Album of the Week

Rosie Quartz – Astral Bodies

January 31, 2022

Way back in 2020, singer/songwriter Sean Pratt linked up with guitarist Adam Cwynar and bassist Ron Walczyk to form the breath of fresh air you didn’t know you needed; Rosie Quartz. Their latest project, Astral Bodies, is a sonic transcendence for ears all across the world to enjoy. The overall tone of Astral Bodies is blue skies shimmering over blankets of snow. With influences drawing from Alvvays, to Bright Eyes, to Tigers Jaw, this project brings it all to the table. The EP’s material was conceived during the peak of the pandemic, where practices were infrequent, but efficient. They worked with drummer Steve Tripi to bring these songs to life: they came out with a six-song EP of sparkling indie-pop, full of chorus-laden guitar work; a rock-solid bass presence; and icy-cold vocal melodies. The first thirty seconds of the intro track, “Sleep Now (Love You Later),” emit tones of an[...]

Night Slaves – THREE AND A HALF

August 24, 2020

Operating as mysterious as the shadows that lurk after sundown, Night Slaves, a wonderful boogie-rock band with an affinity for ’60’s Brit Pop and psychedelia, have recorded a new album. THREE AND A HALF, released on Buffalo-based label Swimming Faith, appropriately dropping in mid-March during the height of the COVID-19 crisis. Regardless of the timing, THREE AND A HALF has definite staying power. Track one, “CAGE,” begins with an eerily familiar drum beat. Some recognize it as a re-imagining of the Rolling Stones hit “Get off My Cloud.” From there Night Slaves steer the track into a well-polished psych-rock groove complete with organ and synthesizer melodies that create an encompassing sound. Vocalist John Toohill cuts through with a command and ease to his vocal delivery. The lyrics tell a narrative about a return to an old form, as Toohill croons, “I’m back on the scene again.” A perfect track to[...]

Oats Holy Roller – Fear Memorial Park

March 2, 2020

Music will shed light on what human beings are able to understand, yet unable to articulate. It provides a freeze-frame of circumstances and emotions that fall beyond the English language, and it will present them in a cohesive structure. The genre that routinely delivers the plight of human life in specific time periods, folk has a modern artist in its midst. Oats Holy Roller, the project headed by Buffalo’s Joseph Murray Meyers, has a unique voice and ability to deliver the mixture of modern emotions that are tied in with the technological revolution as we all step bravely into the new world. Their latest effort, an album titled Fear Memorial Park, draws heavily from folk artists of the past, Bob Dylan, Tom Waits, and Joni Mitchel, while their striped down aesthetic makes the beautiful arrangements all the more powerful. Oats Holy Roller’s first released single “In Such Times//Ahhhhhhh,” tells the story of[...]

Oats Holy Roller –Fear Memorial Park

March 2, 2020

Music will shed light on what human beings are able to understand, yet unable to articulate. It provides a freeze-frame of circumstances and emotions that fall beyond the English language, and it will present them in a cohesive structure. The genre that routinely delivers the plight of human life in specific time periods, folk has a modern artist in its midst. Oats Holy Roller, the project headed by Buffalo’s Joseph Murray Meyers, has a unique voice and ability to deliver the mixture of modern emotions that are tied in with the technological revolution as we all step bravely into the new world. Their latest effort, an album titled Fear Memorial Park, draws heavily from folk artists of the past, Bob Dylan, Tom Waits, and Joni Mitchel, while their striped down aesthetic makes the beautiful arrangements all the more powerful. Oats Holy Roller’s first released single “In Such Times//Ahhhhhhh,” tells the[...]

Shep Treasure – s/t

February 19, 2020

Sunday morning, a few hours after a long night out, I lay flat on my back in my new, sparsely furnished apartment, the snow-reflected Sunday light streaming through the windows – a big departure from the glass-block filtered sun of a previous basement apartment. I zoned out with my eyes glued to the wall above my bookcase, and “Nothing” by Shep Treasure was stuck in my head. The next night, wrapped up in a quilt, I once again found myself spacing out, this time toward a cat toy on the floor, and “Friday” was playing in my mind. Rochester indie pop trio Shep Treasure’s debut, self-titled EP is our Album of the Week, and it won’t leave me. Frontwoman Sabrina Nichols has been narrating my thoughts for a few years now. This is her second time landing Album of the Week, the former being in the days of a previous[...]

