Album of the Week

A Hotel Nourishing – Empty Gesture EP

October 6, 2014

For those of you who still cannot comprehend how A Hotel Nourishing is just two people—guitarist Sonny Baker and drummer Cameron Rogers—you’re not alone. I, too, have struggled with this concept since the band’s conception over seven years ago. Anyone who has seen the duo play a live show knows what I am talking about; it sounds like there are four or five of them onstage. Yet with a single guitar, a pedal or two, and a drum kit, the pair pulls off a sound so rich and intricately arranged that your double take will do a double take. That roughly equates to a quadruple take, mathematically speaking. This past Friday saw the release of A Hotel Nourishing’s long-awaited Empty Gesture EP, a six-song scorcher that, like their 2007 debut Deux Ex Machina, features that familiar original blend of “almost” math rock and post-punk artistry that made them so buzzworthy[...]

Machine Gun English – I’m Too Tall For My Time Machine These Days

September 29, 2014

“They” say that rock n’ roll is dead; I think the Stainds and Creeds and Puddle of Mudds of the world are just getting smarter. Rock music is now led by bands like Black Keys and Cage the Elephant – its less about machismo and brain dead guitar distortion and more about bluesy goodness. Machine Gun English is kind of like a mix between the Arctic Monkeys and Wild Beasts. The Rochester three-piece is all about rock n’ roll and good times, and it shows through their music. “Body Shots” is an accurate representation of the band and a great way to open the EP. A chorus chant of “Are you ready to go?” coupled with a classic rock guitar riff is plenty to power through the four-minute banger. The band hits their stride hardest on “Thanks, But No Thanks,” the Wild Beast-iest of their tracks. I am reminded of[...]

Hannah Weidner – Comfortable Existence

September 22, 2014

Rochester is having a good September as far as buffaBLOG is concerned. Earlier this month we saw the release of Cottage Jefferson’s fantastic new album B-Side, which deservingly snagged the blog’s first Album of the Week spot of September. This week we have another Rochester artist grabbing the spot—meet singer/songwriter Hannah Weidner. The DIY songbird’s debut album, Comfortable Existence, is a harmony-rich acoustic beaut, drawing comparisons to earlier tracks of sister-songwriter duo First Aid Kit. Now, as aforementioned, Comfortable Existence is an acoustic album at its core, consisting primarily of folksy acoustic tracks with beautifully-crafted vocal harmonies. (Take the ‘love-is-in-the-air’ album-opener “Your Essence” for example.)  A more focused listen reveals a certain intricacy to the songs that adds serious depth to the album, making Hannah Weidner and her songcraft stand out among other folk contemporaries. The subtle inclusion of horns and air organ in a few of the songs adds[...]

Joseph Michael Wesolowski – The Spine and Telephone Wire

September 15, 2014

Diving into Joseph Michael Wesolowski’s The Spine and Telephone Wire was a curious affair for me. Running just under 16 minutes, the 4 track EP should seem short, but after one listen-through, the melancholic folk songs provoke an aching familiarity that makes it feel like I’ve been listening for years. Spine is more than just a 4 track display of musical competence—it’s a beautiful moodscape that is as inviting as it is dismal. “’Cause I lie inside a chalkboard, teacher scratching nails on my walls / and I’m staring at the floorboards, running bravely through these halls” starts Wesolowski on EP opener “Grange.” His lyrics are clever and contemplative throughout the record and are often times given the spotlight, as most of the instrumentation throughout Spine (usually an acoustic guitar coupled with waves of ambient noise in the background) sits slightly behind his soft howl in the mix. His singing[...]

Alpha Hopper – Let Heaven and Nature Sing

September 8, 2014

The title of Alpha Hopper’s Let Heaven and Nature Sing hints at harmony and order, and despite the fuzz and the dissonance, the album churns like a fantastic machine, pistons and gears lifting and pulling in sync. The two main drivers: the jagged, restless guitar work of John Toohill and Ryan McMullen and the stressed-out, frustrated vocals of Irene Rekhviashvili. Drummer Doug Schneider is no slouch either, holding things together behind the noise. But it’s the interplay between Rekhviashvili’s strung-out shouts and the guitars’ driving crunches that gives Let Heaven and Nature Sing much of its character. Take opener “Western Walk.” It starts off with an uneven stomp of a guitar riff which mimics the heavy steps of a drunk on a mission. Before your ear can adjust to the rhythm, Rekhviashvili comes in with her own off-kilter croon, filling spaces you didn’t even realize were there, drawing out and[...]

