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Northern Spies Debut Material

January 6, 2015

If you can’t tell by now, this week is going to be a catch up week for all of the super cool stuff that has come out during the end of the year whirlwind. Today’s “Oh man I should have posted about this three weeks ago” song comes from Rochester’s Northern Spies. Formerly performing under the name Blankets, the quartet hasn’t been around for very long, only forming as a band in spring of 2014. In mid-December, Northern Spies got around to sharing their debut three song EP titled Nothing But Static. The just over twelve minute EP is full of soft-spoken hesitant indie rock with power pop hooks that make it stay in your head and never leave. Check out “No Time To Lose,” and stick around for the other two songs.

Space Cubs Releases New Single

January 5, 2015

One of the dilemmas I come across while writing for this blog is to what to categorize each artist in our internal database. For example, Space Cubs was raised in Buffalo, but now calls the backwoods of the south her home. Should I still categorize her “Buffalo” or should this be “New Music?” Should anyone who has ever lived in Buffalo always be considered Buffalo? Regardless, former Buffalo-based spacey electronica songstress, Space Cubs, the performing/writing moniker of Suzanne Lee Bonaficio, released a new single titled “The Eye.” Normally we are on top of these things, but with the year end round-ups, personal responsibilities, and all-around burning out of contributing to a blog, we missed it. “The Eye,” much like others in Space Cubs’ repertoire, is a new age climber topped soothing vocals. What’s different about “The Eye” is that the vocals are a little more R&B tinged, almost like a[...]

Tonight: Kharlos

January 3, 2015

For a while, Kharlos was a pretty tight lipped secret. After the intense word-of-mouth from their first show, we were very curious about their sound which was being described as “awesome” and “sick.” The band is not really into the social media game, preferring the music to speak for itself. Regardless of their internet presence, Kharlos is composed of the guitarists/singer from defunct (?) grunge-act, Merchants (Ben Maries and Steve Gordon), along with Space Wolves/The Hamiltones drummer, Chris Scamurra. Fans of Diarrhea Planet, Wavves, and Bass Drum of Death should consider themselves Kharlos fans. Also on the bill is Poindexter, a band that could have easily been on Kung-Fu in the late 90’s, and rock and roll vets, The Good. Doors are at 8pm with a $5 cover. Did I mention this is at Mohawk Place? It’s at Mohawk Place.

Lesionread Drops “Art All Day” Video

December 30, 2014

Other than end of year lists, staff picks, and best of’s, the holidays are a pretty quiet time for buffaBLOG, so Lesionread’s new video “Art All Day”(which dropped last week) might as well have been gift-wrapped. This time we find the avant-electronica wiz doing what he does best– embracing the weird and keeping it fresh. The new track highlights the post-college starving artist days with a literal, danceable, and relatively humorous approach. His presentation is flavorful; the well-edited video watches like something you might catch on an episode of Tim & Eric’s Awesome Show Great Job!, featuring various cameos from other local musicians. Can you spot them amongst the controlled chaos?

Day 11: 1809 Studios

December 24, 2014

Day 11 of our 12 Days of Christmas comes to us from Macedon-based recording studio, 1809 Studios. If you haven’t had a chance to check out their sessions and space, I really suggest you do. It’s a top notch studio in a converted 19th century ale house that we’ve been admiring from a distance. Anyways, the fellas over at 1809 Studios gave us a Christmas present of their own, a spirited version of “Click Click Click,” arranged by Dave Drago with visuals by Jon Lewis. One more day til Christmas ya’ll.

Day 8: Mink

December 21, 2014

I don’t know what we would do without this Steak and Cake sampler. It has been a God-send  in a Christmas music season where we are usually our inbox is full of on-the-fly covers and originals of yuletide staples. This year, not so much. Luckily the many musicians who came together on this project are all legit. Day 8 of our series comes from Mink with “bells will be ringing” which is a cover of the 1960 Charles Brown classic. Thanks wikipedia. Mink shares this cover with another band that Buffalo loves, Bon Jovi. Throw some hot cocoa in a mug and listen below.  

Day 7: Supergoner

December 20, 2014

When in doubt while searching for Christmas songs to post about during our annual 12 Days of Christmas post, you can count on Steak and Cake Records’ Christmas Meltdown 2 compilation. Today’s holiday themed song comes from local indie rock quartet, Supergoner, with their song “the most wonderful of time the year (feat Skosh).”  Supergoner makes probably one of the sappiest holiday songs actually enjoyable and manages to lose the cheesiness of the song. Stick around til the end for the Chirstmas horns.

Day 5: Billy Martin

December 18, 2014

Besides the slowly leaking Steak and Cake Christmas compilation, Buffalo is about to be lapped by Rochester’s scene in regards to holiday themed releases. Perhaps they are more in the holiday spirit. Is there something in the garbage plates? The latest comes from Rochester-based multi-instrumentalist Billy Martin, who also plays  guitar in the band we’ve been hearing a lot about, No Glitter (featuring past members of Sports, Revengineers, and Like Wolves). Martin was able to find time to hole himself in the home-studio to put an indie-rock spin on everyone’s favorite high-pitched Christmas tune by Alvin and the Chipmunks, “The Chipmunk Song (Christmas Don’t Be Late).” Check it out below.

