Buffalo

M.A.G.S. Signs to Admirable Traits, Releases “My Love” Single

January 15, 2015

M.A.G.S., an indie-rock trio fronted by former Malones bass player, Elliott Douglas, has signed to the Buffalo/Brooklyn rooted label, Admirable Traits, to release its forthcoming EP, Cellophane. Douglas, who debuted his new project late last year with a quick two-song demo, evolved M.A.G.S. into a full time band after the self-recording of Cellophane, recruiting former Young Suns drummer (and former ex-pat turned born again Buffalonian) Adam Lilley and Andy Wesner of Mosaics to round out the live group. Today, the three-piece released the first single from Cellophane, titled “My Love,” which you can give a spin at the bottom of this post. Admirable Traits has been on a bit of a roll lately, ending the back half of 2014 on fire with quality releases from Brimstone Blondes and Bryan Johnson & Family, and is primed to start the new year strong with the release of Cellophane. M.A.G.S. will be celebrating the[...]

Facility Men Release Futility Men

January 15, 2015

Technically, much of Facility Men’s new cassette, Futility Men, has been available for months. So forgive me if you’ve heard this one before: Facility Men trace their lineage back to Plates, who called it quits a few years ago. They recorded most of these songs and released them earlier this year, which caught the attention of Black Dots. The result: a remixed, remastered and expanded cassette of garage punky bangers. Facility Men can chug along with the best of them, but the most exciting moments of the cassette come when the guitars start rising and screaming and everything feels like it might crash wildly, like the cresting of the wave. It’ll keep you on your toes. Check out Black Dots’ Bandcamp, where you can buy the digital album or snag the cassette. Check out a sample below.

Dean Chatham Brings Wake Forest Experiences to Buffalo

January 14, 2015

College is a fun time for so many more reasons other than partying. In my experience, every decision you make either means nothing or ends up being way more important or influential than you could’ve ever imagined. New Buffalo-based rapper, Dean Chatham, has taken off with this idea of sorts on “Year 2.” Drawing inspiration from his experiences a year and a half into his Wake Forest education, Chatham jumps between his drive to succeed as a student and the inevitable urge to live the college life, especially being that he’s now a rapper. Chatham condemns himself and his classmates at times on the track for their university vices, rapping “My generation livin’ too fast, drop class for shot glass, I’ll be lucky if I pass.” But he knows he’s as scatterbrained and undecided as any 20 year old, going on to say “I’m in college, young and reckless is[...]

Ad Astra Debuts First Single

January 14, 2015

Buffalo-based electro-pop trio, Ad Astra, debuted the project’s first track this past week, to which we were very excited to post about. With past works in the band’s resume including buffaBLOG favorites, Ignorant Owl and FOTISPORN, Ad Astra already sounded promising. The band’s first single, “Pretty Pictures,” features producers Thomas L. Hunt and Wyle Lukow delivering a futuristic synth song with just over a minute and a half growing introduction capped off with Amanda Terranoli’s dreamily gentle LIGHTS-like voclas. With obvious comparisons to Purity Ring,  chilled out Crystal Castles, and even Phantogram, Ad Astra is definitely a band that should be on your radar in 2015. Perhaps they can start playing live with gigs with Passion in Constellation? Listen to “Pretty Pictures” below.

Symphonic Electronix Drops New Single, “Lila”

January 12, 2015

Electro-psych producer, Symphonic Electronix, has been dropping music on his bandcamp page since 2011, but it wasn’t until yesterday, after stumbling upon the new single “Lila,” that I started paying attention. The song itself is hard to peg. There is some Tame Impala, latter day Beatles, abstract Joy Division, maybe even some Tortoise all sprinkled in there. I’m still looking for a better comparison, but regardless, it’s a great tune, something that wouldn’t sound too out of place on a future Steak and Cake compilation. Anyways, take a listen to “Lila” for yourself below.

Passion in Constellation Releases Video for “Smash”

January 12, 2015

Passion in Constellation (aka Chris Alan) got 2015 started right releasing a dazzling clip for “Smash” at the end of last week that more than lives up to it’s name. Created by parties unknown and consisting of found footage and edited to the aggressive syncopation of Alan’s latest meditation on the EDM form, the clip calls to mind the Emergency Broadcast Network,  vintage MTV bumpers, and film class experiments out of UB’s Media Study Department. It’s also a bold visual step forward for this ambitious up and comer, and hopefully a sign of things to come.

Applennium Submits “The Race” to Tiny Desk Concert Contest

January 12, 2015

We frequently say here at the blog office that Applennium may be the best band in Buffalo you haven’t heard of, or maybe even the best band in Buffalo period. The four piece – Chris Groves, Stacey Stoll, and Dave and Mike Calos – play maybe twice a year, if you are lucky, and premieres new music about as quietly as any band in Buffalo. They are one of the city’s true musical treasures, releasing stunner after stunner when you least expect. The band dropped a pleasant surprise online last night in the form of an entry to NPR’s Tiny Desk Concert contest. First off, if you don’t watch Tiny Desk Concerts, get on that now. Recently, the lucky NPR staff has been treated to some fantastic performances from Angel Olsen, Tweedy, T-Pain, Beirut, and the National. As for the contest, the station/series is asking bands to submit one video of[...]

