Buffalo

Pentimento Shares New Song from I, No Longer

September 9, 2015

One of Buffalo’s shining stars is getting us all psyched for their new album. The emotive punks in Pentimento have just released “Sink or Swim,” one of two shared song’s from the band’s upcoming album I, No Longer (10/23). The track is an upbeat jam packed full of the cathartic lyrics we’ve come to love from this Buffalo four-piece. This time around, legendary emo-punk engineer Paul Leavitt (Yellowcard, Cute is What We Aim For, All Time Low) has left his mark on the project. Musically, Pentimento is staying true to form while vocally, singer Jeremiah Pauly has polished his trademark growl into a smooth croon. Fans of The Wonder Years or The Dangerous Summer are sure to be pleased. Check it out below.

Parade Chic Shares First Single from One and Only Secret Dream

September 8, 2015

Local chamber pop outfit Parade Chic shared the lead single from the group’s upcoming debut LP, One and Only Secret Dream, earlier this morning. Titled “New Lines,” the neo-psych number features a bouncy, retro pop melody along with new wavey keys and gentle yet nervy guitars backing Colin Griffin’s lead vocals (think Stuart Murdoch meets Alex Berkley). Fans of Belle and Sebastian, the cassette culture movement, and even Ariel Pink should give a song a spin. Keep an eye out for One and Only Secret Dream sometime this fall (we think), and in the mean time, listen to “New Lines” below. New Lines by Parade Chic

Brimstone Blondes Release “Do U Wanna Make-Out?” Music Video

September 8, 2015

Brimstone Blondes, the now-defunct former high school turned collegiate all-stars, resurfaced out of nowhere last last week with the music video for the track “Do U Wanna Make-Out?,” a cut from the band’s 2014 release AGE OF CONSENT. The quartet had a very busy start of 2015, embarking on an ambitious multi-city tour and picking up weekend dates and festivals well into the spring. The video for “Do U Wanna Make-Out?” is spliced between two realities – one is the backyard goofiness of the Buffalo suburbs featuring the most recent lineup, complete with synchronized swimming, rooftop guitar playing, and numerous costumes. The other shows snippets of lead man Matthew Danger Lippman’s more psychedelic side, featuring a longer-haired, makeup-clad, seen-a-lot-of-shit version of himself. Watch the clip below, and make sure to follow the Blondes on FB for any further surprise announcements.

Spring Service Shares Debut EP Concrete Prayer

September 8, 2015

Spring Service, the acoustic bedroom folk project of Tom Dennis, is music for the quiet observer. The Sun Kil Moon-esque instrumentals and story-like lyricism wring you out in an emotional but overwhelmingly appeasing way. All four tunes on Dennis’ debut EP Concrete Prayer carry a really beautiful earthy quality to them, but also incite an astral feel when it comes to the overall production. My favorite tune, “Polylonliness,” makes use of a twinkling, dizzying electric guitar part while Dennis describes striking terrestrial images of Capulin Mountain, volcanic bone and ribbons of smoke. Something about the melody reminds me so much of Band of Horses with its soaring progression and impassioned vulnerability. Concrete Prayer is more than just a union of earth and cosmos. It is also a union of East and West, a collaboration that bridges great distance. Dennis is a former resident of the Queen City and a former[...]

Little Cake Begins Song-a-Day September Project

September 4, 2015

Following in the foot steps of Alex Berkley and M-A, Little Cake, Radarada vocalist and Jack Toft partner in crime, has begun her own song-a-day project, releasing a new track for every day of the month of September. With three songs already in the bag, the project appears to be rather eclectic, with songs styles ranging from layered, neo soul and R&B to lo-fi kooky observational sing songs Today’s experimental track, “Pole Dance Students,” is and ode to well, new students to dancing on poles. The track is best served with the bass turned up. You can follow the daily progress over at Little Cake’s soundcloud page here. In the mean time, check out her day three song below.

