Rochester

midnight Premieres Single Feat. The Internet

June 2, 2016

Rochester singer midnight returns his electric-soul sound to us by way of his new single “Native America.” In his controlled falsetto, midnight gently navigates through the bounding synths and kicks of the beat. “Native America” is driven upon the sin and dishonesty that resulted in the foundation of our country. The title and track reference both the atrocities committed against the indigenous people of the Americas, and how how the normalcy of violence and stubbornness is engrained in our being. “We’re in Native America,” midnight sings “where the lies are infamous, but the truth, it lives in us.” It is charged and sharp while remaining beautiful and delicate. The track features production from the Internet, well-known for rising up with the hip hop collective Odd Future and receiving acclaim for their 2015 album Ego Death .“Native America” comes ahead of the midnight’s July 1st release of his EP 0:00. midnight describes the project[...]

Harmonica Lewinski Releases Video for “The Slug”

April 19, 2016

Rochester garage-rock group Harmonica Lewinski has released a strange new video, on par with the act’s established demeanor. Harmonica Lewinski has made a name for itself with this aesthetic of lo-fi and trippy rock ‘n’ roll. Their latest single ‘The Slug” is the first taste of their forthcoming album Head Honcho, and their newest material since last year’s Naked Brunch. It calls to mind the sounds of the underground surf rock of the sixties combining it with modern garage punk influences. The single’s video companion really helps bring to life the slimy, DIY nature of the tune. Sure to be a hit at your next sleazy basement party, check out the video below.

The Loner(s) / Drive Me Home Please Release Split

March 29, 2016

Rochester’s The Loner(s), Drive Me Home Please, and label, Bangkok Blend combined efforts to release a split last Friday, aptly titled the loner(s)/ drive me home please. For new listeners, The Loner(s) is a more lo-fi, sometimes strictly instrumental version of All-Time Quarterback or Secret Stars, while Drive Me Home Please combines simple synth pop mixes with depressed, Jordan Dreyer-like (La Dispute), self-conscious spoken word poetry. The mixing of the two artists proves fruitful, displaying the bands’ likenesses and potentials for further opportunity in the music industry. Stand out track from The Loner(s)  is “How To,” a song driven by the lonely despair that accompanies all loners. A kind acoustic guitar riff supporting a two-note analog synth flourish provides a chill environment. Unfortunately, the singer’s low coo croons of unrequited, incommunicable love – “I like you, but I don’t know how to.” “Drive Me Home Please” by Drive Me Home Please is[...]

BIG FRED Shares Single Off <3pals<3

March 16, 2016

Incoming! It’s no secret that Rochester’s local music scene is teeming with top-qual bands of all genres (personally, I like to call Roc city the “indie rock capital of the state”); best make room for one more. Meet BIG FRED, one of the scene’s fresher additions. Composed of Conor McCann (guitar/bass/vox) and Dylan Vaisey (drums), the duo’s fuzzy, spastic sonic creations are nothing short of interesting. Lead single “Worm” mixes a Pedro the Lion-like lyrical longing with an explosiveness akin to the ever-inventive Wolf Parade. It sounds like throwing a firecracker at a beehive and the subsequent ‘get-the-fuck-outta-there’ that follows—fun-and-games right into life-or-death. The rest of the five-track debut, titled <3pals<3, follows suit with intermittent blasts of sludgy fuzz (the band’s self-coined “trash pop” classification makes almost too much sense), spastic and creative rhythms, and healthy portions of wonderfully janky riffage throughout. Cassettes are available here via the Poughkeepsie-based Sad[...]

Genesee Live Premieres Latest Session feat. Pleistocene

March 3, 2016

It’s been a hot minute since we’ve posted about our buddies over at Genesee Live. The live session series is one of our favorites in the WNY area, specializing in acts from the Rochester-area. For their 31st installment, they’ve  teamed up with everyone’s favorite epoch, Pleistocene. A few years ago we saw front-woman Katie Preston rip a stripped-down solo set for the folks at Genesee Live. This time around the entire quartet is present and their quirky indie rock is operating at maximum jangle. A particular highlight is session opener “Joni,” which boasts a creative song structure, tight transitions, and unique surf-inspired riffs. We’ve posted the entire clip below for your enjoyment, but be sure to scroll through Genesee’s impressive back catalog of sessions here.