Jacob Peter Releases Wind Song

January 6, 2015

Still catching up from the holiday lull, personally. Takes a lot out of you to get through another year and there’s some stuff that got lost in the mix. Jacob Peter’s Wind Song, for instance. He sent this over a while back and I’m just now getting to write it up. Jacob plays guitar with Humble Braggers, but his solo EP is a different beast. Much folkier, for instance, and much moodier. There are some very catchy pop songs on here (like the opener, “Stella”) but it’s definitely at its most interesting in its broodier, more Jeff Buckley-esque moments  (for example, “The Line Between Us and Being”). Check out the rest of the EP here. [soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/177561709″ params=”color=ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false” width=”100%” height=”166″ iframe=”true” /]

The Afterbirth Tycoon Releases Purgatory On Parade

January 6, 2015

Power trio, the Afterbirth Tycoon, have been at it for nearly a decade, however in the past year,we have seen more activity from the outfit. Late last spring, the three piece released Late Bloom, a 10 track studio recorded release, and then last week, they hit us with another garage blue nugget in the form of the six track, Purgatory on Parade. The EP was recorded with Matt Smith at his Hi-Lo Studio earlier this summer, and mastered by John Angelo at Slave Pit Studios in Richmond, VA. “Matt is actually going to be moving,” guitarist/vocalist Jason Pitcher says, “so that will be the last session in his barn, but I hope to continue working with him wherever he lands. It’s always a good time working with Matt: no stress, lots of laughs, and I never hesitate to ask his opinion.” For the most part, Purgatory picks up where Late Bloom left off.[...]

Space Cubs Releases New Single

January 5, 2015

One of the dilemmas I come across while writing for this blog is to what to categorize each artist in our internal database. For example, Space Cubs was raised in Buffalo, but now calls the backwoods of the south her home. Should I still categorize her “Buffalo” or should this be “New Music?” Should anyone who has ever lived in Buffalo always be considered Buffalo? Regardless, former Buffalo-based spacey electronica songstress, Space Cubs, the performing/writing moniker of Suzanne Lee Bonaficio, released a new single titled “The Eye.” Normally we are on top of these things, but with the year end round-ups, personal responsibilities, and all-around burning out of contributing to a blog, we missed it. “The Eye,” much like others in Space Cubs’ repertoire, is a new age climber topped soothing vocals. What’s different about “The Eye” is that the vocals are a little more R&B tinged, almost like a[...]

Lesionread Drops “Art All Day” Video

December 30, 2014

Other than end of year lists, staff picks, and best of’s, the holidays are a pretty quiet time for buffaBLOG, so Lesionread’s new video “Art All Day”(which dropped last week) might as well have been gift-wrapped. This time we find the avant-electronica wiz doing what he does best– embracing the weird and keeping it fresh. The new track highlights the post-college starving artist days with a literal, danceable, and relatively humorous approach. His presentation is flavorful; the well-edited video watches like something you might catch on an episode of Tim & Eric’s Awesome Show Great Job!, featuring various cameos from other local musicians. Can you spot them amongst the controlled chaos?

SHEDS Release Debut Video

December 12, 2014

It’s no secret that the blog has been recently drooling over Lancaster-based act, SHEDS. With that being said, we were more than pumped to get a hold of the band’s debut music video for the song “HPBG” or high pressure basketball game. The video is very true to the title, clipping select moments from various intense NBA games and slicing them in a very dreamy direction. SHEDS is currently working on their upcoming full-length with an aim for a spring release, but I’m sure you can check back here as soon as there are any developments. SWISH.

T.M.M.C. Releases Powerful Single, “Too Many Eyes in the Crowd”

December 9, 2014

Lost in some of the wild performances this past Friday at the Wooden Waves release show was a powerful and understated set from T.M.M.C. Made up of local heavyweights including Bill Nehill and Dave G, the five piece delivered a moving set to the packed Mohawk Place audience. Earlier this fall, the band finally launched a facebook page, one that included the devastating track “Too Many Eyes in the Crowd.” The song, which was actually released three months ago, recalls Automatic for the People era R.E.M. or maybe even early Counting Crows, and features the always captivating Nehill delivering the absolutely humbling chorus “It takes a long time for a man to realize his welcome is worn out.” Damn. The tune appears to be a part of the band’s forthcoming release, recorded at Matt Smith’s Hi/Lo Studios, so keep an eye out. In the mean time, listen to “Too Many Eyes in[...]

Lesionread Drops New Tracks

December 8, 2014

Earlier this week, local experi-tronic (experimental electronic, duh) artist Lesionread dropped two fresh tracks on his Soundcloud page. The first, a Jon Bap remix of “Neutron Bomb” (appropriately re-titled “Nutron Bomb”), switches it up with a bumbling bass line and Bap’s signature whammed-out jangle guitar chords before slamming into fuzz city during the latter half. This is the first of two Bap remixes that will appear on Lesionread’s upcoming remix tape, slated for a February release. [soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/179736448″ params=”color=ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false” width=”100%” height=”166″ iframe=”true” /] The second track, “Addicted…,” is packing strings, featuring samples of Joe Isom ripping it up on cello. The track’s danceable house(ish) beat and distant synth sounds remind me of something off the soundtrack for Bomberman Hero on N64 (anyone?), and when paired with the cello samples, makes for a flavorful groove. “If I hate it, then why do I keep doing it?” asks Lewis paradoxically, before answering his[...]

[ez amädi] Channels Salvador Dali on New Track

December 3, 2014

Spanish artist Salvador Dali became famous as a surrealist painter throughout the 1900s, and Buffalo rapper [ez amädi] is summoning his spirit for art of a different medium. “Dali,” the latest track from the Erie County emcee and producer, begins with a Madvillainy-esque, cartoony introduction of the genius who was Dali. Amädi relates himself to the modern-era renaissance man as he weaves his rhymes in and out of a beautifully awkward beat of strings and keys. It’s reflective and almost brooding, as Amädi discusses previous thought trains on his path through his artistry, drawing parallels to the track’s namesake. Peep the track below and hit up [ez amädi]’s Soundcloud for more great music.