Buffalo

200 Kids Outside Drop Thirst-Quenching Album

February 5, 2016

For being a relatively newer act, 200 Kids Outside have got their formula nailed down. It’s not a conventional one either. Across three projects dating back to last spring, the duo of producer Minel and vocalist Neetchy have been making music drawing from influences in alt-hip hop, southern trap and R&B, and have owned it the whole way. Minel’s been a maestro on the boards providing crisp production of varying styles for Neetchy’s signature melodic vocals which float between singing and rapping. YA’LL Need a Drink is a great seven-song taste of what the duo have been working on since last August’s AutoPilot.  Album opener “WiFi” sonically is a quintessential 200 Kids song. Minel takes no time getting into his vault of swirling synths and melancholic keys, and Neetchy’s layered vocals serve as the opening bell that their project is here. “I don’t wanna cry, but the water clears my eyes,” sings Neetchy, taking[...]

Short Moscato Releases Spree of Songs

February 3, 2016

Buffalo hip hop mainstay Short Moscato started off the New Year strong with four new quick-hitters in the month of January. Moscato dropped the 13 song Whatever/Forever project in the last quarter of 2015, an album filled with great tracks from he and his talented friends in the scene. This year’s loosies work off of the Short Moscato blueprint: a hard flow, personal lyrics, and beats of all sorts. The string was lead by “Turquoise,” an ethereal track with a heavy psilocybin influence. In between moments of reflection and revelation, Moscato cuts through with refreshing poignancy, as seen in the line “a Dutch should never ever cost more than $1.50.” Much of the track stays true to the titular theme though, as Moscato questions his need and habit and is guided by a narrator suggesting the use of turquoise as relief. Moscato goes on to appear on the Lucky Seven track “Netlfix &[...]

damian – Hazy 85

February 3, 2016

Former Buffalo now Brooklyn-based folk artist damian just released a spirited yet sweetly melancholic album of instrumental 80’s covers boiled down to the barest of bones.  Armed with a Casio keyboard and a roster of 80’s heavyweights from the Holy Trinity of Jackson, Madonna and Prince to Van Halen, Bananarama, The Bangles, Fleetwood Mac, and Billy Idol, damian is simultaneously merciless in his minimalist approach yet keen to get to the melodic and human heart at the center of each song. Unabashedly retro, Hazy 85 conjures memories of ancient home computers, vintage video game consoles,  and FM hit radio while reconfiguring his 80’s favorites into bit and byte soundtracks. It’s almost hilarious how thoroughly effective damian is at conjuring David Lee Roth’s growl or the otherworldly sweetness of Stevie Nicks through his vintage synth. In fact his cover of the 1982 Fleetwood Mac hit “Gypsy” is one of the clear highlights of the[...]

La Fiesta Lafayette Releases New EP

February 2, 2016

Mysterious lo-fi act La Fiesta Lafayette has just released a new three-song EP. Recorded on the cheap in in a run-down apartment with a gas leak, LFL has made efficient use of the surprisingly ideal bathroom acoustics. Capoed guitars and smooth mandolin tones lay the groundwork for LFL’s snarky, but fitting vocal delivery. What results is an impassioned acoustic effort in the same vein as Fevers and Mirrors-era Bright Eyes or Balance Problems. Check out “OpheliaOphelia” below.  

Matt Script Reveals New Video

December 23, 2015

Last week saw the premiere of the new video for Buffalo singer-songwriter Matt Script’s catchy new single, “See You Anymore.” The video was shot almost entirely on Snapchat and has a manic energy and offbeat sense of humor that perfectly reflects the breezy single. The new song is reminscent of bands like Wavves or FIDLAR but decidedly more melodic and harmonious. It’s impressive how effortless and infectious “See You Anymore” is when one would guess it’s creation was anything but. The track is a brief taste of his new album sharing the same name but leaves me eagerly awaiting to hear more in 2016.

Jacob Peter & Shauna Presto Team Up for “Wander”

December 22, 2015

‘Tis the season for merriment and friendship, and in the spirit of such togetherness (and apparently in my case, cheesy intros), we have a nice collaboration for you before the year comes to a close. Solo musician Jacob Peter has been all over the music scene lately, from the lush synthscapes of Humble Braggers to the axe-in-lap simplicity of his bluesy solo material. This time around finds Peter arranging and producing a track written and sung by buffaBLOG’s own Shauna Presto. In essence, the song, titled “Wander,” is a true collaboration; elements of both artists are easily discernable within the work, but not without an obvious symbiosis. Whimsical mandolin and Presto’s smoky-sweet vocals open the track, initially conjuring vibes of Swedish folk duo First Aid Kit and the wilderness simplicity of Eddie Vedder’s solo material. Peter’s influence arrives later in the song with an evolving eclecticism in the instrumentation and[...]

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[...]

