Beneath heroic guitar dynamics and somewhat lax vocals, "Doug" is a song that shows a lot of heart. The new track by Worn-Tin, lead by Warner Hiatt, is a lo-fi anthem that does take its dear time to unfold, eschewing any choruses altogether to deliver a streamlined jam coupled by a lively, sustained hook that will leave you humming once it's over. Now accompanied by a wistful video that takes one back to those days of shooting footage on VHS camcorders, "Doug" further emphasizes Hiatt's playful antics as he mingles with friends on what seems like an ideal summer roap trip.

"Doug" is the first single off of his just-released full length Thanatophobia, an album inspired by a near-death experience he had with two close friends after the car they were on flipped and almost caused a devastating effect on their lives. Nevertheless, "Doug" is gushing with joy, portraying a songwriter who's relishing life's simple pleasures; to be fully alive and to drum up vibration in the moment. 

You can catch Worn-Tin play at the Bootleg alongside Kississippi and Bobby T. on March 26. - Juan Rodríguez

Lots of good rock comes out of the whole “suburban youthful malaise” thing, and one of our recent Artist of the Month winners Paperback brings a damn good entry into that subgenre of indie with their hard guitar album Nervous Energy. It’s a bit Weezer in the subjects and guitar, a bit Sparta in the energy and structure, a bit Neutral Milk Hotel in the vocals, a taste of Pixies artiness and a whole lot of good indie rock fun overall. The tracks are often about relationships, but in that post-pomo, beyond cynicism and nihilism space where there’s a mature and thoughtful tiredness that you often get in that 90s/2000s era in indie that Paperback builds on. The songs are about just trying to scrape out a good relationship in a tiring, weird reality, and they do a fine job of it with ballsy-honest looks at romance and the world it tries to live in, an approach that isn’t hurt one bit by this band’s aptitude for vivid imagery and description. The suburban anthem-loving crowd is sure to dig Paperback’s newest output here, as is anyone with a thing for oldschool indie that really does rock. Track “Cat” is a real standout of “Teenage Dirtbag”-esque angsty awesome, so make sure to give that a listen below y’all, and let the fuzzy, screaming guitar and slacker lyricism back into your indie rock.

John Valley is on a roll. The local videographer and producer recently made two stellar videos for Sweet Spirit with “Baby Doll” and “Baby When I Close My Eyes," and John's kept the momentum rolling with his work on another equally captivating video, this time “Sex & Drugs”  just released by A Giant Dog. The video portrays the band as wintery minstrels stuck in a snowglobe at the mercy of a maniacal child who wreaks havoc by violently shaking the globe, a subtle allusion to the song’s lyrical theme of lost youth. Valley seems to relish in creating videos that portray the beautiful, glamorous, and alluring, and he then injects diabolical twists that turn the picturesque quickly awry. The track here is a lot of fun as well, very punchy and self-aware indie with a punkish vibe and a nonstop, frantic drive that is one to really jam out to, and hard. It's an excellent showing from both band and Valley, and it's a perfect example of what a music video really should be. Check it out below.

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Lee Ackerley
@slackerleemusic

Oh, the illusive "perfect bill." All venue bookers, show promoters and bands are constantly seeking an unmarred night of cohesive, fluid musical enjoyment. Unfortunately, it's never as easy to plan as it may seem. Yet last night's show at the Star Theater proved a successful feat on Portland's end, hosting a stacked bill comprised of locals LiquidLight and Hollow Sidewalks, and Texas living Future Death and Ringo Deathstarr.

There's a reason why LiquidLight won the Deli Portland's Best of 2015 Readers Poll, and they more than validated that victory on the stage. It's clear that each member of the band knows how to play their respective instrument well, all of them exhibiting a clean and clear mastery without coming off as pompous, only pleasant. You found yourself easily lost in the technical sweeps of both Anthony Medici's and Cory West's guitar playing, while Zackary Rodrigues pounded out intricate drum beats with ease. Though he kept it low key towards the back of the stage, you could still feel bassist Gage Dean's presence strongly as he maintained the songs' heavy rhythms.

