Rochester

Genesee Live Debuts New Session feat. Skirts

June 9, 2014

Early this Monday morning, Rochester’s live video session series, Genesee Live, debuted its latest installment featuring Skirts. Formally a dorm room act named Meanagers, Skirts has turned into a peppy five piece act, combining early Cloud Nothings, Pains of Being Pure at Heart, and Los Campesinos type vibes. You can watch the full, basement filmed session (keep an eye out for David Lynch) below. If you have missed any of Genny Live’s prior sessions, you can check out all of the former installments at GL’s Tumblr page.

JOYWAVE Premieres Video For “Tongues”

June 3, 2014

In April 2013, all-around WNY favorite electro-pop act, JOYWAVE, released the incredibly catchy single “Tongues” featuring a scatted sample Patricia Patrone of KOPPS (both buffaBLOG party artists I might add).  In between locking up their summer on the festival circuit and two opening gigs for the Killers, the band got around to dropping the video for the single, which at the time of this writing, is sitting pretty on the Billboard’s Top 50 Dance Club songs. Dubbed the number one song out of Rochester in 2013 on our top ten count down, “Tongues” has made waves across the blogosphere and eventually demanded the attention of satellite and commercial radio. Watch the boys shoot clothes on naked people below. Oh yeah, probably NSFW unless you have a chill boss.

Mario Bee Releases New Jhnson & Jhnson EP

May 30, 2014

Brooklyn-via-Buffalo-via-Rochester DJ/producer Mario Bee has showed his combined influence of both North American and UK club music on his various soundcloud demos and the Tomb EP, released last December on Austrian label Tiefparterre Records. The latest collection from the artist comes via media brand Toats Orig and is a two-tracker aptly titled Jnson & Jhnson.  Lead cut, “BabyPowder,” brings a raucous three minutes of grime, trap, and southern-rap, with a menacing, detuned bassline. Bringing to mind producers like Darq E Freaker and Royal-T, the stripped-down, raw aesthetic combines elements of Jersey club and hip hop, making for an inventive sound still strongly rooted in club music culture. The B-side, “BabyOil,” brings a similar vibe, with a faster tempo and break beats scattered throughout. Listen below and check out the Malt Disney edited video for “BabyPowder.” [soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/149713354″ params=”color=ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_artwork=true&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false” width=”100%” height=”166″ iframe=”true” /] [soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/149714232″ params=”color=ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_artwork=true&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false” width=”100%” height=”166″ iframe=”true” /]  

Faux Leather Jacket Releases Debut EP, Sorry, Bud

May 27, 2014

On slow blog days like this, we thank the tireless Rochester musician Ben Morey for giving us some quality music to write about. Morey stepped into the producer role this time around to mix, master, engineer, shoot the cover photo, and who knows, maybe cooked a four course meal, for the recording of the new EP from Rochester act Faux Leather Jacket. Featuring songwriter Trevor Courneen and former Cottage Jefferson guitar player Erick Perrine, among others, the sextet’s four track Sorry, Bud is a laid back collection of jangly alt-country, full of sunny harmonies and a touch of 90s college rock. Fans of Uncle Tupelo, Beachwood Sparks, the Old 97s (Courneen sounds a bit like Rhett Miller), and even Buffalo acts like Roger Bryan & the Orphans and the Old Sweethearts (RIP) should be downloading this right about now. You can check out the full Sorry, Bud EP here and[...]

Sea Planes Premiere “Young At Heart” Single

May 20, 2014

Rochester’s Sea Planes have maintained radio silence for close to a year since releasing their debut single, “Lip Gloss.” The song made a huge impression on the buffaBLOG office, ranking as the fourth best song from our sister city in our 2013 countdown. So with this, we were delighted yesterday afternoon when Sea Planes warned us all via social media that a new song, “Young at Heart,” would debut “tomorrow,” or in other words, today. While “Lip Gloss” sounds like it could have been on Top of the Pops, “Young At Heart” aims to be much bigger. Shouting harmonies, anthemic riffs, 80s synths, and one giant chorus has Sea Planes sounding like former Buffalo act All Blondes Go To Heaven if they started covering The Pains of Being Pure at Heart. Listen to “Young At Heart” below.

midnight Releases Sensual Single “Adonis”

May 13, 2014

Buffalo-bred, Rochester-raised electro R&B artist, midnight, released his first song in more than a year today, titled “Adonis.” The single is a sip of sorts to midnight’s upcoming reservoir, with collaborations this summer set with buffaBLOG favorites JOYWAVE and Crookers. With comparisons to Maxwell, The Weekend, and How to Dress Well, midnight’s raspy soulful vocals backed by My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy-era Kanye productions create both an ethereal and seductive climate. Listen to “Adonis” below.

Admirers Remaster Night Night EP, Premiere Title Track

May 1, 2014

Ever since Mike James’ former band, Longwave, dropped its wonderful The Strangest Things LP, which included this all time great WNY jam (that’s James in the left rear) way back in 2003, the ever busy Rochester musician has been floating around my, and now the blog’s, radar for some time. Between his former work in Mikey Jukebox, and current projects Hawker M. James and the Demos, James has found the time to remaster his 2003 EP, Night Night, from his OTHER project, Admirers. Set to drop on May 13th, the EP will include some fresh takes on the original cuts, in addition to remixes. As for the title track, the song delves into the retro synth-pop vibe that fans of any Johnny Jewel project, chilled Holy Ghost, Chromeo, and the Drive soundtrack will eat right up. Check out Pet Shop Boys-esque “Night Night,” which features a subtle, Niles Rogers like[...]