Tomoreaux Release Single from Forthcoming Debut Album

December 21, 2015

Local atmospheric nature rockers Tomoreaux have just released”In Plain Air,” the first single from the trio’s forthcoming debut record At Peace, Overlook. The new track channels the best of Sigur Ros and Local Natives, slowly building presence around a wispy, chiming guitar motif. The song’s apex finds the band experimenting with spacey chants and whispered falsetto, reminiscent of subtle Animal Collective vibes. You can catch Tomoreaux at their CD release next year (on 1/8/16 that is). Show details can be found HERE; while you browse show details, please enjoy the sounds of Tomoreaux below. [soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/238030956″ params=”color=ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false” width=”100%” height=”166″ iframe=”true” /]

It Dies Today’s Nicholas Brooks Shares Demos

December 20, 2015

Nicholas Brooks, the lead singer of Buffalo-based post-hardcore act It Dies Today, released two demos earlier this month. Opening the tracks, I expected to immediately crush a beer can against my head and circle pit in the office, but the demos flavor is Americana at it’s fullest. In “Growing Pains,” Brooks leaves little to the imagination about what the song is about – leading a rugged life, toughing through it, and living life as best as you can. Brooks solo is effort could be classified as blue collar whiskey-rock for the working man that fans of Gaslight Anthem, Two Cow Garage, and Lucero would enjoy. Check out “Growing Pains” below.

1996 Drops “Activist” for Weekly Series

December 18, 2015

1996 of Buffalo’s Valor Club released “Activist,” the second installment in a weekly series called “Immaculate Monday.” Last week saw the rapper drop the soulful, electric “Regal Adonis”, and this week the beat mellows out but 1996 stays charismatic. Built around a muted horn instrumental courtesy of producer Sigma, the beat is a great base for 1996 to mix his flow up. 6’s delivery is intentionally erratic, filled with fluctuations that play off the beat. When the bass pounds, his voice goes up and the hype builds and builds. 1996 does a great job on this song sticking with flow themes, like in the first verse when he rolls through “a” and “b” sounds with some nice controlled assonance. Lyrically, 6 talks of drugs and his reasons for them on lines like “Everything I do, just reflections of the ‘endo, where I’m hoping for the end-o cause the darkness is surrounding[...]

New Masons Release New Single

December 17, 2015

The end of December is always an awkward time to release music – most blogs are doing year-end compilations and best-ofs, music fans are checked out more concerned with visiting family and friends, and generally the atmosphere is not very inviting to new material. With that being said, we are usually too tied up with our own lists and people taking time off to invest time into new music, but after hearing New Masons‘ latest single we decided we had to share. The Fredonia-based band, New Masons, have released their newest single with newly ArcAtlas Records. a record label established only recently out of Fredonia’s Music Business Program. The single “Night Calls” is  an indie-pop gem, with soulful vocals, delicate guitars, an M83 Saturdays = Youth-esque breakdown, and retro Miami-vibes.  If you are a fan of St. Lucia, Ellie Goulding, or Blackbird Blackbird, then you would dig this up-and-coming act. It’s too bad Canary Birds called it[...]

Nylon Otters Reveal Debut Demos

December 16, 2015

At buffaBLOG, we try to make it our duty to keep an ear to the ground for the newest and most exciting in local music. We do this so that when we come across a band with an exciting sound and unique voice we can bring them to you first; Nylon Otters are just such a band. Nylon Otters is a Buffalo-based garage rock band with a distinctly lo-fi 90’s sound and has just released a series of demos. Being a series of demos, the songs have an obvious rawness to them, but across all eight tracks, Nylon Otters demonstrate a real fire and energy to their sound. Tracks like the blistering opener “Parrots” demonstrate their more playful side while “Down Drained” shows a shaggier improvisational side to their sound. The band’s sound can be compared to the trend of recent grungy garage rock from artists like Cloud Nothings or[...]

MileHigh’s M-A Drops Solo Project

December 16, 2015

Buffalo rap posse MileHighMuzik is a frequent feature for for the blog, namely because of their quality output combined with a seemingly never-ending stream of releases. Last December, they released a new track every day of the month, calling it Juugcember, and did the same thing this past summer in Juugly. Heavily contributing to the group’s success is leading rapper/producer M-A, the recent releaser of solo mixtape Feel Trip. The tape fins M-A working with members of his crew, but also take the experimental path that can only come with an independent mindset. The album kicks off the with the “Feel Trip Intro,” a melodic trap ballad of careful production and echoic singing vocals. The track is in the same vein as a Travis $cott song, but is brighter and perhaps with more substance, as M-A calls for his girl to stay with him as he falls. Its evolving construction is greater than that of[...]

Anthony Del Plato Releases Two New Singles

December 16, 2015

Our Batavian buddy Anthony Del Plato surprised us with a new two-song, EP last week, which he has affectionately self-titled. The first track, “Call and Answer,” is a wonderful addition to Del Plato’s canon. The song pairs autumn imagery with winter laments and is bolstered by spiraling guitars and Del Plato’s signature layered harmonies. “Numbers” is an ethereal take on a previously released song, reminiscent of Del Plato’s recent foray into electronica with new project, Tape Drive. As if that weren’t enough, Del Plato is on a roll having recently reunited with his Strings & Chords collaborator Bradley Kujawski for a one-off song under the moniker Junction Hill. Their new song, “Suburban Lawn Envy Blues,” is an upbeat number, despite the rainy weather being sung about. The grass is always greener, right guys?

YLXR Releases “Covergirl” Remix

December 15, 2015

Buffalo electronic R&B producer YLXR balances maximalist synth and drum sequences with saccharine swells and exuberant vocal sample on his latest remix of the 2009 RuPaul track “Covergirl.” Keeping the bass and drum sounds rooted in the club, the artist patiently builds to the spirited drop that finds the woozy synth melody at its most compelling. With an ability to create interesting progressions from minimal beats to sample-heavy breakdowns, YLXR continues to impress with productions that combine pop sensibility with club music’s exultation. Stream/download “Covergirl” below [soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/234913496″ params=”color=ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false” width=”100%” height=”166″ iframe=”true” /]