Akin to a Rube Goldberg device, coupled with a staggering amount of submissions in a city full of so much good music, our year end poll has been quite a process. But fear not music fans - the results are finally in for the Open Submission portion of the contest. The subsequent five bands listed below are the top five results of a complicated process involving a kitchen sink, laser beams and a bowling ball, BUT mostly the careful deliberation of The Deli's other editors around the country. These talented five groups will now be up for the people's deliberation in the coming days, so keep an eye out and tell your friends.

If you're curious about the rules and procedures of the contest follow this link.

Best of luck to these five and all of the other bands involved in 2011's poll.

1. Yeah Great Fine

Self-described as party math, a heretofore unheard of genre, Yeah Great Fine has never been about doing things the typical way. "Perhaps a comment on the general malaise of our generation (ourselves included)” the band says of its own name, YGF started roughly 3 years ago out of too much free time and a mutual desire to do something different. While the group crafts the dynamic layers of syncopated melody and rhythm that typify the math sound, YGF deviates from the norm with a bubbling pop delivery of global grooves and a very palatable lyrical lightness that escapes most other acts in the broader genre. The latest project--Circadian EP--has garnered a lot of buzz in the local scene and surrounding area with a supporting month-long tour of the western US. With the proverbial ball in a full roll, Yeah Great Fine’s 2012 plans remain undetermined, but that’s exactly how the band likes it.

2. Hosannas

Despite developing a considerable niche over the last couple years, Hosannas is still something of an enigma to many Portlandians. With a name change (once known as Church), a slew of releases on various labels including their own (Tree Farm), an ever-nebulous roster, and a constantly changing sound - it’s hard to get a hold of exactly what Hossannas is or wants to be, but it’s that kind of evolution that also denotes a band of true artistry. 2011 saw Hosannas take off for three mini tours, one of which included some exciting dates with the Shins, and harbored the release of Thug Life Nicole, an explosive little EP that completely reworks 4 tracks from the band’s first two full length releases. The band’s only core members, brothers Richard and Brandon Laws, are currently back in the studio with god-only-knows-who and signs are pointing towards a shiny new full-length in 2012.

3. Eidolons

Formed out of the misty forest campus of Lewis & Clark College, a mutual love for the Silver Jews, a baffling band-wide fluency in Chinese, and a shared experience studying Gray Wolves for four months in a remote Alaskan town, Eidolons exudes the kind of sophisticated, however slightly bent, lyrically-driven sensibility that is often prevalent in the musical offerings of the greater Northwest. More than just another singer-songwriter act though, this freak folk four-piece can kick things into gear with plenty of volume and tempo throughout their latest, lengthy 7-track Wolf Den EP. In that sense, the disc contains a certain kind of urgency and playful efficacy, one that belies the more subdued melancholy of frontman Dan Byers cooing (as evidenced by lead-off “Hopeful Antiquarian” and standout “Colorado”.) It’s this eccentric blend of loud and soft, along with adept songwriting, at times akin to fellow Portlandians Quasi, that makes this a group to watch in 2012; a year in which they look to get their hands dirty with another self-released EP, plenty of house shows, and a national tour in the summer.

4. Morning Teleportation

It certainly can’t hurt to have Isaac Brock (the iconic frontman of Modest Mouse) squarely in your corner, as he brought the band out of the basement and on to his own Glacial Pace label earlier this year, but many naysayers could also easily pigeonhole this kind of support as a crutch. The trouble with that kind of defamation is that anyone who has seen Morning Teleportation play or listened to their latest record knows that they would arguably be the biggest band out of Portland this year regardless. Why? Because they are extremely fucking talented. Energetic, dynamic and with the deft skill of hardcore classic rock disciples, the four members of MT pour out an eclectic bunch of roots-oriented, jam-infused psych rock on this year’s full length, Expanding Anyway. 2011 also found MT playing out across the country, including dates at Red Rocks with Primus and the Flaming Lips and opening for Band of Horses in Portland’s “Living Room” Pioneer Square for MusicFest NW. Not to mention a healthy dose of national exposure from a little show called the Late Show with David Letterman.

5. Sons of Huns

With all of the well-crafted, understated indie pop in Portland, sometimes its citizens are left searching for a band that can just rock out the old-fashioned way. This is quite simply everything that Sons of Huns wants to be: a truly balls-to-the-wall bonafied rock band. Dropping references to everyone from the Sonics to Sabbath, Huns run the board with elements of metal, protopunk, southern hardcore, garage and more on 2011’s fierce S/T EP via High Scores and Records.  Looking to dish out the rock with a second EP in 2012,  it’s the band’s energetic and loud live show that it hopes will really keep heads banging in the coming year, so be on the lookout for this 3-piece in the bars and basements of Stumptown if you’re like many trying to get your rock fix.

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Deli readers, indie bands and artists,

This year, our Year End 2011 Polls for emerging artists are proving to be more challenging than ever, with 11 US scenes involved and 1,500+ submissions between our own system and the Sonic Bids applications. We are spending a significant portion of the our Holidays listening to your music (thanks for that by the way!), and we haven't even had the chance to check out the bands selected by our jury of local promoters, bloggers and scene makers yet...

ANYWAYYYY... the results of the Open Submissions are slowly coming toget and we are slowly going to publish them starting with NYC (check back!). Sonic Bids selections will be coming after that.

Whether you were selected or not, it's always good to remember that in 1961 The Beatles were rejected by Decca with the following gems: "guitar groups are on the way out" and "The Beatles have no future in show business." Take that as a friendly reminder that there is no final authority on music, despite what pitchfork.com would have you believe.