Cottage Jefferson – B-Side

September 1, 2014

So, all good things must come to an end. Damn you, Chaucer—right again. Cottage Jefferson, Rochester’s favorite fuzz band, played what they announced to have been their final show back in May. Thankfully, that hasn’t stopped the quartet from tying up loose ends and putting out one last hurrah of an album. Titled B-Side, the exceptionally nostalgic 10-track album is a warm embrace, a phantom limb, a fist in the air. The songs have a good range of feeling and style without sounding scattered, sitting contentedly between the twinkly mood-jams of Built to Spill and the lethargic thickness of Dinosaur Jr. The record opens with “One Verse, No Chorus,” a gleeful three-chord jam with noodle guitar breakdowns, crunchy chords, and (despite what the title describes) what I consider to be a very catchy chorus. The song has a very casual feel to it and no shortage of hooks. For most,[...]

Brimstone Blondes – AGE OF CONSENT

August 25, 2014

Almost every song on Brimstone Blondes’ new album, AGE OF CONSENT, is a take down of some sort. The targets change and their crimes run the gamut from exploitation to allegations of rape, but lead singer Matthew Danger Lippman feels pretty much the same as he’s pointing his finger: a little superior, a little fascinated, a little impotent and a little weird. He separates the world into the exploiters and the exploited and stands, alienated, on the outside, passing judgment. Consider the opening track, “The Photographer,” an indictment of creepo photographer Terry Richardson, who has been accused of sexually harassing and exploiting his female subjects (or maybe an indictment of a younger imitator, given that the age mentioned in the song is 12 years off). Lippman is disgusted by Richardson the “ironic pornographer,” but he’s also seemingly fascinated by the fact that he has “all the girls” right up his sleeve. Despite the sex[...]

Buffalo Sex Change – Buffalo Sex Change

August 11, 2014

When I first heard of Rochester garage post-punk band Buffalo Sex Change and their self-titled, debut album, my initial reaction was mostly just trying to figure out their highly specific and provocative name. Fairly early into the album, however, I was having a hard time imagining the two-piece being referred to as anything else. With a gritty lo-fi drums, androgynous sounding vocals, and a distorted guitar sound that can only be described as dark and dirty, the band explores music rooted in a liminal phase, never quite clear of itself. And yet, the general mood of the record comes off confident, as if the members are aware of and quite comfortable with their own liminality. With only two members, BSS does well with filling in the space of sound, particularly with Phil Pierce’s guitar playing, which switches from Buddy Holly licks  in “Gender Unknown” to early Jesus & Mary Chain/Kevin[...]

Cleanse光777 – 6怪談

August 4, 2014

A Buffalo producer that goes by the moniker Cleanse光777 has released an EP packed with darkly manipulated vocal samples, delay effects, and droning melodies. Sonically, the tracks are reminiscent of releases put out by Triangle Records, a label noted for a coherent repertoire of artists who channel a distinct sound. Some have dubbed this sound as “witch-house,” a genre which combines elements of old-school hip hop and trap, slowing it down to slug BPM, topping it with exquisitely amplified reverb. Think of a hypothetical scene from a David Lynch movie in which some mysterious and grotesque creature is slowly rising from a swamp. The track titled “blueけち火,” could serve as the soundtrack to this imagery. In fact, most of the release could accompany this ambiguous story-line, following the shot as it shows creature X  continuing on to trudge through the surrounding town, eerie and desolate in itself, peeking into a[...]

Cages – Vivipary

July 24, 2014

Under the tag of “punk” on bandcamp, but self-described as a “cohesive and undefinable act,” Buffalo-based Cages exists outside of any typical structure or classification. The group consists of vocalist Nola Ranallo, guitarist David Bailey, and now bassist Patrick Bolger, but until recently, Cages has had no major release. Their previously unreleased 2012 album Vivipary has just made it’s debut through Black Dots record shop, however, and it is considered by the band to be their their “most defining output to date.” Void of any specific form of style, Vivipary draws more upon the experimentation of tonal harmonies, shared primarily by the guitar and vocals. Immediately from the start, Ranallo’s vocals stand out as highly expressive, sometimes exploding into shrill cries, other times resolving in low end atypical melodies that fade in and out of the mix. The harmonies present in many of the tracks (particularly “Into Germination”) personally bring[...]

