NYC’s minimalist, psychedelic pop outfit, Zula, released “Anything For You” last week, a politically relevant single from their forthcoming EP, 6 Passes. The track blends ethereal synths, atmospheric guitars, and poignant lyrics about the effects of white male domination on the collective psyche.

The structure of the track feels cyclical, with twinkling piano riffs and fuzzy bass runs sprinkled over a looped and textured beat that creates the sensation of running in place. Zula combines the emotional sentiment of cultural and political stagnation with the drudgery of modern life on this number: soul-molesting technology, environmental despair, nauseatingly ubiquitous convenience, and a general lack of human connection. In the larger indie music context, “Anything For You” proves unmistakably unique. At the moment, there doesn’t seem to be any group in the circuit that has managed to insert their own sense of sonic experimentation, atmospheric creepiness, and political insight into a single track as well as Zula has.

6 Passes is out via Forged Artifacts & Inflate Records on October 13^th and is available in cassette tape and digital format. You can listen to “Anything For You” below: 

-Andrew Strader

The Indie Rock Year End Poll Results are finally in!

Overall Poll Winner (Combined Juror + Reader Poll Votes): Big Thief

This indie rock quartet graced the cover of our winter 2017 issue of The Deli, and offers catchy and melancholic indie rock that sticks to the soul. They hone a fuzzy, distorted rock sound with folky overtones and production that cleans it up enough to be endlessly listenable. 

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Overall Poll 2nd Place: Cut Worms

Cut Worms offers 60s pop revival reminiscent of anything from The Beach Boys to Gerry and the Pacemakers. With catchy, simple, and relatable tunes that satisfyingly dabble in the retro, Cut Worms knows how to catch an ear. 

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Reader Poll Second Place: Baby Acid 

Baby Acid is self-described as "grunge-gaze" and it's easy to understand why on a first listen. They blend the fuzzier, harder, heavier elements of grunge with the the reverb-soaked, sound walls and atmospheres of shoegaze to create an entire sonic space. 

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Here's the list of all the finalists with their Readers' Poll scores. As always, we'd like to thank all of our artists, jurors, and readers for participating in this year's polls.  Stay tuned and vote for all of our remaining genre polls! 

	Active Bird Community		1%	14 votes
	ArthurMoon		1%	21 votes
	Baby Acid		46%	637 votes
	Big Thief		1%	16 votes
	Citris		0%	5 votes
	Cloud Becomes Your Head		0%	6 votes
	Cut Worms		0%	1 vote
	Deal Casino		0%	1 vote
	Haybaby		0%	11 votes
	New Tarot		0%	3 votes
	Not Blood Paint		0%	5 votes
	Paris Monster		6%	87 votes
	Patio		1%	19 votes
	Prima		2%	31 votes
	Public Access TV		0%	6 votes
	Rachel Angel		35%	481 votes
	Wall		0%	3 votes
	Zula		0%	13 votes

On Zula's new single "F*ck This," from their new 8 track mini-album 'Grasshopper,' at second 22, after a plodding intro, a misleadingly incoherent drum pattern triggers the thought that "this band actually wants to f*ck with us" - a thought to be read in the somewhat platonic acception most commonly used in the sentence "don't f*ck with me!". Here at The Deli, though, we never say that because we absolutely love to be f*cked with in any possible way, but in particular when the f*cking 'agent' is music. Often we actually go through long periods of sadness due to the fact that we don't find any bands interested in f*cking with us, dammit! So let's enjoy Zula's new single and video together, from a band that already gave us a NYC Record of the Month back in 2014. Like Italians, Zula do it better - don't miss their upcoming live show at Trans-Pecos on January 6th.

We kind of missed Zula's announcement of the release of their new album 'Grassopper,' out at the end of August. As we had the chance to express when we made their 2013 album 'This Hopeful' our NYC Record of the Month,' with their blend of post rock and psych pop, the quartet is one of the most interesting NYC bands to come out of Brooklyn this decade. The new record sounds like an even stronger release, more solid in both the songwriting and production departements, and also more mature in terms of personality: the group has found its voice and it's refining it, which is what happens when talented musicians stick around in the same band long enough to hone their skill and grow musically, together - a rare sight to behold these days. Don't miss their live show at Sunnyvale on December 15th. - Photo by Alicia Walter

Sometimes records grow on us - such is the case for Zula's "This Hopeful," released in October 2013.
There are two sides to psychedelia: dream and hallucination. Shoegazer and Dream Pop embrace the first, Psych Rock the second. Brooklyn band Zula perfectly blend both. The band finds itself at home when it's time to engage in sonic experimentations mostly fueled by frantic stomping on guitar effect pedals ("This Hopeful"), but can deliver - a few minutes later - the perfectly placid dreamy melody of NRGZ. These are the two stronger songs in the band's debut LP "This Hopeful" (although we also dig "Poison," streaming below), an album that never ceases to surprise, and that showcases a band that dares to explore every possibility given by every single musical element at their disposal, without renegading neither melody nor noise, but admirably succeeding in retaining a stylistic identity in the process.

Read The Deli's interview with Zula from earlier in 2014 + see them live at CMJ next week, it shouldn't be hard to fit into your schedule, they are playing seven shows!