Madeleine McQueen and the Breeze Release Impressive EP

March 2, 2016

With nearly every city having a crowded folk scene, it takes a truly special talent to stand out; and that’s why we take the time to bring you, Rochester’s Madeleine McQueen and the Breeze. At the tail end of 2016, when the music blogosphere was busy compiling their top lists of 2015,  McQueen quietly released  her EP titled Entangled. While the sharp songwriting and mesmerizing vocals of her earlier release seem to continue to have grown, it’s the addition of the grand layered arrangements that help it stand out from the work of other local singer-songwriters. Each song from opener “Long Gone” to “SMIC” have sweeping instrumentation that give them an energy and passion often missing from the local folk scene. This is not to miss the excellent songwriting though, with title tracks like “Entangled,” Madeleine finds a way to perfectly sum up the conflicting barrage of emotions that swirl around one when[...]

Blue Falcon Release Paranoid Single

February 23, 2016

Rochester power-pop revivalists Blue Falcon just dropped “All Illuminati” and have delivered a sharp, hilarious and infectious take on our current and ongoing infatuation with that mythical secret organization. Whether you’re an old timey conspiracy theorist, a Marvel Comics fan, or puzzled to the point of paranoia by the rapid ascent of Kanye, Lady Gaga, and Justin Beiber, Illuminati-Mania is in full swing and “All Illuminati” takes it apart with driving guitars, groovy dual vocal harmonies, Cars synth lines, and lyrics hitting on the allure and wish fulfillment that underlies every conspiracy theory and this one in particular. [soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/246880416″ params=”color=ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false” width=”100%” height=”166″ iframe=”true” /]

Attic Abasement Drops First Single of Forthcoming LP

February 17, 2016

Preceding a highly-anticipated LP release via Father / Daughter Records, Rochester DIY rockers Attic Abasement have given the masses a taste of said LP—titled Dream News—with “Guarantee Jesus,” the first single of the record. Sauntering through jangly chord progressions, bumbling bass lines, and the passionate sounds of AA centerpoint Mike Rheinheimer (holy shit @ 1:16, 2:15), the track is without question an extension of Attic Abasement’s aching indie rock aesthetic—music for the rest of us. The sounds have matured a bit from the lower-fi recordings of previous albums, but all of that unassuming charm remains. You’ll find “Guarantee Jesus” streaming below, and preorders for the new album are available now via Father / Daughter. Dream News hits shelves on 5/27/16. [soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/246094758″ params=”color=ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false” width=”100%” height=”166″ iframe=”true” /]

Northern Spies Drop Do/Postcard

February 10, 2016

Today’s delightful bit of new music comes from Rochester’s indie rockers, Northern Spies. The band hasn’t given us new music to cherish in sometime since their 3-track EP in 2014, but with a recent Christmas single and two new tracks, it seems these guys are gearing up for something. The first single is “Do” a playful and energetic rocker that has a distinctly 90s alt rock sound. It’s an infectious little jam that easily worms it’s way inside your earholes and doesn’t seem to want to leave. Following that is “Postcard,” a track that seems to find it’s roots in the indie rock tradition of bands like Built to Spill and Modest Mouse, it’s this lovely meandering jam that shows a different side to the band and makes me excited for what’s to come. Let’s hope these two tracks are just the beginning of what’s to come for us from[...]

Skirts – What Do You Wanna Do?

February 4, 2016

So, break’s over. January saw some fantastic releases, and although our blog activity may have waned through the month, that doesn’t mean we weren’t paying attention. One of those releases happened to be What Do You Wanna Do?, the new record from Rochester surf-poppers Skirts. We’ve been patiently waiting on this one since the quintet premiered the album’s lead single “Swimming” last summer by way of a live session at Rochester’s 1809 studios. The band also made their Buffalo debut at Nietzsche’s last fall, having played an electrifying set that included a couple of these tracks. WDYWD? polishes Skirts’ heart-throb beach pop formula into a catchy collection of songs with a particular focus on album cohesion and its tightly-knit arrangements. A single spin through the album yields a bit of fuzziness in the chest, a warmth most welcome in chilly February. You get tracks like the slow-burning “Golden Era,” which[...]

