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Sixties Future Premieres Debut Tracks

May 5, 2015

New to the scene, Buffalo four-piece, Sixties Future, debuted its first two tracks this morning. Featuring Mo Halliday, the former bass player of Sleepy Hahas, the quartet dropped the double single, “Skeleton”/”Shot” via soundcloud. Of the two, “Skeleton” is the stand out track, kicking off with a very “Heroes”-esque melody and featuring bassy National-like vocals and some retro organs. We hear a lot of Teddybears in the song. Both tracks can be streamed over at the band’s soundcloud page. Listen to “Skeleton” below.

Live at Larkin Unveils Summer Schedule

May 4, 2015

Minutes ago at a drizzly Larkinville, the Live at Larkin summer schedule was revealed. Kicking off on Wednesday, June 17th with long time folk outfit John (Lombardo, founding member of 10,000 Maniacs) & Mary and the Valkyries, along with an opening set from tonight’s reveal party entertainment, Zak Ward, the 14 bill series will run weekly all the way into mid September. Also included in this year’s lineup is a very solid double bill of the Tins and Applennium set for early July, Vinnie DeRosa of the Vitamin D band, and Larkin regular, Jony James, closing up shop on September 16th. Visit the Live at Larkin page for full lineup and additional details. All Live at Larkin shows are free of charge and run every Wednesday from 5pm to 8:30pm. Applennium “the race” (tiny desk contest submission) from nathan m peracciny on Vimeo.

The Naturalists Announce New EP, Premiere “Slip” Single

May 4, 2015

This past week, Buffalo-based grunge trio, The Naturalists, revealed the first single off its forthcoming EP, Home Honey, I’m Hi. The EP’s lead off track and single, “Slip,” was recorded with Paul Besch at ever busy Quiet Country Audio studio. The band’s brand of raucous and brash garage rock would have fit in nicely during the genre’s revival in the early 2000s. Look for the four-track, Home Honey, I’m Hi EP to drop on July 28th. You can catch the trio next at Mohawk Place on May 23rd with The Retinas and Pale Hound. In the mean time, listen to “Slip” below. Photo by Drew Lazelle

Genesee Live Releases Latest Installment feat. the Absolutes

May 4, 2015

A couple weeks ago, Genesee Live, Rochester’s premiere live session video series, debuted its latest installment featuring the retro-rock trio, the Absolutes. We first caught the Absolutes at our Bug Jar invasion showcase back in November, and most recently played Buffalo at Nietzsche’s alongside of the Soft Love a couple months ago. The bluesy threesome recall British Invasion acts like the Rolling Stones, Cream, and the Beatles, and feature members of Talking Under Water and Mikeala Davis’ band Watch the full clip below, and if you want to catch up on Genesee Live’s 20+ plus sessions, you can view all of them here.

Night Slaves Release Debut Demo “Crown of Walls”

May 1, 2015

John Toohill (JOHNS, Alpha Hopper, the Hamiltones) and Dave Kane (Them Jazzbeards) just released the first song from the duo’s new group, Night Slaves. The dark, industrial act immediately recalls Nine Inch Nails on the unnerving demo, “Crown of Walls.” The pair will make its debut performance tonight at Nietzsche’s as part of the eighth installment of ElectroRespect, an evening of music dedicated to the late, local musician/artist/visionary, Mark Freeland. The show kicks off around 10pm. In the mean time, listen to “Crown of Walls” below, which, by the way, can be yours for a mere $100.

Thursday at Canalside Report Card

April 30, 2015

The announcement of the Thursday at Canalside series, now years away from the cesspool that was Layfette Square, is one of Buffalo’s true indicators that summer is pretty much here. And with that announcement, comes lots and lots of bitching, at least normally. My fellow buffaBLOGGER Cliff Parks once told me “if you like three of the Canalside acts, then it’s a good year.” And you know what? The guy is 100% correct. What people don’t realize is that this FREE lineup isn’t made for you, or your parents, or a fan of one particular genre, rather, it’s made for everyone, which means multiple genres/bands/sounds will be represented, some to the pleasure and some to the disdain of those looking to spend a nice Thursday evening down on the water front. As per tradition, I have compiled my Thursday at Canalside Report Card, and before I go any further, please take[...]

Just Announced: Anklepants

April 28, 2015

The nearly year long Wonk Sesh series, presented by pop musician Lesionread, has always been known for its left-of-the-dial acts, but the for the series upcoming show, we clearly have a front runner for the strangest set yet. On June 28th at Sugar City, and presented by Squeaky Wheel, Wonk Sesh is proud to present Anklepants. Until I heard from Wonk Sesh curator, Shawn Lewis/Lesionread, I had no idea who/what Anklepants was, so let me let Reecard Farché ( the man behind Anklepants) explain it for himself: “Anklepants…is a one man mechanical faced sound creature from the depths of the the Australian übergründé. Anklepants is a perfect specimen. His eyes nose face and mouth are perfect. Anklepants is a live electronic music machine.” Ok, maybe that didn’t explain enough. Farché  was the set designer for Prometheus (that mask does look a little bit like the Space Jockey helmet), and when performing, uses a Wii-like controller attached to[...]

Gay Angel Releases Second Installment of floral

April 28, 2015

As promised back in February, the next installment of floral, the ambitious, 100-track project from Rochester’s chamber folk musician, Gay Angel, has arrived. After about a year of listening to Jake Bellissimo’s Gay Angel recordings, there are always a few things to expect on each release: an overwhelming track list (although once you look at some of the track lengths it becomes much less), an endless list of featured musicians, and some vulnerable, heart on your sleeve lyrics. For floral, pt. 2, Bellissimo didn’t stray to far from what made pt.1 so great, but the new installment does see the musician head in a couple new directions. “growing leaves” finds Gay Angel dipping his toes into folk-punk, while “letter to brazil” may be the closest Bellissimo comes to releasing a doo-wop song. “whose fault is it” even sounds Dirty Projectors’ Amber Coffman doing some vocal warm ups before a show. With the sudden[...]

