Known mostly for their sweet as hell bootyshakin' party anthems, "Animal" shows off a far more in-your-face side of ELEL. Yet another diamond from the minds of this 7-or-so member collective, a group of songwriting animals themselves, this track holds to band's roots in grandiose love bangers but adds a pumped-up element that'll make you want to find your troubles and kick them right over the moon.

If you happen to fall in the Venn diagram overlap of "people who like crawfish boils" and "people who don't mind cutting a rug or two," you can catch ELEL at the East Nashville Crawfish Bash (5.21) with tons of other killer bands, beer from Yazoo, and did we mention it's a crawfish boil? -Austin Phy

Not able to make it down to Austin and the sad demise of Couch by Couchwest has left a hole in your heart the size of the Lone Star State? Wipe those salty ol' tears away, because the Basement East is giving us a chance to bid farewell to a couple choice locals, at the same time helping them with gas money for the long drive toward the border. Read up on the groups below and make a stop by The Beast this Thursday (03.10) to see it all go down.

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ELEL

If we've said it once, we've said it a thousand times—ELEL is one of the most promising groups we can name. Their live show is a blast, every release is polished to perfection, and the music is so upbeat and catchy that we're convinced "el-el" must be the sound it makes when joy claps.

Soft Bodies

Remember reading all about the debut EP from Soft Bodies all the way back in January? We dug it then, we dig it now, and we highly recommend you check out their textured, easygoing electronic vibes live.

KiND

KiND's Eunoia is a trip through varying expressions of electronic music from modern, dance-y numbers to more pensive tracks that get you nodding along all the same, but more like you're examining a black-and-white photo in a gallery exhibit.

The Gills

These guys have been keeping info about their debut LP locked down tight, but everything we've heard so far points to a thick stew of varying alt, punk, and hard rock influences that goes down easy and should keep you full for a good long while.

(On the other hand, if you are planning on being at SXSW, now's the best time to start planning by taking a peek at the Deli Magazine's preview coverage. Once you get there, don't forget to check out our Stompbox Exhibit and Synth Space events, both of which are free and will give you a shot to try out some real fancy gear. Also keep an eye out for the Deli SXSW print edition, which can help you out as an invaluable guide around town, some reading material for when you're waiting on a show to start, and in emergency situations, a little life-saving protection from the Texas sun.)

The wait for ELEL debut album Geode has been a long one. In the couple years since the dissolution of Heypenny, the previous project helmed by ELEL mastermind Ben Elkins, we haven’t seen much beyond a couple singles and the odd show here and there. But what we have seen is good. And it got well-deserved hype. It’s clear that his time spent making catchy but complex, sweet but not saccharine booty-shakers with Heypenny not only sharpened up his songwriting skills, but also taught him discipline. The quality and excitement behind ELEL’s drip-fed music, matched by the goodwill Elkins built up with Heypenny, is what makes their strategy of taking big but slow steps impressive rather than frustrating.

Such is the case with the release of their “Kiss Kiss” video. Sure, it’s an incredibly well-shot video with a catchy tune to match. But for Elkins, that’s old news. These guys go the extra mile by not only lining up the video release with the mushiest holiday of them all, but offering up a download of the track (plus remix!) in the form of free-to-print Valentine’s Day cards. Get all warm and fuzzy with the video below and keep your eyes out for more from ELEL—though if these guys keep it up, you shouldn’t have to search too hard. -Austin Phy

Just a quick head's up, today is the release date of ELEL's self-titled debut EP. Nashville is clearly endeared by the 8-piece world-jams-meet-indie-pop extravaganza, considering that they won our overall poll for Best Emerging Artist of 2014. Ben Elkins and the crew's first effort has found a home with Mom+Pop Records alongside the likes of Andrew Bird, Cloud Nothings, and Wild Cub. Check it out HERE. ELEL is stopping in Nashville in the middle of their spring tour for an EP release show at The Stone Fox. Get your tickets early, as the show has a good chance of selling out! -Terra James-Jura 

Deli Nation,

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

Kudos to ELEL for winning The Deli NASHVILLE's Artist of the year! The new Mom + Pop signees are poised to release their debut EP into the world on March 3rd. The 8-piece supergroup dish out some big, world-flavored indie pop, and their live show can be classified as one of the happiest places on earth. If you haven't heard "40 Watt" yet, then for Chrissakes, here it is!

