Get into The Succulents, a sparkling new band that looks like might get some traction in Austin with two new tunes of lovely lady-created, soulful Southern indie music. This trio of ladies have laid down two smoky, bluesy indie tunes, dropped 'em online for ya as a teaser taste for their upcoming album Stories from the Moon, and we’ve got each here today. There’s a nice bit of flavor coming off of these, a flavor that’s a bit dark and certainly adventurous with some real Western tones (the horns are an especially good bit of added flair), and we wouldn’t be surprised to see this group quickly rocket to the top of bills around the city if the rest of the album and their live show are as well put together as these two tracks. The fact that (full disclosure!) one of these fine, talented women was once an intern at this very site is somethin’ we are more’n a little proud of. Take yourself to a porch outside somewhere when the moon is lit up fine, and settle back with these two tracks below playing to get familiar with The Succulents, and keep an ear to the ground for their upcoming full-length. 

  Eggnog, gift-giving, a much-needed break from work and/or school: The holidays are awesome. And since Thanksgiving has finally passed, we can all unashamedly begin the 24-day pre-game leading up to the big day, complete with a carefully-procured festive playlist. And trust us, we like the classic Christmas tunes as much as the next blog, but listening to local artists put his/her own spin on a holiday favorite, that's worth toasting to.

Nashville-based soul pop artist Dustin Ransom has gifted us with his sexy, modern version of "Merry Christmas Baby," and we're dropping it right in your stocking. With Ransom's layered R&B-inspired vocals atop a smooth, smokey throwback groove, the track is perfect for a classy holiday party or a night cuddled up by the fire.

"I just thought it would be fun to take this song. which is normally performed in a more blues-oriented fashion, and make it into a lo-fi funk thing a la D'Angelo or There's A Riot Goin' On-era Sly & The Family Stone. I played all the instrumentation on the track, sang all the vocals and mixed it as well. I honestly would love to do a whole Christmas record in a similar fashion, but that will have to wait for another time...!" says Ransom. Guess we'll just have to put that on our list for next year.

To hear more of Ransom's sophisticated soul, check out his EP Thread on Fire on Noisetrade. For every 200 EP downloads, he'll be releasing one new acoustic track. And once he hits 2500, he'll release another EP and start bringing his music to the stage. -Caroline Bowman

Right y'all, so The Deli covers emerging artists that are on the way up to stardom, and usually that means folks with a few hundred hits max online for each of a half dozen to a dozen tracks. Sometimes though, a new local musician comes in hot as a comet and goes straight from having zero available music to having tracks with thousands and even tens of thousands of listens overnight.

It's not everyone who can pull off this kinda grime to prime time goddamn music magic; it's somethin' that takes talent, timing and a fucking good managing team to get done.

Mobley is an Austin pop artist that looks like he probably has all three of those components, and happily for this day and age, it seems pretty clear from his musical output thus far that of the three his raw natural talent shines brightest by far.

Mobley's new track "Swoon," presented for you here, hits you with the knowledge that this kid is real fucking talented fast, as it comes in with its hard runnin' pop beat and driving bass and soulful vocals. It's a song that's good off the bat, doing its fun modern take on a relationship song well with a bit of cynicism, a materialistic edge but some romance, and then around 0:45 it really gets going when a melodic island drum sound that really rounds it out and gives it that perfect arty fantasy feeling that makes for some of the best possible pop music.

Make no mistake, Mobley isn't just going to blow up, he already has for all intents and purposes. Expect to hear his shit played somewhere in the next while, because this complex multi-genre-accessing pop that has the hipster/indie/artsy edge but is also completely inside the wider world's pop/hip-hop culture is some good shit. It's pretty hard to imagine it missing with the public, honestly. It's just on top of its game on many levels, so get in on it now while this kid just has three songs and a ridiculous 100k listens. Newest track below, and find more from Mobley over at his SoundCloud.

The underlying and often overlooked hip-hop scene in Portland is constantly expanding and developing, with our local hip-hop stars dishing out consistently on point beats and tracks. For the past few years Patrick Lamarr, monikered as Horizun, has been making a name for himself by covering hits by other artists (like Usher and Drake) and by dropping his own jams that mix silky croons with smooth r&b and bass heavy beats.

Horizun's "Sunset Drive" demonstrates Lamarr's sensual vocal ability with a music video to boot. The track, which was produced by WIZE and mastered by Jeff Bond, makes the best use of 808 trap beats and perfected melodies that translate into a visual "o" face in the Perry Jay directed video. Take a look at the galatic lust of "Sunset Drive" below. 

For more of Horizun's steamy sensations, check out his Soundcloud page.

-Cervante Pope

Lindsie Feathers is releasing her latest full-length album, Neon Renaissance, this week. The album has been a labor of love for Feathers over the last two years, and combines an array styles and themes. The album has an overall folk and storytelling feel to it, but the stories are blanketed over developing and creative tracks. An example is the protest song that Feathers allowed us to share below, "Be Good To Me". This track has a reggae feel at its core, but filtered through rustic charm that is very refreshing.

You can catch Lindsie Feathers at Double Door on 11/24 for a free show and at Elbo Room on 11/27 for the album release event. [photo credit -- Jennifer Hardin]