Latest Posts

Joywave – Swish

March 14, 2016

One straight half hour listen through later and I can totally see why after only a few days of availability, Swish has taken the world by storm. There’s no doubt that Joywave’s newest 10 song release will take you on a ride. Not necessarily a roller coaster ride, more like a gentle lift on the back of a golf cart while doing donuts in a parking lot at ten miles per hour (this is a compliment because it is a very fun time doing golf cart donuts!!!). Though the title of the release utilizes one of Kanye West’s discarded album name ideas, the band boldly claimed the appellation for themselves and made it every bit their own. It’s clear that they wanted to stick with the aesthetic of the How Do You Feel Now? era based on the cover artwork, and how could they not? After expressing his fond attachment[...]

Tonight: The Slums

March 11, 2016

October of last year bore exciting news that The Slums, buzzworthy post-hardcore four piece known for their dense and sludgy yet digestible sound, would be recording a full length album through Quiet Country Audio. If you’ve been following their #SlumDays video updates on the recording process at all, you might’ve seen the band joke about creating a “clean, small, very minimalistic” album, which totally refutes the “raw and energetic” label the band is so often given.  A huge part of me thinks a quiet, minimalistic album from The Slums would still be really damn good. The official release has yet to be made, but if anything, that should encourage you to see them tonight at Dreamland. Also on the bill for tonight is M.A.G.S., who have steadily gained momentum since their inception. The punchy indie-pop outfit has recently skyrocketed to the national exposure level (along with their Admirable Traits Records labelmates Humble Braggers) by having two singles featured[...]

Tonight: Kopps

March 4, 2016

Kopps, a four piece electronic dance group from Rochester, have proved themselves to be a potent force within the electro-pop scene. They are yet another Rochester band to break through the regional seal and go national (I like to think of them and Joywave as partners in crime on the road to success). Just recently, their sultry jam “Thermometer” was featured on the Netflix revival of Full House, aptly named Fuller House. How many people can say the gawky but loveable Kimmy Gibler busted a move to one of their original songs? The band has no doubt found their niche and are unbreakably confident in their sound, but at the same time they aren’t totally defined by their genre either. Each and every show, they dish up something fresh, along with infectious beats, sweat and a whole lot of sexiness for good measure. The rest of tonight’s bill is stacked to[...]

Tonight: El Ten Eleven

February 26, 2016

El Ten Eleven, an L.A.-based band who have been at it since 2002, are the humble giants of the post-rock world. They make use of fairly unconventional setups, some of which include a seamless blend of acoustic and electric drums and a double-necked guitar/bass combo with an elaborate spread of effects pedals. This same band also runs on the manpower of just two people; bassist Kristian Dunn and drummer Tim Fogarty. This feat registers impressive when you hear the mesmerizing fluidity of their vocal-less tracks in full — each one more expansive than the next, each one telling a story and putting you into a groove simultaneously. For some instrumental bands however, the inclination for “complexity” has the potential of becoming nothing more than a cumbersome distraction from any deeper meaning to the music, but I don’t think that’s the case with Dunn and Fogarty. The duo have mentioned in[...]

Saint Opal Drops Video for New Single

February 17, 2016

Saint Opal may be relatively new on people’s radars, but one thing is certain; she has announced herself in a tastefully bold and dramatic way with each and every single that’s been dropped. The newest release for “Lilac Corona” is no exception. The song is brought to life in the accompanying music video, produced by Haute La Vie, which is both creepy and hair-raisingly poetic. There’s a moment in the video where Saint Opal submerges herself in a tub of black water and kind of tussles with the heavy garments she’s wearing, wrapping them around herself. It’s a perfect representation of how I felt listening to this tune —  totally enveloped in the phantasmal imagery and weighed down by the melancholy timbre. The video also features two dancers, Max Darling and Angela Lopez, who beautifully make use of movement to represent some sort of vexing relationship between the two characters.[...]