Anxious Kids Make Good People – Good By Nature

February 17, 2020

The future is uncertain. In the unknown lingers a wide array of possible emotions, which include joy, fear, and doubt. While we put our best foot forward to live in the positive aspects of life, we understand that the negatives are a possibility. Buffalo musician Devin Mullen, who writes and performs under the name Anxious Kids Make Good People, recognizes that possibility, and he has taken his best step in the direction of hope and understanding with his latest release, Good By Nature. The self-described contemptuous musician draws equally from influences such as Wilco, Fleet Foxes, and Joy Division; as well as his own emotions that walk hand-in-hand with depression and chronic illness. The result is an ambient folk sound that pulls no emotional punches. “Rebar,” the first track off of Good By Nature, begins with acoustic guitar, and the Fleet Fox influence is quite clear. A semi up-beat rhythm[...]

Nylon Otters – s/t

January 27, 2020

Nylon Otters have bid us all farewell with its newest – and final –, self-titled EP. Though pretty much everything they’ve put out has been noteworthy, this release is the most polished we’ve seen from the Buffalo indie act, and shows growth over the years that the Otters have been playing and recording together. While they often found themselves stamped with a well-intentioned yet reductive comparison to a certain nineties grunge band some of us love and others love to hate, Nylon Otters were unfettered by perceived similarities. On this newest EP, we hear the influence of musical movements across the 20th century – a little grunge, indie rock, jangle pop, maybe even some math. With all these sounds mashed together, a Nylon Otters song is supremely recognizable, whether you’ve heard it before or not – and their sound was built by the prowess of only three people: vocalist/guitarist Logan Ross, bassist[...]

Darth Nater – Untruth

January 20, 2020

What do you get when you cross Weird Al Yankovic with a sociopolitical agenda? The answer is Darth Nater. The musical force, which is driven by singer-songwriter Nate Noworyta and his skilled guest musicians, which include saxophonist Alec Miller and drummer Christian Bowman, have released a twelve song album titled Untruth. Please, do not take the Weird Al comparison as put-down. He is a musical genius, and Darth Nater are hot on his heels. The proof is in the pudding of the album’s first track, “Every Lie I’ve Ever Been Told.” It begins with cymbal crashes and bright electric guitars while the lyrics lament the danger of lies. After the eight bar intro, the band kicks the song into high gear and it is evident that Darth Nater has come to play. A guitar riff that sweeps through arpeggios sound like a mixture of contemporary jazz and folk/rock. Think Mountain[...]

Big Fred – Slapstick

January 13, 2020

Big Fred has amassed some friends over the past 5 years. Well known in their hometown of Rochester for the band’s off-kilter brand of woolly indie pop, Big Fred has made waves as far as Poughkeepsie–where label Sad Cactus Records is headquartered, and Chicago–where their latest EP Slapstick was recorded. Despite the band’s reach, turns out the sonic twists and turns of Slapstick will be the Big Fred’s last effort, as they’ve decided to call it a day in pursuit of other creative projects. Bummer. Slapstick is our Album of the Week. Slapstick carves out a different space for itself in Big Fred’s repertoire. The five song EP slows things down a bit, dialing down the volatility of the bands previous releases, namely 2017’s LP Oh Hi Hello, and replaces it with a synth-centric mid-tempo haze. Though comparatively stripped down, the tracks maintain an Ariel Pink-esque eccentricity for a sound[...]

Koko Neetz – I.T.T.I.P.

December 23, 2019

First, a science lesson: Atoms are the fundamental building blocks of all matter. They’re made up of only three basic subatomic particles – electrons, protons and neutrons, as you probably remember from sixth grade. Their dance, multiplied across the 1080 or so atoms in the universe, makes up existence in all its wild, varied forms. The songs on I.T.T.I.P., the new album from Koko Neetz (Andrew Kothen, who you may also know for his guitar work in dreambeaches) are atomic in the sense that they start from almost nothing and put the same few components into motion with each other to propel melodies forward. While the atom has electrons, protons and neutrons, Kothen has an acoustic guitar, a drumset, a quiet piano, a shimmer, the hint of a Mellotron, and his own wispy voice with which to create. And create he does – I.T.T.I.P is both a showcase of Kothen’s[...]

