Julian Fulton’s new track from his forthcoming EP, 'Battered Receptions,' is an experimental call to arms for the marginalized in the face of an oppressive national administration. His fuzzy take on what might amount to revival rock serves as the perfect vehicle for much needed protest music in 2017. The track's main goal is combatting apathy in the face of seemingly unstoppable forces. Its opening lines beg the question: “What’s the point in fighting when the writing’s already on the wall?”. An assertive answer appears in the chorus: “It’s not a trick, it’s not a script, it’s not TV / It’s your real life, open your eyes, they’re trying to keep you in the streets”. Fulton’s vocal delivery is angry and combative, emulating the reaction he’d like listeners to have. He wants you riled up, he wants you ready to fight, he wants you to care even when it seems like caring is useless. Julian Fulton has three shows in NJ coming up (listed here), the first one of the series will be at Asbury Park Music Foundation on April 19th. - Andrew Strader

Last week we started publishing the results of the Best of NYC Year End Poll's Open Submissions (find them here), and it's finally time to go indie poppy!

Total submissions in this category: 16

Jurors: Michelle Bacon (The Deli KC),  Cervante Pope (The Deli Portland), PDG (The Deli NYC).

Artists qualified to the next stage (i.e. the Readers' Poll, starting around 01.20):

1. The City and Horses - 7.33 (out of 10)

Active since the late aughts, The City and Horses is a collective of musicians guided by singer songwriter Marc Cantone and his elegant melodic talent. The variety of instruments featured in their recordings (from flute to strings and horns) will make most people scream "Orchestral Pop!" - and to some extent they would be right! Thing is, the band's arrangements are so tastefully composed that, while listening to their music, you'd be hard pressed to think about an orchestra. You can see the band live at Grand Victory on January 22.

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2. Silverteeth - 7.16

Led by NYC scene veteran Bill Bartholomew (guitar and vocals) and Brazilian bass player Gabriela Rassi, Silverteeth is an excercise in stripping pop of anything superfluous to let the melody and the songwriting shine. Operating in a strictly DIY fashion, this is one of the few bands able to land gigs both at Bowery Presents' venues (they'll play Mercury on February 9th) and at Brooklyn DIY spaces like Palisades. We should hear some new material from them soon, since they were recently invited to record a few tracks at Converse's Rubber Track.

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3. RANN - 7.00

With their refineded sound, stylish melodies and smooth vocals, RANN could be presented as the Prefab Sprout of Brooklyn. Their brand new debut album "Yellowgun" looks back at the so called sophisti-pop of the '80s, while adding to that sound an all NYC edge. The group doesn't shy away from occasional, more aggressive and tense moments (like in 'Magic Number'). They'll be playing at Bushwick's Black Bear on February 20th.

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3. Julian Fulton - 7.00

Imaginative and whimsical, New Jersey's Julian Fulton plays a brand of DIY pop that flirts with the classics of psychedelia, while bringing his own voice, stories and production to the picture. A picture that's as multifaceted as it's enjoyable, like his latest track "Another Tattoo," a complex collage of sounds and melodies in part reminiscent of the production style of the early Beck records, which, remarkably, was written and recorded at home in 24 hours.  Julian Fulton will perform at the Asbury Underground Music & Arts Crawl on January 16.

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HONORABLE MENTIONS (artist with a rating above 6):

Dot and Logic, Kirsten Izer, Sam Kogon, flocke, Late Cambrian, Lunifred Benjamin, Modern Diet.

Stay tuned for more results!

The Deli Folks

Julian Fulton and the Zombie Gospel are kind of what you want to hear out of a rock'n'roll band nowadays. There’s enough vintage energy in their music to make it classifiable as rock n’ roll, but not enough for it to sound derivative and boring. It’s probably the eery optimism lurking within the melodic, psyched out jams. Check them out live at DROM on October 10 with Swear and Shake, Everest Cale and Jesse Denaro. - Links: John McGovern interview with Julian Fulton.

Thursday night at Spike Hill we'll have a really fun AND interesting bill with a lot of talented artists dedicated to bringing roots music in new directions. The very young and talented songwriter Mree - a recent Deli artist of the month - has been gathering a lot of buzz with her ethereal songs and impeccable home made recordings and videos, which got hundreds of thousands of views; don't miss her show at 9pm. As artsy as Mree, but slightly more upbeat and soulful, The Stationary Set have become a mainstay of the Brooklyn scene and will showcase their artsy soul-pop at 10.30. Julian Fulton and the Zombie Gospel will surely be happy to be sandwiched between these two artists; this band plays rootsy pop with psychedelic tinges - we are very curious to see them live. NZ imports Streets of Laredo (pictured) will keep faith to their mission of charming Newyorkers one by one with their contagious alt country, while Derrick & The Black Sea and Great Elk will open and close the night with their intense songs flirting with Americana and alt rock.

Times, ticket prices and full B.E.A.F. schedule can be found here.

Julian Fulton might be New Jersey's answer to boyish lo-fi charm. Along with harmonies supported by his Zombie Gospel, the artist croons his way over bouncing piano lines ('Junkie Song'), feedbacking guitar lines ('Lie), and self-effacing lyrics (every track) that only makes his music sound even larger for its tortured honesty. New record 'Heart & Arms' includes all this and even a Zombie Survival Kit filled up with even more tracks... because zombies hate music. Julian Fulton topped our emerging NYC artists submissions in the Songwriter/Rootsy Pop category with an average rating of 8 out of 10. - Mike Levine