Boy Jr. – No Hard Feelings

February 2, 2016

No Hard Feelings is the debut EP from Boy Jr., musical brainchild of SUNY Purchase student Erica Allen-Lubman. Released just days before Christmas, Boy Jr.’s first effort is a solid collection of tunes. Written, performed, produced and recorded almost completely by herself, these five tracks are a fine sampling of DIY garage-rock from the Rochester based songwriter. Throughout, she employs a very lo-fi aproach, but the music never feels sloppy. It offers the right amount of minimal production you want from a garage-rocker, without sounding amateurish. Ms. Allen-Lubman sings loose, but never pitchy, with an alto-range voice and a vocal tone that has a feeling of carefree weightlessness. There is a touch of bright pop to it, just enough to supply a handful of rather catchy melodies and riffs. This is clear on the track “The Killers,” especially when the repeated eighth-note piano chords begin. But she never forgets the[...]

Northern Spies Share Christmas Single

December 22, 2015

Christmas is, among other things, the look of joy on children’s faces, spending time with loved ones, and a primal religious observance. It’s also Christmas shopping after doing a few shots, office party ragers, and going to mass with a rampaging buzz to get through primal religious observances. In short, Christmas can be a holiday of divergent extremes, and Rochester power poppers Northern Spies have embraced this duality with a special holiday single featuring an austere and almost reverential “Christmas Must Be Tonight” backed with the rowdy “Big Legged Christmas (Slight Return).” Northern Spies didn’t mess around. “Christmas Must Be Tonight” is all Dylan and the Band and Sunday school and what Christmas used to be about, with bluesy guitars, soulful organ, and some lovely, searching vocals. “Big Legged Christmas (Slight Return),” however goes for a nasty, vamping blues jam that is all about hollering, and doing your own damn thing on[...]

High Drags Side Project, SLUGS, Release New Single

December 4, 2015

SLUGS are a fairly new project for long-time collaborators (and siblings) Marissa and James Longstreet. We have covered the pair in the past under their high-energy electro-pop moniker High Drags. With roots in Rochester, SLUGS is now Los Angeles-based, and probably as opposite of High Drags’ vibes as it can get. The new project’s sound drawing comparisons to Courtney Barnett, Angel Olsen, or Deer Tick. “Anything’s Impossible” is desert-y rock and roll tune, with some 90’s grunge tinge. Check it out below. [soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/233472120″ params=”color=ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false” width=”100%” height=”166″ iframe=”true” /]

common rituals Release Debut EP, form

November 10, 2015

The wistful melodies pervading the music of Rochester Lo-fi/indie pop artist common rituals offer a warm, understated pop sound with alluring instrumentation. form, the musician’s debut EP, includes hazy synth work on tracks like “Spring Break” and “October” which along with spacious percussion make for an immersive listen. The jazzy “Intermission” is reminiscent of French downtempo band Air and provides one of the most atmospheric moments of the release while the acoustic “Maybe (Solar Sky)” leans more towards direct singer/songwriter fare. Listen/download form below.

Mr. Will Shares Debut EP Motel Pools

November 4, 2015

Look out Rochester, a new force is on the radar. Multi-instrumentalist / producer / all-around music man Mr. Will (born Will Smillie) released his impressive debut EP Motel Pools, a sprawling easy-rider of a record blending elements of indie pop and psyche rock, late last month. It’s one of those records that doesn’t take time to warm up to; the warmth is already there—just pull up a seat and get yourself settled in. From the slow-burning balminess of the title track that opens the EP to the fiery fretwork of “Where Does the Light Go,” Motel Pools, produced by Smillie himself, covers a lot of ground and covers it well. After one spin, the listener is treated to hints of wide-ranging influence including My Morning Jacket, Dr. Dog, Mikal Cronin, and more. The hooks are plentiful, the solos could sear a steak, and the resulting package is cohesive, easy to listen[...]