Latest Posts

Jason Nolan – “Cantonese Dream”

May 30, 2023

“Cantonese Dream” is the lead single off of Jason Nolan‘s upcoming LP, Pink Sky in the Real World. His unique blend of bedroom-pop compositions bring a dulcet, incredibly calming voice with a healthy dose of chill wave thrown in. The bass track throughout really unites “Cantonese Dream” and keeps it pulsating with a shimmering energy that never bogs down into mood-setting ambiance. The album itself was written over a four year period of time around the various locales of New Zealand, including a small suburb of Wellington. The ethereal nature of the track is very much on purpose, as Nolan says regarding the song: “Cantonese Dream is about being the wrong side of the mirror and feeling like a passenger in your own dream. Depending on the day, it’s about being weak to a lot of the easy temptations and distractions or being open and curious about the peculiarities…the name comes[...]

The Jürgen Clubs – “Rare Candy”

May 26, 2023

“Rare Candy” is the follow-up single to an earlier track, “Soft” from The Jürgen Clubs that we actually covered back in March – check it out here in case you missed it. While not singing about the Pokémon leveling item, rare candy, this song still doesn’t disappoint. Much like “Soft,” TJC brings a fun, raucous energy with the heavy synth you’ve grown to know and love from them, but bring more of a guitar focus along this time. Similar in tone to Passion Pit or Phoenix, you certainly won’t be put to sleep by this banger. In keeping with my edict from our past post, this is very much a song you could add to your summer playlist. If you have friends over and play this they’ll be like “Whoa, who is this?” You can then confidently say, with an air of superiority, “Oh just this band called The Jürgen[...]

Buck St. Thomas- “Quiet Thrills”

May 26, 2023

Hailing from Rhode Island, Buck St. Thomas brings us a crispy indie ditty of a track in “Quiet Thrills.” With just the right mix between melancholy and hopeful; his voice croons betwixt a nice sliding acoustic guitar and simple piano chords. As the track goes on, you hear some light drums and bass guitar join the fray that builds into a much more complex movement. Fans of Band of Horses, Elliot Smith, or their folksy ilk would find a lot to enjoy here, especially since this isn’t a one trick pony track – Buck more or less has an established sound that he sticks to and plays with, but isn’t afraid to take some risks. Be sure to check out the “Quiet Thrills” as well as Buck St. Thomas’ other tracks over on his Bandcamp or Spotify. Let us know what you think over in the comments on your social[...]

Dawn Park – “What It Was”

May 21, 2023

New York based duo Dawn Park started off, as told on the band’s Instagram “origin story”, something like this: *video of rough version of melody* “basically just making real estate loops” “I love it” “Yeah yeah. Loop deez” “colin i’d be down to record this tn if you are” “for sure” That night, Colin Reilly and Zach Aumueller pounded out what would become “What It Was.” A healthy combination of bass, electric drums and that the aforementioned underlying melody, you can hear the influences going from Real Estate or Alex G with some Strokes thrown in. The vocals are uplifting and poppy, which provides a nice juxtaposition to the neurotic instrumental, and avoids the pitfall of being just another post-post-punk wannabe with access to recording equipment. This jives well overarching narrative behind Dawn Park, “to embody the feeling that you can always find something beautiful or funny worth experiencing in[...]

Sarah Coolidge – “Ice Pack”

May 21, 2023

“Ice Pack” is the lead single from Bay Area Sarah Coolidge’s upcoming debut album, Call Me When You Get There. Currently residing in the Bay Area, this is Sarah’s second song written about an injury, the first being her 2020 single “Nosebleed.” The ostensibly injury prone Coolidge’s “Ice Pack” is a well crafted indie-shoegaze gem that, while at first unassuming, packs quite a punch between the impeccably-layered guitars and Sarah’s frank and creative songwriting and delivery (pepper flake in the eye, people cry when they fall down/everyone needs something to laugh about). Fans of Courtney Barnett or Kurt Vile (rocking a My Bloody Valentine pedal board) would certainly find a lot to enjoy here, though Sarah Coolidge and company manage to bring enough of their own flair to stand on their own. You can hear “Ice Pack” as well as the back catalogue of singles over on Bandcamp as well[...]