Year End Poll Next Phase: The Fans' Poll
The next phase of the Poll - a vote open to the fans - is likely to start in the first week of January and end at the end of that same month. We'll spread the cities out a little bit to minimize contemporary traffic spikes that repeatedly brought our site down last year. So stay tuned. We should have the final results for our two separate final charts (fans poll and composite chart including the jurors' vote) by the end of January.

Also, of course all this is possible also because of our sponsors - many of them are providing free studio time and prizes for the winners. Here they are - God Bless 'em!

LIST OF PRIZES FOR POLL WINNERS COMING SOON!

The Deli's Staff

In anticipation of their forthcoming album, Both Lights (dropping in spring), AU has released the first single, "Solid Gold." Available for digital download at bandcamp and as 7" transparent yellow-orange 45 RPM vinyl is package with full-color transparent cover art in a heavy PVC jacket.

AU is the duo of killer last names, Luke Wyland and Dana Valatka, based in Portland. Featuring Colin Stetson on alto, Wyland call "Solid Gold" "The back and forth, the tug of war for love; exhausting, exhilarating, and so totally not sustainable." Use this single to whet your proverbial whistle until AU's third album hits the streets in early 2012. - Shelley Gaske

Copperfox aren’t wild. They’re honest, and they open up slow. Their rebellion lies in the haunt of serious, gentle melodies and quiet adoration. Welcome to their world of two, where soft country elegance meets a fondness that is palpable, honey deep. Love is here; take a listen.

The hush-hush project of a petite, indelible duo, Copperfox consists of two lovers full up on heart and soul. Lisa Garcia and Rory Mohon first began to tickle their musical future together on the island of Maui back in 2008, where jobless, they sought comfort in the separate realms of their own creative outlets – Lisa with her etchings and Rory with his guitar. That is until Rory needed a voice.

Once back on the mainland, it took the Washington-Oregon border between them, plus some good strong drinks and a lonesome, heartsick home, for Lisa to come to terms with the fact that she was that voice. Since then, a band of believers was formed, and a record made. Songs off their soft-hearted, meticulously crafted EP, From the Den, began trickling out of their love nest in Spring 2011. And like the sly creature that is the tiniest of canines, Copperfox are finally ready to play outside. See them perform live, for the very first time, at the Portland Bazaar on Sunday, December 11th at 4pm. - Morgan Brothers

Sun Angle is a three piece that sound like the soundtrack to a dream you just woke from, the guitar, flutelike noise, and bass create a oft-energetic and sometimes-hypnotizing vibe that will call you out and draw you in. Lyrics sound like archaic hymns from an age forgotten. The EP takes you through highs and lows with many songs running galloping tempos (check out "Value Light" and "Timesnakes"), while other tracks are a ride on the clouds ("Yes Beach"). The interesting thing about Sun Angle is that I wouldn't subscribe them to any genre accept "damn good music." Check out their self-titled EP, which is live right now. -Micah Navarro

There’s a whole lotta news these days about Portland’s electro tinged indie pop band Lost Lander. For starters, the quartet, made up of original band founder/songwriter Matt Sheehy, Patrick Hughes, Dave Lowensohn and Sarah Fennell, will be releasing their debut album, DRRT on January 24th. Then, the band will be going on a series of West Coast tour dates with fellow Portland natives Radiation City. AND if that’s not enough, the band just released the first video off of the album, “Cold Feet,” which you can watch here:

DRRT has been four years in the making, four years of Sheehy crafting gorgeous music (first with his 2008 solo project Tigerphobia) inspired by the sheer beauty and grandeur of the Pacific Northwest. Filled with inspirations from everyone from Band of Horses to My Morning Jacket but with a sad, electronic edge, Lost Lander’s debut album will be released in special edition planetarium formatting (no lie, you can shine a light through each of the constellations to represent a different song). Check out a free MP3 download of “Cold Feet” here and the first set of West Coast tour dates below! - Amanda Dissinger

December 2011

04 - Eugene, OR - SELFEST @ Sam Bond's %

05 - Sacramento, CA - Luigi's Fungarden #

06 - San Francisco, CA - Bottom Of The Hill

07 - San Diego, CA - Tin Can Alehouse

08 - Los Angeles, CA - The Satellite

09 - Chico, CA - Cafe Coda

10 - Portland, OR - Doug Fir Lounge *

 * = w/ Bright Archer # = w/ Appetite % = w/ Appetite, Au & Bright Archer

Chrome Wings' New Lands LP shows the duo's pop sensibilities refracted through aquatic haze and liquid texture, advancing beyond a lo-fi aesthetic into new terrain defined by marina trenches and echolocation. While not departing from their tradition of creating dense, electronically indebted grooves, on this album Chrome Wings take the listener in a wholly accessible quest for a figurative Lost City. The abstract pattern on the cover harkens the fish-eye POV which refracts the pop sensibilities on New Lands, signifying a proverbial plunge into this trans-dimensional frame of mind and genre. The title track is an appropriate introduction to the ebulliantly rhythmic pulse which informs the album, where Chrome Wings guide the listener through a familiar, yet wholly alien landscape, propelled along by a dubby baseline. This self-described brand of dub-pop allows the gurgling synths to come up for air and symbiotically co-exist within the rhythmic consistency of each song. "Sky Mirage" could be the soundtrack to accompany the future discovery of Atlantis, triumphant in its progression towards an inevitable epiphany of decaying architecture framed by a horizon of underwater light. Instead of detracting from Chrome Wings' pop ethos, the viscous effects filtered through each synthesizer, guitar, drum machine and vocal track synchronize into a symbiotic ecorhythm that gradually acculturates the listener to the depths of this band's progression and talent in creating such a melodic and evocative soundscape. - Wyatt Schaffner