Deli Nation,

Our Year End Poll for Emerging New England Artists was - as usual - a painstaking (and somewhat excruciating) process, but we pulled it off with remarkable flair!

Heavy and earthy, Dark Rodeo applies a punk attitude and and song format to country lyrical themes and guitar tones. Congrats, guys!

Gym Shorts are threw some high-energy surf punk in our laps with last years record No Backsies. Check out their tune "Viberator" and take it to the slopes while we're waiting for the snow to melt. 

Nathan Ventura's back with a band, and released Pucker Up in February 2014. It's definitely a weird one. Check out Nathan's wild vocals and the band's experimental garage feel. Definitely some novel sounds on every track of Pucker Up. 

Honorable mention to Kid Mountain, for their killer free New Years Eve show in Brighton!

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+ New England scene experts (our jury) and asked them to nominate 3 more bands of their choice each. Then we polled our writers, 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 New England produced in the year 2013, this list is all you need. Enjoy!

BEST OF 2014 POLL FOR EMERGING NEW ENGLAND ARTISTS ****** FINAL RESULTS ******

ARTIST J OS W R TOT   1 Dark Rodeo 5.5     0.005 5.505 2 Gymshorts 4.5   1 0.003 5.503 3 Nathan Ventura & The Buttercups 5.5     0.001 5.501 4 Kid Mountain 3   2 0.003 5.003 5 Suitcase Junket 2     1.5 3.5   Smooth Antics 3     0.5 3.5 7 Derive 3     0.096 3.096 8 Particulars 3     0.041 3.041 9 Jake McKelvie & the Countertops   3   0.034 3.034 10 Hayley Sabella 3     0.025 3.025 11 Guerilla Toss 2   1 0.017 3.017 12 Elison Jackson 3     0.011 3.011 13 Alpenglow 3     0.008 3.008   As the Sparrow   3   0.008 3.008   Violent Mae 3     0.008 3.008 16 Butcher Boy 3     0.006 3.006 17 Mal Devisa 3     0.005 3.005 18 Biscuits & Gravy 3     0.004 3.004 19 Anchors Away 3     0.003 3.003 20 Paper Castles 3     0.001 3.001   Rye Pines 3     0.001 3.001   samuel james 3     0.001 3.001 23 Grundlefunk 1     2 3   Miss Geo   1 1 1 3   Ben Knight 3     0 3   Michelle Chamuel 3     0 3   Sirens 3     0 3 28 Clara Berry 2     0.085 2.085 29 And The Kids 1   1 0.064 2.064 30 BLKBX 2     0.061 2.061 31 Abbie Barrett and The Last Date 2     0.044 2.044 32 Daphne Lee Martin 2     0.031 2.031 33 Mosey Greams 2     0.017 2.017 34 Ports of Spain 2     0.009 2.009 35 Elephant 2     0.006 2.006   Neon Fauna 2     0.006 2.006 37 Pile 2     0.005 2.005 38 Moron 2     0.004 2.004   Notches 2     0.004 2.004 40 Dinnersss 2     0.003 2.003   Fire in the Field 2     0.003 2.003   Mini Dresses 2     0.003 2.003   The Hotelier 2     0.003 2.003   Tredici Bacci 2     0.003 2.003 45 Downtown Boys 2     0.002 2.002 46 Andy California 2     0.001 2.001   Bell and the Bees 2     0.001 2.001   Eric George 2     0.001 2.001   Humanbeast 2     0.001 2.001   Mendition Of The Quay 2     0.001 2.001   My Fictions 2     0.001 2.001   Somos 2     0.001 2.001 53 Annie Brobst 2     0 2   Eljebel 2     0 2   Life on The Sideline 2     0 2   Pours 2     0 2   Rabbit Rabbit 2     0 2   Rosie and the Rosies 2     0 2   Tom Kovacevic 2     0 2 60 Andre Obin   1.5   0 1.5 61 Pat and the Hats 1     0.091 1.091 62 Miss Fairchild 1     0.063 1.063 63 Jet Black Sunrise   1   0.053 1.053 64 Sarah Blacker   1   0.04 1.04 65 Doug Tuttle   1   0.023 1.023 66 Marina Evans   1   0.017 1.017 67 Radclyffe Hall   1   0.014 1.014 68 Plums 1     0.013 1.013 69 Joe Young 1     0.012 1.012 70 Tell Stories 1     0.007 1.007 71 Gracie 1     0.005 1.005 72 Zayde Buti 1     0.004 1.004 73 Blessed State 1     0.002 1.002   Couples Counseling 1     0.002 1.002   Madaila 1     0.002 1.002   Mister Happy Cloud 1     0.002 1.002 77 No Evil Star   1   0 1   Plains 1     0 1   Salitter 1     0 1   The Backyard Committee 1     0 1   The Coincidental Hour 1     0 1   We Were Astronauts 1     0 1 Legend: J = Jurors, W = Deli Writers, R = Deli Readers, OS = Open Submissions

Jurors List: Sam Potrykus (Boston Hassle), Erich Hagan (Harlem Globetrotters), Ellie Molitor (Great Scott), Greg (The Oak and the Ax), Ryan (Salty Speakers), Lionel Train (Mid East Club), Conrad Benjamin, Jacob Nathan (AS220), Paul Mayer (Cafe Nine), Nicholas Firine (The Space, CT), Alex Lalli and Quillan George (Signal Kitchen), Joe Adler (Radio Bean, VT), Cresta (The Red Door, NH), Mariam Saleh (Fat Creeps), Noah Britton (The Deli), Erich Hagan, John Fleming (John Fleming Enterteinment), Nick (Deep Thoughts JP), Luke O'Neil (Alternative Press), Joseph Graham (NE Music Awards), Adam Tercyak-Morgan (Surviving the Golden Age), Daniel G. Kuhn, Perry Eaton, Malcolm Tent (Trash American Style).

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

The Deli's Staff

This record is like nothing I've ever heard, and I've heard at least four albums in my life. Pucker Up conjures Hunter S. Thompson in the desert at 3 AM, tripping on mescaline, eating dusty spiders. The electric guitar sometimes sounds like a buzzsaw and usually like a string is about to break, the standup bass rocks harder than The Jesus Lizard, the drums sound like flattened cardboard boxes, and the unpretentious, distorted vocals sing bizarre tales of loneliness and going to sleep crying to Michael Hurley. This might be the best record of the year.