The Lindbergh Babies – The Lindbergh Babies

July 21, 2014

Earlier this month, The Lindbergh Babies released their eponymous debut album, and simply put, it’s tremendous.  A collaboration between local music scene mainstays Brandon Delmont (Girlpope, Son Of The Sun) and Mark Norris (Girlpope, the Backpeddlers), The Lindbergh Babies is a mature, sensual and rewarding journey into sonic ecstasy, and a gift that genuinely keeps on giving. Redolent with sweet mellotron and gorgeous soundscapes, it’s a musical tour de force from multi-instrumentalist Delmont, who seamlessly plays in so many sandboxes crafting the music for this stellar debut: Pet Sounds era Brian Wilson (“Hucklebuck Blues”), Wilco circa Summerteeth (“Only In A Dream”),  Zappa (“Flying Through”), early 70’s Pink Floyd (“Volcanoes”), and Super Furry Animals (“Oh Love”). The record is a veritable field day for rock aficionados. But the record is not derivative or a cavalcade of musical references. Yes classic rock fans will savor the vibes and grace notes, but The Lindbergh[...]

The Tins – Young Blame

July 14, 2014

There is a fantastic moment right in the beginning of the Tins’ latest EP, Young Blame, where a synth kicks in and the chorus brings an immediate smile to your face. It is that often sought after moment where a new song hits you in just the right way. This is the follow up to The Tins debut LP, Life’s A Gas, and my own introduction to the band, and I honestly feel really bad about not hearing them until now because this is some really solid psych pop. Young Blame opens with “Let it Go,” a slow building track leading into that earlier mentioned near perfect chorus. Those synths follow directly into the first single, “They Aren’t Evil,” an introspective song about diametric oppositions and always being somewhere between. “They Aren’t Evil” showcases vocalist Mike Santillo’s pleasant tenor (fun fact, Mike is also a real pleasant guy), a classic kind[...]

The Get Money Squad – Nothing’s Wrong

July 7, 2014

A spanking-new collaboration from Network’s Quinton Brock and producer Jon Bap keeps it fresh and brings forth a batch of songs with an unexpected new sound. Dubbed The Get Money Squad, the duo gets summery with their debut EP titled Nothing’s Wrong. Think the carefree attitude of Mac DeMarco meets the poetic softness of Shuggie Otis. Bap’s jangly guitar riffs compliment Brock’s smooth vocals nicely, and the combination is cooler than John Stamos double-fisting a pair of large Slurpees. Damn, that’s cool. Nothing’s Wrong is our Album of the Week. “Bohemia” introduces the EP with a quick minute of dialogue before melting away into a hypnotic instrumental section that I wish was much longer. The opener bleeds right into “June666” (my favorite of the five tracks), which chronicles a relationship between the devil and his significant other while a simple drumbeat and a fun bass line carry the song through[...]

Every Time I Die – From Parts Unknown

June 30, 2014

Do I really need to introduce Every Time I Die? Maybe I should, because every person who listens to them winds up with a melted face. I’m not kidding, check any comment section on any reviews of any of their albums. Anyone who has ever been to their perpetually sold-out Christmas shows knows what ETID is all about: brutal, guitar smashing, oft-hilarious dudes playing ugly chords on Lisa Frank guitars. What isn’t amazing about that? All that aside, ETID is nothing short of legendary. Album number seven is called From Parts Unknown, and this time around, ETID have enlisted Converge guitarist Kurt Ballou as a producer. Let me tell you something. It shows. This is ETID’s heaviest stuff yet. Album opener “The Great Secret” was my personal favorite song, probably because it was like two minutes of getting punched in the face. I like to listen to music to relax and drown out the[...]

Besnyo – Worry

June 23, 2014

I was conned. The year was 2008, and I had made my way downtown to see my fellow Eden-ites in A Hotel Nourishing play a show presented by Harvest Sum at Nietzsche’s. Alex Berkley had just finished playing his acoustic solo set, during which he had repeatedly suggested that the audience buy his new record, Worry, at the merch table in the front. Having enjoyed his set and completely oblivious to his clever ruse, I weaved my way to the merch table and paid for my copy of Worry. It wasn’t until later that night that I realized, somewhat shamefully, that the CD that I paid for was not the work of Alex Berkley. It was the work of Harvest Sum heavyweights Besnyo, and I am happy to say that the embarrassment resulting from my gullibility dissolved away just a few short minutes into their set that night. Worry is buffaBLOG’s[...]