Space Cubs Releases New Video for “A Tired Sky”

February 8, 2016

The marriage of audio and visual creations is a wonderful thing. The end product can uniquely heighten emotional response and enlarge ideas nested within a particular song. Space Cubs, the experimental electro solo project of Suzanne Bonifacio, never shies away from this. Pairing experimental images with her music is something she does even in live settings and it has proven that her visual presence is just as strong as her musical one. In keeping with Space Cubs’ distinct celestial vibe, the music video, directed by Frenchpressley, features trippy iterations of geometric patterns and irregular forms. It completely embodies the haunting yet whimsical nature of the song and transports the viewer to a frenzied dimension. Watch the vid below and keep your eyes and ears peeled for a new Space Cubs album this spring.

Tonight: Izzy True

February 1, 2016

When it comes to medium blending, Izzy True of Trumansburg, NY doesn’t disappoint. Front-woman Isabel Reidy is both parts songwriter and cartoonist, but as an artist she’s one hundred percent muscle. I heard about her newish band (the Troll EP was released June of 2015) when I saw a preview for their record release with the excellent Painted Zeros from NYC, and after checking out the fascinatingly bizarre music videos for songs “Swole” and “Absolute Troll,” I was hooked. Reidy combines sweetly masochistic imagery–such as greasy elbows during cake baking or rotten fruit–on the EP, while evoking dissonant tones and melodic hooks that bigger-time artists like Alex G or Waxahatchee would dig. With her brother Silas Reidy on bass and Chris Ploss on drums, the tunes are smooth in their transitions and timing, but conundrums on a deeper level. Don’t think too hard. Catch Izzy True at Curly’s tonight with[...]

Ex-Pat Releases New Album AM 1400

December 22, 2015

I am fully convinced that it takes a truly tasteful musician to pull off a disorienting, downtempo lo-fi sound. This tasteful disorientation seems to be second nature to Ex-Pat, Buffalo’s two-man dream pop act. Frontman Patrick Weil has found a comfortable home within this unique realm of music and showcases it perfectly on his new release,  AM 1400. In the same vein as Elvis Depressedly or Salvia Plath, Weil explores astral guitar tones, time-worn synths and hazy, almost indiscernable vocal lines. Even still, there is enough accessibility to it to have it settle in around you slowly and hang warmly in your surroundings. At only four songs in length, you’d think this collection of tunes would be a cinch to get through but it really isn’t, and not at all in a bad way. It radiates this sensation of time crawling, which gives the listener space to really mull over the textures of[...]

Tonight: Cheap Girls

December 18, 2015

Michigan three-piece Cheap Girls have mastered the “throwback” feel. Their quintessential nostalgia-pop-punk sound is completely accessible but manages to maintain a characteristic garage-esque untidiness. There is a palpable earnestness in everything from the vocals to the slushy guitar parts that makes each and every song so inviting. In it’s most simple form, it’s feel good music for those that feel bad and the perfect band to keep in your pocket when you’re feeling a little wistful. If you’re at all a fan of The Menzingers or The Smith Street Band, I highly recommend seeing Cheap Girls tonight at The Studio at Waiting Room. Some of our favorite local bands including Mallwalkers, Cooler and Apathetic are slated to open. Doors are at 6:30pm and tickets are $12. Be there or be not there, but you should probably be there, as this show will pack a punch. Check the Facebook event for[...]

Intrepid Travelers

December 11, 2015

If you’re familiar with Intrepid Travelers, you probably know Jerry or have at least unknowingly been exposed to his presence. Jerry, a stuffed rainbow-striped monkey, functions as an unofficial mascot and source of spirited inspiration for the band. When I ask them how they arrived at their carefree aesthetic, they tell me the story behind the striped monkey. To understand this story is to understand Intrepid Travelers on a bird’s-eye level. At some point during a Phish show years back, Jerry began making rounds in the crowd — you know, like the token beach ball at any largely populated outdoor show. Though drummer Jon Fohl was uncertain of his return, he successfully reappeared in one piece by the end of the second set. Fast forward to the 2011 All Good Festival when keyboardist Donny Frauenhofer was bestowed custody of Jerry and told specifically by Fohl to not lose him. Long[...]

