Demanding NYC indie rock fans who are struggling to find original, fun, and entertaining new bands should go check out Cloud Becomes Your Hand when they play live at Alphaville on Juse 9th, within the Northside Festival. The avant-post-punk (!?) collective was on the cover of our 47th issue of The Deli, and for a reason: their debut album "Rest in Fleas" was the most refreshingly fun thing we happened to listen that year, in particular single "Hermit," streaming below ("Sand of Sea" and "Bridge of Ignoramus" are pretty darn awesome too). Their live show is some kind of perfectly excuted experimental theatrical production that's tightly paced without ever falling in the traps of self-indulgence. Do not miss!

Dear Deli Readers,

Issue #47 of The Deli NYC is now available online, you can read it here!

It's the Brooklyn Stompbox Exhibit issue! See section about pedals in the second half of the magazine, in part curated by Gearphoria.com.

Enjoy!

The Folks at The Deli NYC

NYC's Cloud Becomes Your Hand's creative potential is on full display in their sophomore album "Rest In Flea," a multi-colored sonic adventure released by intrepid Queens label Northern Spy, home to an enviable collection of NYC's best experimental talents of all ages. But the record, a brilliantly quirky but very musical collage of robotic numbers, psychedelia and musical deconstruction, doesn't tell the whole story. With electronic xylophone, clarinet and electric violin rounding up their drum/bass/guitar sonic backbone, the sextet offers a monstrously tight live show featuring perfectly choreographed movements and sublime moments of absurdity, reminiscent of a DIY blend of Devo, Wire and The Residents.

Read the Delicious Audio Q&A with Cloud Becomes Your Hand about gear and the recording process.

Artistic freedom is an exhilarating but daunting mission: it requires discipline, competence, broad-mindedness, constant self-reinvention, and can only be pursued in depth through the acceptance of very modest financial rewards - although that's true for any artistic endeavor. Brooklyn sextet Cloud Becomes Your Hand (already a NYC Record of the Month in this very blog in 2014) is obviously fully dedicated to this cause, within the coordinates of the psychedelic and progressive rock genre (or, as we call it, here at The Deli, 'Avant-Indie"). As cliche` as this may sound, their new album 'Rest In Fleas' truly sounds like kaleidoscope of ideas and sounds. The sonic palette is incredibly diverse, ranging from effected keyboards of all kinds, to detuned electric guitars and unexpected orchestral interruptions. But the record is not a scattered conglomeration of ideas; on the contrary, it sounds more organic than its predecessor, with song structure often prevailing over the band's quirky "digressing impulses." This contributes to making in one of those records that rewards multiple listens. Those who love this kind of stuff shouldn't miss the band's record release party at Secret Project Robot on 06.18, nor the video for 'Hermit' streaming below.

The name Erica Eso may sound like some music making beauty, but it's actually the latest musical brain-child of Weston Minissali, also known as the synth player from Cloud Becomes Your Hand. Erica Eso's synth-heavy pop melodies are a clear departure from the otherworldly avant-rock sound of Cloud Becomes Your Hand, but Erica Eso's first singles make it clear that Minissali's talents as an experimental composer span across genres. As of last week, the first singles from Erica Eso's upcoming album, "2019," are now available for streaming (below) on SoundCloud and Bandcamp with the full release coming later this year. - Sam o'Hara