The Landing – “This Way”

May 21, 2023

Looking for an out of this world trippy soundscape? Look no further than The Landing‘s “This Way” off of their upcoming debut album Beautiful Human, Beautifully Human. Bringing a pop-forward track with some hip hop beats snuck in for extra flavor, The Landing shows up their composition chops quite spectacularly. Synth heavy with with lots of fun little flitty effects interspersed through, you’ll hear something new on each subsequent listen. Telling you TL is an amateur astronomer shouldn’t surprise you at all after listening, but if you didn’t pick up on that, look at http://www.whatisthelanding.com/ and you’ll see a quote attributed to Neil Degrasse Tyson – “Cosmic discovery doesn’t become mainstream until the artists embrace the fruits of those discoveries.” You can hear “This Way” over on Soundcloud or Spotify, be sure to check those out along with their future LP, unless you’ve discovered faster than light speed… In which case[...]

Born Twins – “Tiger”

May 20, 2023

“Tiger” is the lead track and second single from Texas based duo Born Twins‘ album Novelas Cortas (May 5). In it, bandmates Singer Mayberry and David Lujan have crafted a beautifully put together track that somehow ignores space and time. I think five minute songs are usually bloated, but this somehow ignores that gripe and I enjoyed it enough to add it to my regular rotation (not all bands get that distinguished honor). The play between Mayberry’s subdued vocals and the resonating guitar effect are this track’s biggest strength. Listen for the subtle Wurlitzer bass synth interspersed through too. If Bob Ross were a musician, he would have made a clever little comment to the effect of “we’re just gonna add in this tiny synth line here… if you use it in the intro make sure you come back to it again, but only if you want to.” Fans of[...]

Spirit Award – “New Energy”

May 15, 2023

Spirit Award is a collaborative effort between Daniel Lyon of Pomegranates and Chris Jordan, bassist of Sunny Day Real Estate. “New Energy” is a single off of their upcoming album, The Fear (May 19th). The track itself starts with tight guitar and drums that sound like they’re in a dead sprint to finish in first. Neck and neck, it turns into one of those Tough Mudder (TM) races as they come up on some more layered guitar with some subtle midi accompaniment, symbolizing that colored power stuff they throw on you (I think, I’ve never done a race in my life). On the subject of “New Energy” the band had this to say: “The song is a wishful look into the future. Change or progress isn’t always good as we have seen throughout history. But I believe some things and minds in this world must change in order for us[...]

DiRTY RADiO – “Jet Fuel”

April 30, 2023

Many of my DJ friends are probably much more well versed with Canada-based DiRTY RADiO. I could try to bullshit my way through knowing everything about turntables and mixes, but I admittedly have only basic novice knowledge… However, I can confidently say that musically, DR absolutely knows what he’s doing. From what I listened to, the mixing between vocals and beats are top notch club fare, and will certainly get your bodies moving as intended. “Jet Fuel” is one of those fire tracks that is exactly as advertised: a masterfully produced electronica song that begs you to let loose on the dance floor and try not to clench your teeth (ifkyk). If you’ve ever been to a party (or after party) north of the border, you’d expect a song like “Jet Fuel” to be bumping through the speakers. Find more of DiRTY RADiO over on Spotify or his artist page.[...]

Matthew Danger Lippman – “Set Up”

April 30, 2023

Matthew Danger Lippman (henceforth MDL), currently residing in NYC but also an erstwhile Buffalonian (anyone still around from 2014? You may remember Brimstone Blondes) and buffaBLOG contributor, brings his single “Set Up” from his upcoming full length Once You Get Low You’ve Gotta Start Flying Baby for your listening pleasure. MDL has previously opened for such artists as Foxygen (a personal favorite of mine), Shonen Knife, and Active Bird Community. We tried to get him to write this review himself but he threw a guitar at the editor when asked. [Editor’s note: this is actually not true, it was a snare drum.] “Set Up” is soulful fucking (soulfucking?) pop-rock ear worm that rewards multiple listens. Carefully curated guitar and a rollicking bass track give way to fun synth interludes and backing vocals a la a gospel revival choir. MDL, ever the enigmatic frontman, opens up his thesaurus and points out the[...]