With a slightly differing sound compared to that of LiquidLight, Hollow Sidewalks (pictured above) shared with the audience a different approach to the conventional post-punk form. Lead vocalist Nora Murphy Hughes has a deep and alluring quality to her croon that aids in the band's signature delivery - psyched out post-punk presented in a mellow and enjoyable fashion. Setting the mood with darkroom hued lights, their music warbled and pulsated through your gut, leaving you wanting more of their short and sweet songs.

Each band played as if they place was packed, and though it wasn't, that type of vigor is what helps define a good band. Giving their all, both LiquidLight and Hollow Sidewalks truly fit the bill.

-Cervante Pope

Deli Readers,

Our Best of SF Bay Area Poll for Emerging Artists has been - as usual - a lengthy and painstaking journey which took us through prairies of numbers, horizons filled with band names, and a dense, (mostly) joyous rain of music. We have finally reached our destination and we can announce the final results!

Heartwatch

The Bay Area has spoken and the local indie pop band, Heartwatch has not only won this year's overall poll, but they dominated the Deli SF's Reader Poll as well making them our undisputed Artist of the Year! We can tell why with their dancible brand of pop music and admirable work ethic. It all paid off this year!

Emily Afton

Emily Afton's sultry, soulful style of indie pop melds elements of pop, soul and electronica to create original and penetrating modern ballads. She didn't come in too far after Heartwatch. She deserves a huge congratulations and we look forward to seeing more from her.

Annie Girl and the Flight

Well, Annie is nothing but pure rock and roll! We're thrilled to see her come in third place as she's been a relentless force in the local underground rock scene. A great songwriter, composer and live musician is something that is sorely needed in the Bay Area right now. Congrats to Annie Girl and the Flight!

Check out our poll's top 15 below, and don't forget to get even deeper, exploring all the finalists organized by genre:

AVANT INDIE - ELECTRONIC - INDIE POP - PSYCH- REVIVAL POP/ROCK - ROOTS MUSIC

BEST OF 2015 POLL FOR EMERGING SF BAY AREA ARTISTS ****** FINAL RESULTS - TOP 15 ******

ARTIST J OS R TOT   1 Heartwatch 5.5   2 7.5 2 Emily Afton 5.5   1 6.5 3 Annie Girl and the Flight 3.5   1.5 5 4 The She's 4.5   0.009 4.509 5 Eight Belles 2 2 0.029 4.029 6 The Seshen 3.5   0.015 3.515 7 Zodiac Death Valley 3.5   0.004 3.504   Night Shapes 2 1 0.054 3.054 9 Bells Atlas 3   0.015 3.015 10 Waterstrider 3   0.009 3.009 11 Wicked Man   3 0.005 3.005 12 Useless Eaters 3   0.004 3.004   Cellar Doors 3   0.004 3.004 14 Fuzz 3   0.003 3.003   Cathedrals 3   0.003 3.003 Legend: J = Jurors, R = Deli Readers, OS = Open Submissions

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If you wonder how this chart came into existence, 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+ SF Bay Area scene expert (our jury) and asked them to nominate 3 more bands of their choice each (3 points for the top choice, then 2 and 1). 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 SF Bay Area produced in the year 2015, this list is all you need. Enjoy!

Many Thanks to our Jurors: David A Sikorski (Writer at SF Weekly), Doug Kinsey (The Night Light), Dace James Hines (Writer for SF Critic), Anisa (Sofar Sounds), Barry Smyth (Brick and Mortar Music Hall), Dennis Gonzales (POW Magazine), Jason Black (Writer for Beatport), Aisah Gemora (Sofar Sounds), Derek See (Indie Record Collector/Retailer), ​Sam Lefebvre​ (East Bay Express), Audra (Thee Parkside), Ash Reiter (Founder of Hickey Fest), Bob Patterson (SF Critic Managing Editor), Jordannah Elizabeth (The Deli SF).

Hope you'll find some awesome new artists you weren't aware of!

The Deli's Staff