Album of the Week

Jaugust – Functional Gray

In the quiet spaces between other projects, Buffalo-based duo Jaugust refines its voice. Comprised of Anthony Del Plato and Nick Sessanna–musicians already well-known within the city’s indie circles for their work in bands like Everything In Waves, Cooler, and Genesee Hotel–Jaugust returns with Functional Gray, their sophomore EP. Self-produced in Del Plato’s home studio during moments carved out from busy schedules, this collection of songs shares a creative headspace, blending emotional indie pop with a distinct electronic pulse. Functional Gray places Jaugust in conversation with similar acts like The Postal Service and Washed Out, yet establishes their own distinct collaborative approach that expands on the emotional core of the duo’s 2023 debut. Functional Gray is our album of the week.   The new EP is built on a foundation of contrasts, where analog warmth meets digital precision. Jaugust combines digital found sounds, shimmering synths, and understated drum machines with the[...]

Humble Braggers – New Life

Humble Braggers have polished up some uncut gems. A heavy-hitter in Buffalo’s synthpop space, the band has just dropped their third full-length album, New Life, which–as the band describes on Instagram–isn’t just a collection of new tracks. Instead, their latest effort is a curated selection of songs spanning their eleven-year history, all of which originate from demos first recorded between 2014 and 2022. The songs, now repurposed and packaged into a tidy ten-song LP, give listeners a peek behind the curtain and a glimpse into the evolution of their sound over the last decade. New Life is our album of the week.   Singer Tom Burtless described the album’s genesis as a retrospective look at their unreleased material around the band’s tenth anniversary mark. Their guiding principle for completing these songs was one of restraint: minimal new elements were incorporated, existing arrangements were largely preserved, and any intelligible lyrics remained,[...]

Ismatic Guru – An Incredible Amount of Overwhelming Information

Buffalo’s Ismatic Guru, the hyperactive prog-punk brainchild of John Toohill (aka Science Man) and Bran Schlia (aka Helmsley), has finally unleashed their long-awaited full-length album, An Incredible Amount of Overwhelming Information. This isn’t your typical album release; it’s a culmination of a years-long recording project, a sonic archive of the duo’s relentless creativity. Over the past few years, Toohill (guitars, vocals, lyrics) and Schlia (bass, organ, drums, production) have meticulously crafted and released a series of numbered EPs, each a limited edition cassette run, building a following through their respective labels (Swimming Faith & Steak and Cake) and beyond. Now, those EPs, along with five brand new tracks, have been compiled into a 26-song, breakneck journey that encapsulates their self-described “idiot-prog punk adventure.” The band’s growing fanbase is well-deserved; with over 15k monthly listeners on Spotify and a dedicated Bandcamp following, it seems Ismatic Guru’s brand of chaos is striking[...]

Carmen & Lizzy – Dissolving

For the better part of a decade, Buffalo folk-duo Carmen & Lizzy have quietly woven themselves into the fabric of Buffalo’s music scene, having built a following with their heart-on-your-sleeve songwriting, finely-tuned vocal harmonies, and a sound that blends folk intimacy with indie sensibilities. Now a recognized force, the duo–made up of cousins Carmen O’Keefe and Lizzy Bassler–has just released Dissolving, their first substantial offering of new music in over 5 years. This 6-song EP finds the duo gently pushing the boundaries of their established folk aesthetic for a sound that matures alongside their songwriting and keeps the mystifying qualities that put them on Buffalo’s map. Dissolving is our album of the week.   Dissolving widens the scope of Carmen & Lizzy’s discography. While their earlier work, like the 2019 full-length Climate, leaned into a starry-eyed folksy vulnerability, the new EP is a bit more enigmatic and exhibits growth in[...]

Raybees – Reaper, Take My Life For Free!

It’s a new year, and what better way to shed that holiday lethargy than with a blast of sonic mayhem? Buffalo’s own basement psych-rockers Raybees are here to deliver just that with their sophomore EP, Reaper, Take My Life For Free!, out January 3rd. This self-released, self-recorded, six-track onslaught picks up where their debut left off, but cranks the intensity and noise up by a good margin. If you’re a fan of the noisy, psychedelic punk rock of bands like Osees and The Jesus Lizard, then buckle up. Reaper, Take My Life For Free! is our album of the week.   Raybees is led by the core duo of Jacob Smolinski (guitar/vocals) and Dan Keegan (who replaced the drum machine of the project’s debut), along with featured players Matthew Danger Lippman (guitar), Kam Plotner (synth), and Brandon Schlia (bass). Something of a star-studded side project, Raybees showcases a completely different[...]

