Los Waves – “Your World”
Upbeat Portugese twosome, Los Waves, have been on repeat this morning in the office. Comprised of multi-instrumentalists Jose Tornada and Jorge Da Fonseca, the duo's sound picks up after Phoenix's It's Never Been Like That with the Strokes' indie-pop accessibility....
Tonight: Filmstrip
Cleveland's Filmstrip is an interesting band to listen to because they sound like guys who could explode into cathartic-but-too-obvious fuzz at any moment, but who choose not to. It's reductive to call a band "mature" just because they aren't ear-splittingly loud, so...
Taylor Swift – “Out of the Woods”
Sarah and Moira are the queens of over thinking and the proud embarrassments of your Spotify feed. They chat about life, love, Buffalo, pop culture, social justice for sensitive girls, and pop music. They feel feminist guilt. They wax poetic. Today’s topic? Taylor...
New Look High Drags Release Latest Single, “Red White and Blue”
Our favorite (former)bi-coastal, brother/sister duo, High Drags, have reemerged this afternoon with their latest single, "Red White and Blue." Marissa and James Longstreet, High Drags' founding pair, have recently fleshed out to a five piece and permanently left their...
Stars – No One Is Lost
While watching the closing minutes of “High Fidelity,” an episode of Degrassi (circa 2006), I found myself entranced by the lyrics of its concluding song: “Live through this and you won’t look back.” After a little digging, I found out the song was “Your Ex-Lover Is...
Falconcat Releases Debut Single Via LIPS Records
This morning, Buffalo/Philadelphia based label, LIPS Records, announced the release of the debut album from Falconcat, the new project/moniker of Buffalo musician Tylor Colby (Imperials, Victory for Poland). The forthcoming album, titled Year of the Wooden Horse, is...
Steve Gunn – Way Out Weather
Weather is probably the most common topic brought up amongst strangers. And its broad, unrevealing nature was something Steve Gunn had in mind when putting together his new album, "Way Out Weather. “Way out weather is a common song,” Gunn sings on the album’s opener....
Tonight: Cheap Girls
Mohawk Place is a venue with more than a lot of history for Buffalonians and since it reopen last month, many bands will add to the esteemed venue's history. That said, few bands better reflect both where the venue has been and where it is going than the showcase of...
Europa & The Great Red Spot – Inside Voices
This week brings us yet another Rochester Album of the Week nod. Europa & The Great Red Spot's Inside Voices is a wonderfully understated LP full of fuzzy lo-fi gems. Riding mysteriously on a heavy space theme, it might as well be the sound of Europa itself...
Tonight: Merchandise
Big night of indie rock tonight at the Buffalo Iron Works when Tampa post punkers, Merchandise, and Copenhagen's Lower play that excellent Cobblestone district stage. 4AD Records buzz band are on tour in support of the well received After The End, an ambitious arena...
Genesee Live Releases Latest Session feat. Rountine Involvements
Late last week, Rochester's premiere live music session series, Genesee Live, debuted latest installment, this time around, featuring college rock duo, Routine Involvements. The two-piece's sound ranges from grunge to garage, with shades of shoegaze and 90s alt-rock...
Tonight: Pile
You know your band has to be good when a band as great as Krill writes their best album about how terrible they feel about how good you are. That's Pile, talented enough to make Jonah Furman feel bad and bastard enough to come to Buffalo while I'm out of town. So...
Tonight: Hardware Pop-Up Party
Tryna dance and get weird? Get to the back room of Allen Street Hardware tonight for a pop-up party featuring sets from Buffalo's finest and mind-fucking visuals from Malt Disney. SwaggleRock [Buzz Trillington & Shooter McNappin] [soundcloud...
Tonight: Overhand Sam
Tonight Allentown will be treated to a pretty eclectic mix at Dreamland (387 Franklin St. Set to perform is Rochester-based OHS (Overhand Sam), aka Sam Snyder who might look familiar from his other gig in Maybird. OHS'sound is full-bodied, sounding like a mix between...
October 10th
Doc Daneeka Feat. Seven Davis Jr. - "What's It Gonna Be?" Berlin producer Doc Daneeka scored a major club hit late last year with the infectious "Walk On In" featuring UK artist Ratcatcher. With a command of subtle changes in energy and strong vocal refrain, the...
Edwang and Duce return with some Gold
Buffalo producer Edwang is back with another dope collaborative effort with rapper Duce. A few months back, we covered The Duce Bootlegs, a wonderfully enjoyable project of happy hip hop. Their latest release together, Fifty Shades of Gold, switches things up a bit on...
SHEER MAG – “WHAT YOU WANT”
While perusing the calendar for upcoming events in the next couple of weeks this morning, we finally gave South Philly's SHEER MAG a listen, and are ecstatic we did. It's been the soundtrack of the office all morning. SHEER MAG is a relatively young band, starting...
Tonight: Pump It Up
Transmission Dance Party is returning to the back room of Hardware tonight for its latest event, Pump It Up. Unlike some other Transmission parties, Pump It Up doesn't have a specific theme (see Cure vs. Smiths Dance party), but rather the broad scope of indie and...
Tonight: Brief Candles
Hold your PBRs to the sky—Milwaukee shoegaze indie-rockers Brief Candles will be taking over Buffalo’s Mohawk Place later this evening for a night of droning and blissful dreamrock. Their music—thick, sludgy, and actually very pretty—does not easily draw comparisons,...
