Released last year, Napoleon's accomplished debut album 'Success' was an emotive collection of spacious mid-tempo rockers and pretty indie folk ballads, expertly crafted at producer Kevin McMahon's upstate studio, Marcata Recording. But not to be pigeonholed, their more recent releases- such as latest single "Moonlight"- have been tighter, more uptempo numbers. As frontman, Detroit native and former Harlem resident Julian Anderson explains to me, the group shares an ethos that each record should be a grand departure from the last. - The band will headline the indie stage at The Deli's NYC B.E.A.F. 2013 (Best of Emerging Artist Fest) on June 8 at Spike Hill. Read Dean Van Nguyen's interview with the band here.

Psych Rock and related genres like Shoegaze and Dreampop belong to a very interesting musical niche with lots of loyal fans - NYC hosts a good share of them. Here is the list of bands from these categories who submitted to our Best of NYC 2012 poll and qualified to the next stage.

Total submissions in this category: 34

Artists Qualified to the Poll's Next Stage (starting around 01.10)

1. Lazyeyes - Average rating: 8.33
2. Eastern Hollows - Average rating: 8.16
3. Napoleon - Average rating: 8

Honorable Mentions:

4. The Ugly Club - Average rating: 7.83
4. The Widest Smiling Faces - Average rating: 7.83
6. dead leaf echo - Average rating: 7.66 
6. Sunglasses - Average rating: 7.66 
6. The Midnight Hollow - Average rating: 7.66 
9. Cave Days - Average rating: 7.5
9. HOUNDSds - Average rating: 7.5

Jurors: Dawn Reed (Deli DC), Ben Toledo (Deli Portland), Lucy Sherman (Deli Seattle)

The Deli's Staff

The cool thing about Brooklyn band Napoleon - currently our NYC artist of the month, see pic next to The Deli's logo - is that they play a brand of dream pop that DOES NOT refer back to the usual suspects of the genre like Cocteau Twins, The Sundays or My Bloody Valentine, but rather to other dreamy musical giants like Jeff Buckley, Low, and Elliot Smith. However, their sound is overall truly their own - although admittedly single "City Girls" features Arcade Fire influences.

Check out our favorite tracks Mad (streaming below) and Sarafan (video here), and go see Napoleon live at Big Snow Buffalo Lodge on January 08. The band got an average rating of 8 out of 10, which granted them 3rd place in our Best of NYC Poll's Psych Rock/Dream Pop open submissions. - PDG

For Napoleon, life has plenty of frustrations, but all you need to do is allow yourself to take a deep breath to realize how beautiful things are. That amazingly deep philosophical moment was proven to be true by my first listen to their strong debut, 'Successs.' Produced by lo-fi wizard Kevin McMahon, the record shows that this band has a certain vision for their mid-tempo rock that includes impassioned pleas for mortality ('I Won't Let You Die') snug up against half-hearted attempts at meeting women ('City Girls'). A very fun record, but not a shallow one - this is beach music for the real world. So no matter your mood, these guys probably know how to put a jangly groove to it. See the band next month when they play Shea Stadium Jan 31. Streaming below record opener "Sarafan" - video here. - Mike Levine (@Goldnuggets)

This song was added to our SoundCloud playlist of emerging NYC artists here.