Space Cubs Readies Debut LP The Fire And Things Forgotten

April 27, 2015

Buffalo born electro musician, Suzanne Bonifacio (aka Space Cubs), left town nearly two years ago for Chicago, and later found herself hiking the Appalachian Trail before settling in North Carolina in the late summer of  2014. What followed was a “journey of creative reflection and change” for the former Chromakid member. And after a period of recording, today sees “The Eye,” the first single from Bonifacio’s upcoming, debut LP, The Fire And Things Forgotten, premiere, while the album is set to be released on May 12th through Unspeakable Records. “Some of the recordings are ones I started many moons ago and re-worked entirely, explains Bonifacio. “I produced most of this album while living in the middle of the woods for three months in the Pisgah National Forest during the fall and winter of 2014-2015. I also spent some time recording outside sounds from that area as well as in Charlotte, North[...]

THICK WINTER BLUD Debuts First Single “Stupid Me”

April 27, 2015

With the official conformation that one of the blog’s favorite pop-punk acts, I Can See Mountains, are no longer (again), it was a pleasure to see that Mountains’ guitarist/vocalist, Matt Cox, has debuted a new project called THICK WINTER BLUD. Recorded with Buffalo’s go-to producer, Jay Zubricky of GCR, the catchy and crunchy single “Stupid Me” should appeal to fans of Say Anything, the Maine, and yes, I Can See Mountains. Give the track a spin below and catch the trio live at the Humble Braggers’ EP release show later this June.

Humble Braggers Sign to Admirable Traits, Release “How It Starts” Single

April 27, 2015

Humble Braggers, the latest project from former Streamside front-man Tom Burtless, has signed on with the ever busy local label, Admirable Traits, to releases it’s debut EP, Disposable Friends. After ditching the pop-punk scene for synth pop, HB has been building a nice following over the past year while sharing bills with fellow local buzz acts like Made Violent, Bryan Johnson & Family, and M.A.G.S.. “How It Starts,” the huge, soaring first single from Disposable Friends, premiered this morning, and is the first listen to a new collection of tunes that just happen to be the band’s best yet (wait til you hear “Cold”). Humble Braggers would appeal to fans of acts like Tears for Fears, Passion Pit, the Temper Trap, and even Rochester’s rising Joywave. The band will celebrate the release of Disposable Friends at Mohawk Place on Saturday, June 13th, supported by a great cast of WNY acts[...]

Watermelon

April 23, 2015

It’s been a minute since Lesionread blessed us with another Wonk Sesh clip. The green-screened series, which we co-present with LR’s alter ego, Shawn Lewis, features live performances from normally left-of-the-dial touring and/or local acts. For the latest Wonk Sesh, Lewis filmed Province noise duo, Watermelon, in the absolutely freezing attic of the Hive this past winter. The session was briefly mentioned in a Gothamist article  from earlier this year which made the city go straight bonkers. If you have fallen a bit behind on any of the Wonk Sesh series, make sure to catch up here. In further Lesionread news, the pop artist recently performed a three-song set at Baltimore’s WJHU studio. The performance, which features live takes of “Perfect,” “Open,” and personal favorite, “Neutron Bomb” The clip, which Lewis thankfully wonkified as well, can be viewed below. Lastly, if you want to catch a different type of Lesionread set,[...]

Just Announced: Mac DeMarco

April 22, 2015

After a sold yet, yet unexpected solo show last summer at the Tralf Music Hall, indie rock class clown, Mac DeMarco, will make a return appearance later this summer, hopefully with band in tow, to the downtown venue on Sunday, August 16th. Earlier this morning, both Rolling Stone and Stereogum announced DeMarco’s MASSIVE tour, which kicks off tonight in Portland, as well as a new “mini album” titled Another One, set to drop sometime this summer. On-sale dates and prices were not available at the time of this writing, so keep an eye out. Photo by Candace Camuglia

Mooses’ Side-Project, Moody Cosmos, Drops Debut Single

April 22, 2015

After debuting just over a year ago with his Fredonia based band, Mooses, front man Peter Cahlstadt has released the first track from his new solo project, Moody Cosmos. The solo venture, like Mooses, relies heavily on psych elements, but where as Mooses soar, Moody Cosmos chills out. “Rocky” sounds like Shuggie Otis and Foxygen got in the studio and burnt a couple down as Cahlstadt’s laid back, layered vocals mix with the track’s smooth, almost R&B groove. Check out “Rocky” below and keep an eye out for future music from Moody Cosmos.

Just Announced: The Smashing Pumpkins

April 21, 2015

In all of the “say what?” announcements I have seen in Buffalo lately, this one is near the top. The Smashing Pumpkins will be appearing at North Tonawanda’s fantastic Riviera Theatre for a gig titled “In Plainsong – An Acoustic-Electro Evening,” on Monday June 15th. According to front man Billy, I mean William, Corgan, the set will be comprised of material from the Pumpkins (including songs from the band’s 2014 album Monuments to an Elegy), Zwan, (I always liked that band!), and various solo work from over the band’s long and storied career. The 20th anniversary event will be presented by 103.3 the Edge. Tickets currently available for purchase via an online pre-sale (hint: the code is wedg) for $42.50. P.S. I would pay good money to hear “Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness” on the Riviera’s prized Wurlitzer. Can this happen? Mellon collie and the infinite sadness from Jozek on[...]