Kharlos Shares First Single from Upcoming Cassette

September 4, 2015

Fuzzy slime garage trio Kharlos is set to release its debut EP/cassette Don’t Think About Dying at My Party on Saturday, September 12th. Featuring members of Merchants, ronaldraygun, and Space Wolves, the three-piece has kept a pretty low key internet presence, quietly dropping a debut track early this summer, up until now. Today, the group has shared the first single from the forthcoming cassette, set to be released by local tape label, More Power Tapes. “Work” sounds like the daylight peaking in the windows of a mildew-y basement. Grimy yet peppy, fans of Fidlar or the Black Lips should dig the tune. Look for a music video for the single to premiere sometime next week. The trio will be celebrating the release of Don’t Think About Dying at My Party at Dreamland along with Sixties Future, Dante Velour, and (redacted). Admission is free and a tapped keg will be waiting for you. In the mean time, check out[...]

Made Violent Shares Interactive “Wasted Days” Video

September 2, 2015

Our latest Buffalo rock heroes are at it again with the release of their latest video, the interactive and wonderfully ludicrous “Wasted Days.” A delightful ode to _____ing off, the clip features the lads ____ing off around NYC with joyful abandon, and the interactive camera (which actually works like a dream!) makes this ideal for any much needed daytime  ____ ing off. You can easily watch this video a few times, monkeying with the 360 degree camera to see what else has been crammed into this burst of psychedelic awesomeness, and ____ off for at least a good 15 minutes. Keep an eye out for Made Violent around town (including Edgefest next Saturday) before they tour the UK with Wolf Alice, who are currently the hottest band in the England.

200 Kids Outside Drop AutoPilot Project

September 2, 2015

200 Kids Outside is an alternative hip hop duo from Buffalo consisting of rapper/vocalist Neetchy and producer/mixer Minel. Their latest project AutoPilot is an impressive collection of melodic, cloudy tunes of varying styles. Neetchy brings a unique blend of melody and rap to the group, while Minel serves forth instrumentals that draw elements from many different genres of music. Their production value is top notch, even though they’re self-described as “bedroom musicians.” Though unconventional, Neetchy’s singing shines throughout AutoPilot, particularly on the unification track “Needle,” essentially a ballad vocally. Layered, mechanized vocal tracks are characteristics of the duo’s music, and their use puts the music over the top sonically. This is most apparent on project standout “Stranger,” where Neetchy’s melodic ear creates a track thats hummable from the very first listen. The production on this track is great too, centered around some guitar strums that could be straight out of a King Krule,[...]

Tonight: Radarada

September 2, 2015

The OTHER Curly’s is set to host the laid back hip hop group Radarada this evening in the venue’s West Side basement. The collective has made quite an impression since its debut LP First Edition dropped late last spring, boasting some of the city’s finest lyricists in Toomy Too, Wza, and Little Cake. Joining the Rada crew tonight will be neo R&B act Hop Hop, the newish project from Mallwalkers and Mink vocalist Jaz Frazier, in addition to the regrouped indie rock act the Etchings and dreamy Boston slackers Harmoos. Music is set to kick off sometime around 7pm with doors opening around 6pm. Bring a few bucks to cover the touring act, and if you have find yourself at the Blasdell Curly’s later on, you took a wrong turn. First Edition by RADARADA

Sonny Baker Releases Full Band EP flesh it out

September 1, 2015

As both a supporter of local music and a Buffalonian (these are mostly safe assumptions to make—you are reading buffaBLOG), what comes to mind upon hearing the name Sonny Baker? Wooden Waves? Lazlo Hollyfeld? A Hotel Nourishing? As an Eden native, I could toss Uberfunk into that list, but that’s a story for another day. The truth is, between his multitude of projects and musical cameos in the projects of others, Sonny Baker really is one of the hardest working musicians in Buffalo.  And hot off the late-August release of his latest solo EP, flesh it out, Baker only strengthens his stake to that claim. Though in this case, there is only so much truth in calling his latest sonic outpourings “solo” work. For flesh it out, Baker has assembled an actual trio, featuring Chris Gangarossa on bass and Ryan Campbell on drums. This in itself is a departure—very rarely[...]