Chores – Tender As A Wound

The Rochester local music scene has had a damn good year. Rounding out our Album of the Week column for 2024 is Rochester trio Chores‘ debut album Tender As A Wound, which delivers a dose of ’90’s-inspired indie rock that’s both familiar and refreshingly off-kilter. The band, consisting of Ian Egling (vocals, bass, synth), Scar Markham (drums, vocals), and Jenn Wameling (guitar, vocals), skillfully blends their prowess for a sound that would be especially palatable to fans of Pixies, Miracle Legion, and Pavement. With that 90’s influence worn proudly on its proverbial sleeve, Tender As A Wound places a well-deserved exclamation point at the end of Rochester’s excellent 2024 run.   The album seems to be in conversation with its influences, sometimes echoing them affectionately (“Rocks In Your Pockets” in particular is steeped in a Malkmus-esque eccentricity), other times acknowledging them with a simple, friendly nod (“Tripwire” ditches the fuzz[...]

Matt Smith’s Nervous System – Today and Tomorrow Too

Matt Smith’s Nervous System, a Buffalo-based project led by scene veteran Matt Smith (guitar/vocals) alongside Roddy Potter (drums) and Colin Pratt (bass/vocals), returns with Today and Tomorrow Too, a six-track EP stealthily released on October 18th. Following two full-length LPs (Close Down The Dream in 2021 and The Age of Reasonable Expectations in 2023), this concise offering marks a shift in approach, focusing on atmosphere and texture. It feels like a compelling next step for a project that started as a mere outlet for Smith’s extraneous ideas. Today and Tomorrow Too is our Album of the Week.   The EP conjures the understated groovy cool of The Velvet Underground and serves it up with a simmering intensity not unlike the sounds of indie rock stalwarts The National. The result is an effort that strays a bit from the bluesy power-pop vibes of their debut in favor of a more introspective,[...]

Big Nobody – Charlie’s Alive

Big Nobody is a relatively new name in the Rochester local scene, but don’t be fooled: the members of this fresh garage-pop powerhouse have been purveyors of fine sounds for over a decade now. Featuring members of fan-favorite local acts from both past and present (Total Yuppies, Comfy, Calicoco, Wild Pink), the DIY supergroup’s sophomore album Charlie’s Alive brings the groundwork laid by singer/guitarist Jacob Walsh (on the band’s electrifying debut in early 2023) to new heights. The riffs are louder, the songwriting is still spirited and heartfelt, and best of all–the album invites you in, like you’ve known these guys for years. Big Nobody’s Charlie’s Alive is our Album of the Week.   This is an album for the people. Charlie’s Alive gets the infrastructure just right by enmeshing radio rock hooks that put bands like Everclear and Third Eye Blind on the map with the punk rock inventiveness of[...]

Welks Mice – BLUB BLUB

Six years, a pandemic, and a whole lot of life later, Buffalo’s Welks Mice have re-emerged with BLUB BLUB, an EP that trades some of the anxious energy of their 2018 debut for a sound that is softer around the edges, but no less genuine. This time around, songwriter Max Weiss and vibraphonist Andre Welks-Fabretti hone in on themes of optimism and openness, their delightfully economical indie-pop providing the perfect backdrop. It’s honest, it’s tender, and it’s our Album of the Week.   Welks Mice’s unique approach to minimalism is a refreshing breath of air in a local scene dominated by distorted guitars and crash cymbals. Welks-Fabretti’s charming vibraphone melodies make up the majority of arrangements, and Weiss’ unabashed ‘cards face-up’ lyrical delivery is disarming and accessible. The combination is distinct in style, blending the best elements of bedroom pop and anti-folk for a sound that would sit nicely next to[...]

Comfy – Goated & Foreboded

Comfy is a band that never stops moving. The now-Rochester-based power-pop outfit of frontman Connor Benincasa has called home to three major cities in the last decade, and has put out three times as many releases. Friends, band members, and collaborators rotate in and out of the band’s roster on every couple albums with Benincasa remaining the band’s only constant. It’s not just churn and burn though–the amount of deliberation that goes into the music is obvious, most notably on the full band releases. Goated & Foreboded–Comfy’s latest LP and our Album of the Week– just might be the band’s strongest effort to date.   Goated & Foreboded listens like something Harry Nilsson would’ve written if he had joined Weezer for the Blue Album sessions. Equal parts provocative and digestible, the album meanders seamlessly from beachy easy-listening (“Wait”) to sludgy garage rock (“Spark”). The range is especially impressive because nothing[...]