Day 4: the gifted children

December 17, 2014

There are certain absolutes that you can count on during the holiday season. The first is that you’ll definitely want to rip years ears off after hearing Mariah Carey’s “All I Want For Christmas” at least three dozens times by now. The second is that after saying “I’ll finally get a tree this year,” you won’t. The third is that Rochester’s the gifted children will release their impressive annual holiday album, with this year being no different. This week, Rochester grizzled vets, the gifted children, released their seventh annual holiday album.  Much like the six past years, the band somehow manages to put a cool indie tinge on the same songs you’ll hear at your nephew’s Holiday Pageant. Christmas, Volume 7, features some hip renditions of “Over the River and Through the Woods,””O Come All Ye Faithful,” and three different songs from The Nutcracker to name a few. My favorite[...]

Day 2: Jack Topht and Little Cake

December 15, 2014

I am very happy that Steak & Cake Records decided to release their second annual Christmas Meltdown compilation with singles staggered starting on December 13th for two reasons. The first is that last year’s December 23rd release could only be enjoyed for like 48 hours tops. The second is that it makes writing six out of the twelve “12 Days of Christmas” posts a lot easier. The first song from Steak & Cake Records’ holiday compilation comes from Allentown’s own Jay-Z and Beyonce, Jack Topht and Little Cake. Titled “Santa Bae,” the song puts a spin on the Christmas classic in a way that you could only expect from the alt-rapper and soulful songstress. If you have Jack Topht for secret Santa, buy him a DVD player.

SHEDS Release Debut Video

December 12, 2014

It’s no secret that the blog has been recently drooling over Lancaster-based act, SHEDS. With that being said, we were more than pumped to get a hold of the band’s debut music video for the song “HPBG” or high pressure basketball game. The video is very true to the title, clipping select moments from various intense NBA games and slicing them in a very dreamy direction. SHEDS is currently working on their upcoming full-length with an aim for a spring release, but I’m sure you can check back here as soon as there are any developments. SWISH.

Tonight: Secret Pizza (Early Show)

December 5, 2014

The Hoyt House has a pretty great bill tonight, which could be the perfect pre-game for tonight’s Wooden Waves release party.  The lineup is packed by three legit Rochester bands, headlined by Rochester’s growly shoegaze quartet, Secret Pizza. Also making the 75 miles journey west on 90 is power-pop four-piece, Cult Classic, and raucous Black Eyes with a punch-in-the-face duo, i cant stop wondering. From Buffalo is Real People/False Paul hybrid project, Stoop Kid, and making the return after a one year hiatus, Tony Rocky Horror. The show is supposed to start at 5pm, so tell your boss that you think you left your iron on or something around 3pm to leave you enough time to go home and change into your cool clothes. $3 cover.

Tonight: Tiny Rhymes & Andy Pothier

December 4, 2014

Tonight Allentown’s hippest low-key venue, Pausa Art House,  is set two host two up and coming acoustic acts coming out of Buffalo. On the bill is indie-folk quartet, Tiny Rhymes, a intricately pleasant act that’s lead by effortlessly gripping vocals. Sharing the stage is Andy Pothier, a local staple and current percussionist for Buffalo folk-stompers Pine Fever. Pothier’s delicate sound will make you want to pull your chair forward so you don’t miss anything. Doors are $7 or $5 if you still have your student ID with an 8pm start. [soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/173536560″ params=”color=ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false” width=”100%” height=”166″ iframe=”true” /]

Passion in Constellation Drops Latest Track in “We Want It All”

November 21, 2014

Local electronic producer, Passion in Constellation aka Chris Alan, released his brand new pure pop track titled “We Want It All.” The single is a collaboration with Cara Doyle, a local singer that has been completely under our radar up until now, but with this production with Alan, Doyle is definitely on our map. As far as the song goes, it’s an upbeat pop-gem, similar to a purer Grimes meets the synth pop stylings of Charlie XCX. “We Want It All,” on surface level is all about capturing the night, making the most of it, and taking command, but underneath it’s skin, the song is a lot deeper than this. The verses are millenial-tinged, singing about wrapping your fingers around a crystal ball and grasping love, life, and spirit.  With this latest production, Passion in Consellation continues to prove himself as an extremely skilled producer with the ability to operate solo[...]

The Absolutes

November 18, 2014

It may come to no surprise that buffaBLOG has a show this Saturday in Rochester due to the all-encompassing Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram teases. If this is the first post you’ve ever read on this website and have never visited our social media accounts, Hi. We put together a nice show on Saturday at the Bug Jar in Rochester with four bands and a DJ. As a matter of fact, I will tell you about one of the bands right now. Set to start Saturday night off with a bang is Rochester-based trio, The Absolutes. A long-time player in the local scene, the band’s retro power pop sound is similar to that of The Zombies, Elvis Costello, or more currently early Apples in Stereo. These garage rockers should be on early, like way earlier than you would expect bands to start on a Saturday night, so make sure you get[...]