"Punk-Rock" is one of my favorite adjectives, in particular when preceded by the word "very." It helps me describe in a fun way otherwise gross scenarios (the constant influx of garbage entering my car, the shoes I wear with holes in the sole). This gritty aesthetic is something I've held near and dear to my heart since high school. The trap of listening to a lot of punk music though is that, after a while, it gets damn near impossible to yield to those primary principles that separate the punks from the poseurs, without like a thousands other bands. It becomes easy to get lost wondering just what punk should sound like in 2016.  Well, I'm going to lobby for something like Shop Talk.  Formed by members from both Liturgy and the Pygmy Shrews, the band delivers a sound that's so immediately compelling that I was smitten from the first jagged riff on their EP s/t. Shop Talk is dirty, catchy, and threatens to burst at the seams any second. Check them out at Cake Shop supporting Sleepies and Joey Sprinkles on September 16th.-Olivia Sisinni

After four years, Sleepies are back with a new full length entitled Natural Selection, released on July 16th via Mirror Universe Tapes. The record marks a definite shift for the band towards late '60s British psych. The opening two songs 'Chips Left' and 'Genetic Cousins' (streaming) toy with melodies reminiscent of unforgotten madman Syd Barrett, but fill up the sonic spectrum with a tense and fuzzy blend of garagey distorted guitars. Following song “All Over The Years” follows recycles Parquet Courts' "Nu-Post-Punk" sound (a recurring influence), although the spacey chord changes never fail to remind us the psych nature of this work. Delirious power-track Sky Chase is filled with urgency and intriguing vocal arrangements, while pushing the saturation of their garagey sound to eleven. Throughout the album, the guitars always lay the groundwork with threatening tones and riffs, but this tension is constantly resolved through memorable choruses and vocal melodies - for a satisfying listening esperience. - John Honan

Brooklyn based trio Sleepies is some kind of hidden treasure of the NYC punk-rock scene - although we agree "treasure" is not a word that should be used for anything related to punk... Filthy-case-full-of-gold-buried-under-a-mountain-of s**t - maybe? Tracy Mamoun had the chance to interact with the band, check out the resulting interview here. (photo credit gimmetinnitus.com)

We added this song to The Deli's playlist of Best NYC songs by emerging NYC artists - check it out!

1- SLEEPiES "Hard to come back on these guys without either repeating myself or going into too much detail, which I am saving for a Q&A to be posted soon. So for now, I'll stick to a couple of comments, starting with the fact that I finally got to hear the Hot Singles played all in one go, which, despite understanding where the hesitation would come from (Feelers, with its sprightly clean-cut sprightly punk, tying far less into the new album's aesthetics (or even those of their earlier records) than would Sludge River Mouth,), I'd been wanting to hear for a while."

2- Unstoppable Death Machines "Queens-bred sibling power duo, UDM is 'a noise-punk tour-de-force built upon menacing riffs and insanely fast smashing drumbeats that threaten to break the sticks or drums themselves any second, with vocals passed through effects via a microphone strapped right onto Mike Tucci's mouth– one of the most satisfying acts caught during the day"

3- Mykki Blanco "NYC's own potty-mouthed 'acid punk rapper' Mykki Blanco (pictured), androgynous style icon on the rise, entertained the tiny jam-packed Cake Shop basement with half an hour of nasty raps turning into [...] one hell of a frantic spoken word performance." 

And finally, we get to the last day of this CMJ fest. Far from tired, I'm in a place where, buzzing off the large amounts of live music I've been restlessly taking in for the last four days, I'm just NOT sure what to do with myself once this is over. Converse might be hard, as one: I've gone partially deaf, and two: all I've been doing all week is chat and shake hands, to the point where if I have to say once more 'Tracy from The Deli', I might just die. But before I unplug my brain for the whole of Sunday, time to take you through the final leg of this run. Read Tracy Mamoun's report of CMJ's Day 5 here. - In the picture and streaming: SLEEPiES, who by the way have planned a sweet Halloween bash mit Pixies, Ramones, Siouxsie and The Banshees and Joy Division covers, check it out here!