. But, if we're assigning physical movements, let's give whoever [...]

I just wanted to give everyone a heads up about a last minute show tonight at Kung Fu Necktie with Far-Out Fangtooth and Brooklyn's Royal Baths. Originally, it was scheduled at Little Bar before the split with Phonograph Arts. Luckily, you'll get a great deal to see both acts in one of my favorite Philly venues. Far-Out Fangtooth are fine tuning their material as they prepare to make the trek down to SXSW once again. (Hopefully there will be less drama this year - they were on tour with The Spooks when the band broke up.) Far-Out Fangtooth [...]

Your senses will be treated to a sonic kaleidoscope tonight at Silk City. South Philly's True Gold can carry you into the ether with angelic vocals and soaring guitar riffs. I'm really looking forward to hearing from the somewhat mysterious four-piece once their official release comes out via Phonographic Arts. True Gold will be sharing the stage with Harsh Vibes , another fledgling act that are seriously on my radar. The instrumental demos from the noisy, shoegaze-y psych rockers are simply nasty and intense. They'll also be joined by fellow locals Store Cats and [...]

MIXTVPE , the second EP from electronica/post-hyphy artist HVZEL is hands down astonishing. DC has itself a contender in the witch house race with HVZEL leading the way. MIXTVPE brings forth 5 booming tracks that ooze eerie keys amongst a haze of intense bass and warbly voices. "Executioner" nods to the theme of The Exorcist while adding a flair of morbid hip hop beats and speaker blowing keys. "Transfiguration" is the long lost sister of a Salem B-side, haunting and beautiful. "Medium" is a digital explosion, with keys [...]

DC indie poppers We Were Pirates recently released their second full length album, Change, (available now via their bandcamp site ) complete with 10 gems of tracks and the occasional sounds of cello! And the first single, "Better Off Without You" now has it's own snazzy zombie love story music video. Check it out!

Wilco's latest video from their album "The Whole Love" for the track "Dawned On Me" is nothing short of amazing. It is the first hand-drawn Popeye cartoon in over 30 years. "The Whole Love" was nominated for two Grammy's so they may be sited at the award's show on Feb 12th.

Kellen & Me has released their video for the track "Why Are You?". The track appears on their self-titled debut album that was released last summer. You can catch Kellen & Me at Abbey Pub on Feb. 16th.

Rootsy ensemble Lucius once again exceeded our expectations with this stunning video of the song "Go Home" - the single from their upcoming EP. The band will celebrate its release in style with a show at Bowery Ballroom on February 17. Lucius will grace the cover of our upcoming NYC spring issue of The Deli - a spot they won by placing second in our Best of NYC Poll for Emerging Artists (since winners Caveman already were on a previous cover of The Deli).

I came away from listening to Jack Wilson 's new self-titled album believing that he truly has a very personal way of coating a rust tinged world with some beautiful colors, and a seemingly infinite amount of them. Trying to distance himself from the idea of making a concept album, he really gave himself the opportunity to sing in many voices. This approach allows the emotional ride of this album to be as unpredictable and varying as the course of any other natural human life, allowing it to breathe. Jack is about to release his debut album on Portland [...]

If I was still an awkward teenage rebel trying to find my station in the world, Nicole Snyder and Rachel Gagliardi would be my heroes (at 29, they're my total girl crushes). The two rad chicks behind the super rad duo Slutever are defining riot grrrl for the 21st century, smashing out bleeding fuzz struts pressed against sweaty post-punk blasts twisted around sweet girl-group vibes. But it's more than just their beautifully bratty sound that makes you take notice - in addition to feeding the nostalgia of '90s feminist youth, they're blasting open the world for alt-tween girls [...]

Electro-pop outfit Jamuel Saxon started with a mission to make a more contemplative form of synth pop. But it simply wasn't in their DNA - as they've progressed throughout the years, the San Diego natives realized their music would resonate better if they simply loosen up and make things more fun. Their debut full-length, Pre-Madonna, constantly surprises with its way-out, off the curb synth lines, frantic loops and heavily processed vocals. It finds them building a new sound, one that bursts with wonder and full-on release. You can listen to Pre-Madonna in its entirely on their Soundcloud [...]