Dr. Ooo – MAIL MAN

Dr. Ooo has been a purveyor of wordplay in the Buffalo hip hop scene for minute. Drew Hartman’s rap project has been going strong since before Soundcloud was an era. For over a decade, he’s been combining his Rhymesayer-flavored poetic delivery with some of the tastiest boom bap beats and samples this side of the Pharcyde. Our Album of the Week is Ooo’s latest full-length, MAIL MAN, where the delivery thankfully is packed with dope beats and heady lines instead of Spectrum bills.   Mail Man’s kicks off the rapping on “Stranger Things” – a lyrical tour-de-force packed with tight flows, metaphors, and double entendres. Production-wise, we’re in a transported back to that comfortable boom bap place with delicate trumpets that allow Ooo’s wordplay to be the star of the show. “Been a hot shot since we was playing hopscotch / I was sipping Big Gulp and shawty brought me Pop[...]

Beef Gordon – American Paranoid

Beef Gordon. stage name and musical alter ego of Rochester native and former Buffalo Sex Change frontman Phil Pierce, has just released the follow up to his 2019 debut Queen Shade & Etc. The album is American Paranoid, and it conceptualizes a dive into the conspiratorial sides of American culture from the lens of Beef himself, taking aim at hot topics like politics, aliens, super stardom, and gluten. Pierce’s satirical brand of art pop won’t be lost on fans of artists like Casiotone for the Painfully Alone, Father John Misty, and Deee-Lite; it borders on shtick but Gordon is careful to preserve the sanctity of his craft. Either way, it’s fun and it works. American Paranoid is our Album of the Week.   Normally, it would be challenging to avoid using “Pierce” and “Gordon” interchangeably, a move that might reduce Beef Gordon to mere costume. But that’s not the case here.[...]

Better Lovers – Highly Irresponsible

Jordan Buckley is verified Buffalo royalty… And Steve Micciche… AND Goose (aka Clayton Holyoak). Together, with vocalist Greg Puciato and guitarist Will Putney, they’re Better Lovers – a certified supergroup, most notably (for us Buffalonians), one that rose from the ashes of legendary hardcore act Every Time I Die, who ruled Buffalo hardcore with an iron fist for 20+ years. With Puciato hailing from Dillinger Escape Plan and Putney coming from Fit for an Autopsy, the band’s experience and pedigree speak for themselves. After rave reviews for debut single “30 under 13” and follow-up EP, God Made Me An Animal, as well as a bevy of sold out tour dates, they’ve finally buckled (semi-pun intended) down to write and release their debut full length. They’ve titled it Highly Irresponsible, and it’s full of brutal hardcore, a strong sense of melody, and that “still partying at 4am” energy that we’ve come[...]

Pena – Pocket Sized Pocket

Pena is the moniker of Rochester-based Isaiah Welch-Novels, who has just released their latest offering, Pocket Sized Pocket (PSP). Inspired by Rob Crow (of Pinback, Thingy, and solo-project fame), PSP is an understated and mysterious project built primarily around Isaiah, a four-track tape recorder, and his acoustic guitar. Any fan of Crow’s extensive discography knows his work is all-encompassing, including found sounds and a creative aesthetic that some might describe as “low effort” (check Pena’s bandcamp tags for proof)… but others see as genius. Pena follows a similar path – expect perplexing sound clips, room sounds, and other artifacts as you make your way through this intriguing LP.   The album opens with a wash of white noise on “Recycling Song.” Right away, Pena’s hallmarks become evident – noisy, direct-to-tape recordings; lyrical meandering; and pleasant-but-somber guitar riffs that don’t stick around for too long. In fact, there’s only one song on PSP that tops[...]

MANY EYES – The Light Age

Keith Buckley is verified Buffalo royalty. In case you’ve been living under a rock for the last few decades, Keith was the charismatic frontman of Every Time I Die, the pride and joy of Buffalo hardcore, for 20+ years. His latest output comes in the form of MANY EYES, which feels like a natural continuation of his iconic presence and eccentric energy. Their debut LP, The Light Age, is a ten-song offering that both acknowledges the past and looks toward the future – fans of of Buckley’s previous work will find plenty to sink their teeth into here, as long as they can take a few new sounds, ideas, and mindsets in stride. While it’s almost impossible to separate Buckley from his previous catalog (especially for us Buffalonians), this does feel like a catharsis of sorts for him – see below:   “This is an expression of who I am…[...]