Susanna Rose – Snowbound

December 7, 2015

Though this album was written during and inspired by last winter’s brutal reign (as detailed by Susanna Rose’s Bandcamp), there is something inherently warm and inviting about Snowbound. It takes a minimalistic look at some of life’s most tender moments — parting with a lover, suppressing a broken heart, convincing yourself of your own independence. Susanna possesses an incredible ability to be conversational through her writing. It almost feels as though a longtime friend is seated next to you, sharing her worries and shedding small wisdoms. On “Working Girl,” the opening track to the album, she sings “Oh, I want to go home / where the wind blows / and I’m not in an office every day / I can’t live this way…It’s time to go / because I’m going crazy here in my troubled mind / I need natural light / I need loving at night / I need a passionate life”. I’m sure every 9-to-5’er[...]

Tonight: Kristachuwan

November 27, 2015

Yeah, we know it’s easy to let a perpetual state of lethargy take over post food coma, and yeah, we know it might still be fun to encourage that food coma by seeing how many T-day leftovers you can fit in between two slices of bread, but as the popular DJ-singer duo J.M.Silk first said in ’87,  let the music take control. Curly’s will be host to a stacked bill tonight, including Kristachuwan, the brain child of former Buffalonian and Cinnamon Aluminum member, Chris Svoboda. Currently on an East Coast tour, Kristachuwan offers hauntingly complex electro music that paints an otherworldly type of atmosphere for listeners. The subtle jazz-infused melodies create a hypnotic yet textured ambience. If you enjoy the unconventional approach of Aphex Twin’s stuff, this is right up your alley. Also on the bill for tonight are locals  Welks Mice, Toppus Bottomus, Nicky & The Vibrations, and Mal.a.Mute. The show kicks off at[...]

Surfer Blood at Town Ballroom (11/21/15)

November 23, 2015

After speaking with singer and guitarist JP Pitts over the phone for an interview earlier in the week, I had a preconceived expectation of what they would both look and sound like live. Pitts was concise, very pleasant and efficient in answering every question I posed to the fullest. I was not wrong in assuming that these attributes would carry over to their live show. Sonically, the entire band sounded spot on and almost identical to their studio recordings (with a healthy dose of live nuance). It’s safe to say that in the short five years of this band existing, they’ve toured enough and written enough material to have perfected their deliverance. Their stage presence reminds me a whole lot of Real Estate, but slightly more adventurous. If you’ve seen Real Estate live, you know that they pretty much stick to playing the songs as is and, for the most[...]

John Paul Pitts of Surfer Blood

November 21, 2015

Surfer Blood’s career kind of seems like a one giant surfing metaphor. They hit the ground running in 2010 with the help of the CMJ Music Marathon and have continued to tour and consistently release quality material since then. From playing huge bills like the ATP festival curated by Pavement, to coping with news of longtime band member Thomas Fekete having a rare form of cancer, you can bet that they’re learning to ride the rip current as gracefully and professionally as possible (despite none of them actually being surfers). I was able to speak with singer and guitarist of the band, John Paul Pitts, earlier this week about how life as an industrious band has been since taking the drop down the face of indie success. You can also catch Surfer Blood tonight at the Town Ballroom opening for Nate Ruess of Fun. More details and tickets for tonight’s show can be[...]

Tonight: Andy Pothier

November 17, 2015

Andy Pothier’s music is pure and sobering. It’s the kind of soundtrack you want on hand when you want to feel out all the nooks and crannies of any particular sentiment you may be experiencing. By way of Conor Oberst, Pothier exposes his own vulnerability, but it’s the kind of vulnerability that only gives more virtue to what he’s communicating through his songs. Sharing the Ol’ Wondermoth stage tonight is Tiny Rhymes’ Sharon Mok, whose song stylings are reminiscent of all things mesmeric and delicate — spun sugar, young sapling branches — but they are a folk force to be reckoned with. No doubt, this show will be a cozy and engaging one. The show is $5, which will be donated to the Nickel City Housing Cooperative. Find more information here.