Night Slaves Share Demo Track “Into the Nowhere”

August 31, 2015

Earlier this spring, Night Slaves, a new industrial duo featuring John Toohill (JOHNS, Alpha Hopper) and Dave Kane (Them Jazzbeards), shared the unnerving first track from a soon-to-be released demo. Now, with summer almost over, the pair has quietly released a second track from the demo upon bandcamp, the dark yet strangely soothing “Into the Nowhere.” Night Slaves are still prepping said demo, but hopes to have it ready to go this fall with a physical cassette release as well as a live performance and a FLATSITTER produced music video. Keep an eye out for the duo’s fall performance and release date, and in the mean time, check out “Into the Nowhere” below. Into the Nowhere by Night Slaves

Cooler Releases Debut Track “Cringe”

August 28, 2015

Although Cooler is an infant in band years , the group is already well on it’s way to explode beyond Buffalo’s music walls. Composed of a blend of solo artist Aileen Yates, two members of Brother Keep (Nathan McDorman and Nick Sessanna), and rounded out by former Lancer drummer-turned-bassist Adam Cwynar, the band has hit the ground running, already landing a deal with emo upstart label, NDE Records. With an EP titled 1993 coming out September 22nd and another batch of studio sessions already completed, 2016 is set to be a breakout year for the fledgling four piece. This past week, Cooler’s grungy debut track “Cringe” hit the internet on esteemed scene blog CouchKing. Unsurprisingly, the song is all about looking back at all those things you regret doing in the past. Those moments that haunt you in the final minutes before falling asleep or the “on-repeat” moments you have when driving all alone. Fans of[...]

Edwang Releases 333 Remix Album

August 26, 2015

As one of the city’s most creative hip hop producers, Edwang’s output is always worth checking out. He’s cooked up original songs with rappers and also done some great remix work, the latter of the two being the inspiration for this post. Ed’s taken on remixing duties for some tracks off of The Tortoise and the Crow, an album from LA/Hawaii duo the Grouch and Eligh in a project called 333.  The Grouch and Eligh present a nice canvas for which Ed to work on. Eligh usually comes through with the faster of the flows, whereas the Grouch has a gruffer approach to his rapping. It gives Edwang more variety with how he wants to attack his beats. The first minute and a half of “All These Lights” is centered around some nice piano keys and then the beat is turned on its head as it evolves into some crazy post-dub electronica. Its[...]

Matthew McCheskey Shares Rapture EP

August 26, 2015

Former Early Attic vocalist Matthew McCheskey debuted his new solo EP Rapture earlier this month. The five track release features an energetic synth pop style with melodic vocal hooks and visceral drums as well as bittersweet instrumentation. The singer’s slightly melancholic vocals on “Time to Go” create a pensive atmosphere, which along with emotive synths and expansive sound design make for one of the more memorable cuts from the record. More experimental moments can be found on “Circle in the Square” and “Principle” where cerebral sounds are balanced with tranquil vocals and lush breakdowns. Listen/download Rapture on McCheskey’s Bandcamp page.

done. Releases New Singles

August 25, 2015

As we wind down the summer months and students start preparing for their dreaded return to classes, there is a certain influx of cool new music that usually hits us from the college towns. The creative last gasp of summer. Today’s scouring of the interweb yields a late-summer two song ripper from emo-math duo done., who have ties to both Buffalo and New Paltz. The singles bring us the notable “Ghost House,” a mathy and meticulous tribute to the emo revival movement, sharp riffs slinging akin to vets Sunny Day Real Estate or The Appleseed Cast. “Pawns,” the latter of the two tracks, follows in that same vein. Check it out below.