Ambient pop duo Belle Mare has announced a new EP, Liars, set for release on October 19. In the two charming preview singles, Liars and Spain, members Amelia Bushell and Thomas Servidone unveil a possibly catchier approach to a sound they have been developing since 2013, when their haunting debut EP was named NYC Record of the Month in this very blog. Layering their characteristically dreamy sound with a bouncier tempo, the duo's new style showcases a bubblier side, while still preserving its ethereal quality. Stream Belle Mare's newest track below. - Rebecca Carroll 

Three incredibly talented locals sharing a rootsy but dreamy sound will be performing at Manhattan Inn on Monday July 25th. Check out past Deli coverage: Wilsen (who graced the cover of The Deli's issue 36 back in 2013), Belle Mare, Keenan O'Meara.

Now two years in the making, it seems like Belle Mare's debut LP is unhurriedly coming together, single by single - but what would you expect from a band that writes music this gentle? After that 2013 debut that won our hearts, the duo turned five-piece released three singles, the last of which, appropriately titled "How Much Longer," came out last week. In this track Belle Mare weave together arrangements more complex than they got us accustomed to, while still retaining the understated folkiness of their past releases.Vocalist Amelia Bushell's ghost-like vocals drive the track's dynamic shifts through one of the band's loudest chorus to date. The debut LP is scheduled to be released later this summer.

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

This year's Best of NYC Open Submissions for the Psych Rock/Dream Pop category were so good that 20 out of 21 bands got ranked with 6 or more (out of 10) and 12 received marks above 7! So, it is with a broken heart that we announce the three winners - we wish we could select more! You can see the other NYC Open Submission results here.

CATEGORY: PSYCH ROCK/DREAM POP

Total submissions: 21

Jurors: Juan Rodriguez (The Deli LA) Ryan Mo (The Deli LA) PDG (The Deli NYC)

1. Belle Mare - 8.33 (out of 10)

Here at The Deli NYC we've been fans of Brooklyn uber mellow dream pop duo Belle Mare for quite some time - they were our record of the month back in March 2013. It feels good to see that our non NYC Deli colleagues, whose opinion was central to this poll's results, agree with us. But after all, who can resist the charm of a song like "Dark of My Evening" (streaming), and Amelia Bushell's casual vocals, suddenly erupting in the most celestial of melodies? Evidently, The Deli's staff can't.

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2. Surf Rock Is Dead - 7.833 

NYC is fertile ground for dream pop with surf influences, and Brooklyn based duo Surf Rock Is Dead, hailing from Chicago and Melbourne, has been making the most of it in 2015. The four tracks in their debut EP "SRiD" helped them build a loyal fan base, also gathering uniform interest on the internet, with Soundcloud listeners obsessing about single "Never Be The Same" and Spotify ones preferring "Late Risers" (streaming). The band has two upcoming shows scheduled in NYC: at Aviv on 01.22 and Pianos on 02.09.

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2. Twiga - 7.833 

Well, it really looks like Dream Pop had the best of Psych Rock this year... although Twiga, out of the three band we are highlighting here, nicely marries these two closely related genres in ways that don't feel incestuous at all! Opening single and latest EP title-track "Kites" (streaming below) features luscious guitars reminiscent of Real Estate, but the droney vocals take us for a trip back to the days of Paysley Underground bands like Rain Parade, or British neo-psychedelic acts like Doves.

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HONORABLE MENTIONS (above 7):

Zuli, Joseph Sant, HEAVY BIRDS, Goodman, No Honeymoon, The Makeout Club, Auramics, IYEZ.

The Deli's Folks

With their signature ghostly, melancholic melodies, Belle Mare have carved for themselves a rather unique niche in the NYC music scene. Their insanely eerie debut EP "The Boat of the Fragile Mind" was our NYC record of the month back in 2013. Since then, the band's sound has dialed back the reverb knob and opened up to rhythms a little bit to more upbeat. Still, their music maintains that haunting quality that has the power to bring back to focus the good and bad emotional baggage that our daily, stressful routine conceals from our attention. New single "Dark of my Evening" is just about that: "You can make me feel. The worst that I feel. Or the happiest." This is music that enriches the lives of those who can appreciate it, because, sadly or luckily, it's not always time to party.