Indie Pop quartet Drowners, who took NYC by storm a few years ago with their 2012 debut EP and the following self-titled album, just unveiled new single 'Cruel Ways' (streaming), and took the opportunity to announce the release of their sophomore LP "On Desire," out on French Kiss in June. The band will be playing several shows at SXSW this year, culminating in an official showcase at Cheer Up Charlies (900 Red River Street), slated for Saturday, March 19th.

Brooklyn via LA Pink Mexico plays a gritty brand of fuzz rock, but their airy melodies with psychedelic inflections counteract the harshness of their distorted sound. In 2015, the trio followed up their 2013 self-titled debut album with a two track 7" featuring single "Cigarette Split" (streaming below), a plodding, uber catchy mid tempo that has the sonic power to make you feel under the influence (a cheap high, folks!). This year the band will travel to Austin to play SXSW - the many Austin fans of psychedelic rock (not to mention the hordes of New Yorkers who will be invading that city during Music Week) should check them out .

Active since 2011, Brooklyn trio Haybaby has been able to forge a power trio sound that, although flirting with the indie guitar rock of the '90s, reorganizes sonic elements from that era in a way that's fully their own. Lead singer Leslie Hong's voice reignites our teenage crush on Kim Deal (ok, ok, we were in our early twenties...),  while the band's sparse but tense sound and intricate bass lines flirt with Fugazi from the 'Repeater' days, although without venturing in the DC band's typically post-hardcore guttural explosions. 'Doored' - the final track from their impressively consistent latest album 'Sleepy Kids' - features a gritty loud-quiet-loud production that is bound to be well received in a live setting. Speaking of which, on March 9th at Palisade the band is kicking off a month and a half long US tour, with a prolonged stop in Austin during SXSW.

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

Dueling left and right stereo channel guitar bursts introduce RANN’s live-in-studio video recording of “Falling,” the latest single off their debut album “Yellogun.” The polyrhythmic structure is soon filled out with precisely placed synth, sharp drums and driving bass figures that allow for dramatic spaces between those notes.  “How does it feel?” introduces the essential vocal hook, with the songs title embedded in the answer line “right before you start falling.”  When the arena sized chorus ultimately emerges, a catchy rising melody hook punctuates each passage through.  The overall feel is reminiscent of ELO’s psych-pop Beatles influenced hits. Directed, edited, and shot by Ryan Ela of Midnight Treehouse Productions, the video makes use of high quality black and white imagery in showcasing the bands impressive live performance.  The band is about to embark on a winter-through-spring tour including featured performances at SXSW, then on to LA and culminating with an end of tour concert at Le Poisson Rouge on April 10th. The band recently won  the Indie Pop section of our Best of NYC Readers'/Fans' Poll for Emerging Artists. - Dave Cromwell

Our readers may be aware by now that we don't shy away from seriously dark music, which is in the DNA of anybody who loves the underground rock of the 80's. Public Memory is the new project of Rober Toher from ERAAS, who released three singles between the end of 2015 and the beginning of 2016, all sharing a desolate electronic soundscape and Toher's alienated, filtered melodies. Latest single Zig Zag (streaming), sounds a little like Clinic in a David Lynch movie: more nightmarish, and more distant. After playing Alphaville on March 12, Public Memory will head to SXSW to play a show at Barracuda on 03.15.