Millionyoung – “Lost”

April 30, 2023

Based out of Miami, Millionyoung is the project of Mike Diaz and “Lost” is both the name of his newest single that, coincidentally, shares the name of one of the most overrated TV shows of all time (seriously, I tried, plz don’t @ me). That’s where the comparisons end though; “Lost” (the song) feels like a pleasant Sunday drive with your foot hanging out the window on a warm-but-overcast day, whereas the TV show was overhyped and couldn’t stick the landing. Like a tasty, chillwave blooming onion served by Panda Bear (of Animal Collective fame), you’ll find layers aplenty that Diaz has obviously taken great care with laying down here. The thick guitars meld well with the heavy synth treatment while his whisper voice vocals guide you along, lest your fragile mind becomes lost in the (dipping) sauce. Fans of Washed Out or Cocteau Twins will find a kindred spirit[...]

Merci, Mercy – “Shovel”

April 30, 2023

“You’re so fuckin’ nice/I wanna throw something at your head.” Damn. Merci, Mercy comes out swinging on her new single, “Shovel”, and just doesn’t let up. Allegedly a “playful take on romantic relationships” with a self deprecating jab thrown in (“pass me the shovel and I’ll dig for two”), it’s SPICY and I’m here for it. Steady acoustic guitars are balanced out well with swirly synth atmospheres to compliment her dulcet tones, a la Julien Baker on a snarky day before their coffee with 20% more pop. This is off of her upcoming EP is it me and is filled to the brim with smart, sharp lyrics (with assistance of Matthew Murphy from The Wombats and Chris Collins (Middle Kids, Greta Ray)). Not that age is necessarily any indication of musical talent, but you’ll probably be as surprised as I am that Mercy is only NINETEEN (her name is Mercy but[...]

MOLD! – “Don’t Wake Me Up”

April 30, 2023

MOLD! is a Miami based band (originally hailing from Peru) bringing what is possibly the closest thing to a personal anthem/mantra (anthrem?) of me before 10am as you can get. Ironically going against what is promised, this song does in fact WAKE YOU UP! Smartly-layered guitars guide us headfirst into this maelstrom, backed by a strong undercurrent of battling bass and drums (they end things in an amicable draw) and a ruthlessly catchy vocal line. Strong nods to Yo La Tengo exist throughout this track as well as some of MOLD!’s deeper cuts; fans of PUP, Deerhunter, or Stephen Malkmus with stronger emotion would also feel welcome into MOLD!’s moldy, er, warm(?) embrace. “Don’t Wake Me Up” will certainly keep you engaged and looking for more as their understanding of how to blend sound is a must for any indie-punk apostle. MOLD! could easily teach a doctoral level course with[...]

Homeschool – “My Only Enemy”

April 28, 2023

New York based, multi-faceted artist Homeschool (read: musician, actor) brings a thumping alt-pop sound in their new single “My Only Enemy;” released ahead of their upcoming EP Just Now. “Enemy” is a glam-filled, synth-heavy romp evoking Hot Fuss-era Killers or the shiny melodies of early 2010s Passion Pit that is bigger than the sum of its parts – you can definitely hear their voice filling an arena with no problem. The best part, it has an uplifting message about the importance of self-love. On the subject of “My Only Enemy,” Homeschool says: “It’s a self-critical reflection wearing upbeat, dance-pop clothes where I ultimately make a realization about myself and the world…. the only real enemy or obstacle between me and an acceptance of myself, is myself.” You can hear “My Only Enemy” over on Spotify and, if you’re feeling it, the rest of their music – including but not limited[...]

Dragon Inn 3 – “See It Your Way (feat. The Salvation Choir)”

April 28, 2023

“See it Your Way” is the second single from Dragon Inn 3 released ahead of their upcoming second album, Trade Secrets, out April 28th by way of American Laundromat Records. I’ve written previously about this band and their first single “I Can’t Stop,” and the band’s connection to indie-pop darlings Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin (Phil Dickey was in SSLYBY and now leads Dragon Inn 3) surely shines through while letting their synth-soaked direction breathe in its own right. With that preamble out of the way, let’s focus on the track! “See It Your Way” leads with a bit more guitar than their previous single, but soon gives way to the strong midi tones that have become the hallmark of their sound. Their jaunty, upbeat rhythms and sun-soaked vibes will lift your mood, no matter what kind of day you’re having. This all gives way to back-and-forth lyrics between[...]