Electronic collaborators BASECAMP came in second. The trio have been building a following of their emotionally-charged, sparsely-produced music for the past few years. They recently have announced "Gradient" a live concert/dance series of all original music with local dance troupe Found Movement Group. More details and tickets are available HERE.

Wings of Apollo came in third in the overall vote in addition to sweeping our Reader's Choice Poll. The trio released their epic "By Force" EP earlier in 2014, and are channeling their heavy metal talents into a new album this year.

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 Nashville scene experts (our jury is listed under the chart) 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 subtleties 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 Nashville produced in the year 2014, this list is all you need. Enjoy!

BEST OF 2014 POLL FOR EMERGING NASHVILLE ARTISTS ****** FINAL RESULTS ******

ARTIST   J OS R TOT   1 ELEL   7   0 7 2 BASECAMP   5   0.017 5.017 3 Wings of Apollo   3   2 5 4 Tetherball   4   0.006 4.006 5 Chrome Pony   3 1 0.003 4.003 6 Jawws   4   0.001 4.001 7 Bentley Caldwell   2   1.5 3.5 8 Goodbye June   3   0.5 3.5 9 Anthony Adams & the Night Owls   3   0.059 3.059 10 All Them Witches   3   0.01 3.01 11 Gold Dash   3   0.009 3.009 12 Creature Comfort   3   0.007 3.007 13 Music Band   3   0.003 3.003 14 Steelism   3   0.003 3.003 15 The Future   3   0.003 3.003 16 Gunther Doug     3 0.002 3.002 17 Sol Cat   3   0.002 3.002 18 Turbo Fruits   3   0.002 3.002 19 Bully   3   0.001 3.001 20 Chessboxer   3   0.001 3.001 21 The Dead Deads   2   1 3 22 Jung Youth   3   0 3 23 Forlorn Stranger   2   0.066 2.066 24 David Newbould   2   0.026 2.026 25 Red Wine Hangover   2   0.022 2.022 26 The Lees of Memory   2   0.021 2.021 27 Tower Defense   2   0.011 2.011 28 Vinyl Thief     2 0.007 2.007 29 BZRK   2   0.004 2.004 30 Daniel Ellsworth and the Great Lakes   2   0.003 2.003 31 Thelma and the Sleaze   2   0.003 2.003 32 Shy Guy   2   0.002 2.002 33 Natural Child   2   0.001 2.001 34 Tristen   2   0.001 2.001 35 Evan P. Donahue   2   0 2 36 The Harmaleighs     1.5 0.034 1.534 37 I'm an Island     1 0.5 1.5 38 Chalaxy   1   0.068 1.068 39 Thom Donovan   1   0.067 1.067 40 Smooth Hound Smith     1 0.047 1.047 41 Kim Logan   1   0.038 1.038 42 Year of October   1   0.032 1.032 43 The Tip   1   0.03 1.03 44 Charlie Whitten   1   0.029 1.029 45 The Cold Stares   1   0.022 1.022 46 Linear Downfall   1   0.015 1.015 47 The Cunning     1 0.015 1.015 48 Brandon Calhoun   1   0.008 1.008 49 Moseley   1   0.007 1.007 50 Forest of Tygers   1   0.004 1.004 51 Ranch Ghost   1   0.003 1.003 52 Honey Locust   1   0.002 1.002 53 Deep Fried 5   1   0.001 1.001 54 Quichenight   1   0.001 1.001 55 RIcHIE   1   0.001 1.001 Legend: J = Jurors, W = Deli Writers, R = Deli Readers, OS = Open Submissions

Jurors List: Mike Grimes (Grimey's) Grimey's Staff, Matt Hall (No Country for New Nashville), Jesse Baker (Exit/In) Wes Davenport (Echo Avenue), Stephen Tragdser (Nashville Scene) Andy Herrin (102.9 The Buzz), Jay Gregory (Sad Spaceman Productions), Jeremy MaCanulty (2 Jung 2 Dye), Robert Bragdon (Break on a Cloud), Michael Eades (We Own This Town), Seth Lowe (Cannery Row), Tyler Walker (Queen Art Collective), Staff (Sofar Sounds Nashville), Amber Davis (photographer), Jason Piffer (Do615), Jared and Kristyn Corder (East Nashville Underground), David Oakleaf (The Building), Terra James-Jura (Deli Nashville)

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

The Deli's Staff