Canetis – Putting Time Together

December 16, 2019

Things have been quite hot for newcomer Buffalo band Canetis. In short, the indie. alt-rock band formed in 2018, released their first single in July 2019, and have recently come off a raucous release show for their EP Putting Time Together. On first listen, their alt-rock sound becomes quite apparent, as well as the excellent execution of sophisticated song structure. Canetis have come to play. The first track off Putting Time Together is “Double Take,” which introduces the album with a four bar build of drums and long guitar tones. It breaks open into a syncopated guitar riff played with a palm mute. East Bay punk, Rancid and NoFx among others, popularized the fuzzed out guitar groove and lend influence throughout Putting Time Together. The transition into the chorus swings the song from groove to powerful ballad style rock and roll. Lead vocalist Brendan walks the tight rope to connect[...]

Dogs in Stereo – Idle

December 9, 2019

Most of us know what it’s like to feel idle. While stillness itself can be situated in a state of calm, idleness implies expectation of eventual movement. That’s why we use the word to describe a car that’s started, but isn’t moving; we’re still, but the parts inside are still turning. Buffalo’s Dogs in Stereo explore that paradoxical combination of stagnation and restlessness in their new EP Idle, a melancholic, living collection of six songs filled with longing. Idle is a step in a different direction for Dogs in Stereo. Previous efforts by the Dogs exhibited earnest, lo-fi rock with charming melodies and captivating guitar work. The essence of earlier work is still around on this new EP, but clean production and more deliberate songwriting are clear marks of artistic maturity. They’ve also seemed to move into the computer age with more synth than we’ve seen in the past, a[...]

Helmsley – East HIlls #1

December 2, 2019

If you have not yet heard the newest effort by Steak and Cake Records’ foot soldier Helmsley, then you should brace yourself for impact. In the vein of surrealist and expressionistic art, Helmsley wrote East Hills #1, a record full of songs that drastically distort, amplify, and warp traditional musical practices to invoke an emotional response. The first track off of the record, and the first single released, “Narcotic,” introduces the heavy Deerhoof influence that is heard through out. The song’s first five seconds blast a siren that acts as wake-up alarm. Sit up and take notice. From there it delivers a delicious bass line groove that is coated in fuzz effects. Combined with the underlying siren and back beat drums, the EDM-esque track makes it near impossible to keep one’s head from bobbing. “Narcotic” fades seamlessly into track two, “Pratt Fall.” Usually meant to refer to a humiliating instance, “Pratt Fall”[...]

Bold Folly – I Think That It Is Wonderful

November 25, 2019

Forget the surreal cosmic expanse on the cover of Bold Folly’s I Think That It Is Wonderful– the key setting of the album is far more cramped: the dirty mouth. It’s an image that pops up at least twice, as far as I could decipher from guitarist and vocalist Timothy Zdrojewski’s shouted vocals. First, in “buddapest”: “When I talk to taxi drivers, I talk real loud with food in between my teeth.” And again, in “war games”: “Stick your dirty fingers in the back of my hungry mouth.” I’d bring those two lines into conversation with another seemingly innocent observation from “CAT,” which Zdrojewski screams at the top of his lungs: “We all breathe the same air.” Taken together, these lines imply the aesthetic universe in which I Think That It Is Wonderful lives – not the neverending cosmos, but inside a stinking mouth, a dank, dark space where the[...]

Kevin Scoma – Into the Weeping Sea

November 18, 2019

Into the Weeping Sea sounds like an epiphany. Enter Kevin Scoma, prolific Buffalo-based songwriter who has carved out a new niche for himself after over a decade of dedication to the craft. This fresh batch of songs comes along with a self-proclaimed spiritual awakening; whatever that enlightenment means to Scoma is clearly reflected in this beautiful and shimmering EP reminiscent of Elliot Smith, Bon Iver, and Radical Face. Throughout his career, Scoma has truly cut his teeth across multiple genres – this time around, he seems to have finally found his true voice. Sea is full of haunting, acoustic-driven folk with subtle flourishes of electronics and left-field instrumentation, all of which suits his unique tenor. Opening track “I Was Never Afraid to Die” evolves from a simply strummed acoustic guitar into a surprisingly fuzzed-out guitar solo – a tactic he repeats on the equally stunning, banjo-tinged “Close to the Truth.” Other songs like “I’ll Be[...]