Ben Morey Releases Howlo Project EP

April 29, 2014

Rochester’s Ben Morey appears to be trying to rival Buffalo’s Sonny Baker for busiest musician in WNY. Between his inviting solo work, including this solid live session with Genesee Live, and being a featured member of fellow 585 acts like Dumb Angel, New Socks (we think), and the Wallpaper, his latest project Howlo, released its three song EP, Attic Tapes, via bandcamp this weekend. Howlo’s sound is reminiscent of a pre-diva Kevin Barnes/of Montreal, equally lo fi and catchy. Listen to the capturing “Blanka” below.

Secret Pizza Releases Debut EP

April 28, 2014

We’ve been reading about Secret Pizza for the past six months or so, but could only attribute their sound to grainy facebook videos. Needless to say, we were delighted to stumble upon their debut EP, Self Titled E.P.. The Rochester post-rock outfit sounds like a more driving Frightened Rabbit or if the Men decided to dabble in shoegaze rock on their next album. Listen to EP stand out “Oh My My” below.

Genesee Live Releases New Session Feat. Overhead Sam Snyder

April 21, 2014

Rochester’s premiere live session series, Genesee Live, has released its latest installment this morning, this time showcasing Overhead Sam Snyder. The Rochester singer/songwriter, who is a featured member of 585 acts Maybird, Thunder Body, and Plastic Sun, delivers a stark, intimate performance that follows suit with the recent GL video recordings. Past sessions may be viewed the Genny Live’s tumblr. In the mean time, watch the full session from Overhand Sam Snyder below and see how Snyder lives up to his name.

Routine Involvements, "Future Days"

Check Out Routine Involvements’ Future Days

April 21, 2014

We don’t always cover music out of Rochester, but when we do, it’s because it’s that good. And Routine Involvements new tape, Future Days, is some of the best stuff we’ve heard out of Buffalo’s neighbor to the Northeast in quite some time. RI take cues from all kinds of guitar-rock greats over the six songs on Future Days. Fan of Weezer? Television? Sunny Day Real Estate? Big Star? You’ll find something to like. The last track, “Strange Dynasty,” even gave me some Beatles vibes at points. That said, Future Days is definitely situated in the loud-quiet-loud dynamic that I guess society has decided to attribute to the Pixies. The noise never feels aimless, though, and beneath all the fuzz, RI is always moving forward to the next new idea. Check Future Days out on Bandcamp, and if it appeals to you, give the band some of your money. If you’re[...]

David Lee Rad & Pa_triot Drop “Spring Fever” Mixtape

April 17, 2014

Embracing “spring” so far in WNY hasn’t exactly been the easiest of tasks. The weather has been mixed with constant tease and torture over the last couple weeks, capped off by Tuesday’s absolutely deflating snow. So, getting into a spring mixtape has been equally difficult, but now that the weather seems to be pointing up for good now, lets share the new collaborative mix from Rochester DJ David Lee Rad, one half of CRUSHES (which is still active I think) and current member of 585 DJ collective CULTR CLUB, and fellow Rochester producer Pat_triot. Listen to the “Spring Fever” in full below, and visit the pair’s soundcloud page to get the full track listing. Those living in the Rochester area can catch DLR every Thursday night a the Bug Jar as part of CULTR CLUB’s residency.

Makeshift Letterbox Releases Hazy New EP

April 10, 2014

Rochester has been a little quiet this week, so we were delighted to stumble upon Makeshift Letterbox. The hazy post-rock band just released its new EP this week, titled The Vaporbomb Love Affair. This menacing collection of songs, which by law should only be played after dark, includes a take on the often covered “Just Like Heaven.” Luckily, the band manages to give the track a fuzzy Secret Machines vibe. Fans of the Twilight Sad, early Killers, and even Mogwai should go listen to the EP over at the band’s bandcamp page. With a super fresh (like less than 24 hours on social media fresh) introduction, we hope to see the project hit the show circuit in the near future. Listen to stand out track “Brooklyn: Remedy the Guestlist” below.

Fat Africa Releases Teaser Single

April 4, 2014

Set to be released on Dadstache Records (Skirts [formerly Meanagers], Routine Involvements, and bc likes you!), Rochester based outfit, Fat Africa, released their teaser single to  their upcoming album. “Futility, or…” is a crawling minimalist track which can be be described as Modest Mouse’ “Dramamine” covered by the xx. Check it out below.

Attic Abasement Teases Upcoming Split LP

March 27, 2014

Carbon Records, a 20 + year Rochester indie rock mainstay, is prepping the release of a split LP from 585 act Attic Abasement and Nod. Earlier this week, the label dropped a couple teaser tracks from the record via bandcamp. “Pretty Teeth,” part of the Attic Abasement half of the LP, is a cut of jangly 90’s college rock from the bedroom indie rockers, led by lead singer Mike Rheinheimer’s pleaing vocals. Fans of Yuck, Silver Jews, Smog, and Pavement should check the track out. The full release appears to be dropping in early April. In the mean time, listen to “Pretty Teeth” below.