Foxygen’s …And Star Power
Back in the before times (in the long, long ago) I wrote an article about Foxygen’s second album, which was audaciously (and a bit pretentiously) titled We Are the 21st Century Ambassadors of Peace and Magic. The basic idea there was that Foxygen was channeling the...
Just Announced: Fleetwood Mac
Dreams do come true occasionally, like they did yesterday when it was announced that 70's and 80's stalwarts (and Pitchfork, NME, and Brooklyn Vegan* favorites), Fleetwood Mac, would be making a surprise return to the Queen City on January 31st, 2015. We'd been left...
Difficult Night
The Elmwood Village sure tried this past Saturday, but the weather was not on its side during the third installment of the Buffalo Porchfest. The skies started to clear up around 11am, and hope was in the air, but just as quickly, the clouds and rain returned and the...
Just Announced: Jeffrey Lewis
Kind of a slow day here in Buffalo so it may be worth noting that the up and coming Medina venue, Boiler 54, just booked a pretty cool act that should be on your radar. Jeffrey Lewis, the wordy folk-punk pocket philosopher, will be playing the venue on Wednesday,...
DJ Pizza Pizza Serves Up “Slice 34”
Quickly becoming one of our favorite Buffalo personalities, DJ Pizza Pizza has released his 34th song this morning, aptly titled "Slice 34." Yung Zza is not only a cut and splicer, but produces organic instrumental tracks a la Madlib or Flying Lotus. "Slice 34" turns...
Arvid Releases First Song From Forthcoming Album
We haven't heard much from Rochester act, Arvid, since this past spring when he released the 90's alt-rock tinged album, Old Factory Living. Early this morning, the one man band returned to tease his forthcoming album with a new song titled "Fever Dream." Moving away...
Vince Staples – Hell Can Wait
One thing that can be said about Los Angeles rapper, Vince Staples, for certain is that he does not have a bad verse to his name. Although he is a friend to the Odd Future crew, musically he couldn't be more different. The 21-year-old has the soul of one of his West...
Newish Star Shares Previously Unreleased Track, “Food Chain”
After a fairly busy morning, we thought this today's content would be suffice enough to take the afternoon off to go grab a Chippy Sandwich down in South Buffalo. Turns out, Newish Star debuted to the internet an unreleased b-side from their original Look Both Ways...
Various Artists – “God Only Knows”
Yesterday, the BBC released the video for their tribute to The Beach Boys legendary 1966 single "God Only Knows" featuring Brian Wilson and a tremendous all star cast of musicians, and it is beyond sublime. The Pet Sounds classic and "teenage symphony to God" got the...
Tonight: Bayside
Tonight, Bayside is playing at the Waiting Room... But fans of Bayside probably already know that - they refer to themselves as a cult. For those Buffalonians who haven't been indoctrinated yet, think passionate pop-punk/emo with a monster discography a la Saves the...
Bryan Johnson & Family Signs to Admirable Traits, Releases “Dead Fox” Single
Local lake-pop act, Bryan Johnson & Family, have announced that their new EP, Cool Your Jets, will be released next month via Admirable Traits, a record label with Buffalo and Brooklyn roots. The album's first single, "Dead Fox," just premiered this morning, and...
Tonight: II Sogno Del Marinaio with Mike Watt
The Sportsmen's Tavern is like the forgotten step child on Christmas, somehow ending up overlooked while everyone else got presents. In all fairness, the Sportsmen is really easy to skip over, especially if you don’t live in Black Rock. For the Allentown and West Side...
Danimal Cannon Drops Latest Chip Tunes Single, “Love Live New Fresh”
Buffalo's most popular chiptunes producer, Danimal Cannon, released early this morning his first material in close to ten months. The single "Long Live New Fresh" stays in Cannon's realm of expertise, with glitchy, gameboy music combined with upbeat tempo's, providing...
Pile
Editor’s Note: Local musician John Toohill (JOHNS and Alpha Hopper) will occasionally sit down with touring bands and ask them some questions. For his latest installment, he spoke with Matt Becker of Boston's Pile, set to play Buffalo this Sunday, October 12th,...
Bill & Jamie’s House
The words Bill & Jamie’s House may give you thoughts of stuffy, pompous dinners and cocktail parties, events where you find yourself surrounded by professors and PhD students who manage to speak a lot of words without saying anything. Needless to say, Bill &...
Weezer – Everything Will Be Alright in the End
Make no mistake: despite the well-trodden narrative of 21st century Weezer as the sad, emotionally dead carcass of a once-great rock institution, the past 14 years have been good to Rivers Cuomo and co. Though critical and fan consensus regards their work in the 2000s...
Column 12: Beauty in the Ugly – The Music of Gone Girl
**Warning - This article features mild spoilers for the film Gone Girl** The first memorable musical moment of David Fincher's recent film, Gone Girl, takes place in a flashback as protagonists Nick (Ben Affleck) and Amy (Rosamund Pike) trade witticisms before...
Tonight: TOKiMONSTA
TOKiMONSTA will be returning to Buffalo tonight to shower an ecstatic crowd with eclectic sample constructions that translate into dreamy beat-scapes. A conjurer of syncopated enchantment, her samples are results of devout vinyl rummaging and by combining these clips...
Tonight: We/Ours
Minnapolis noise quartet, We/Ours, will be making a West Side stop this evening as part of a solid showcase down at the Glitter Box. Featuring members of Casual Users, Frozen Teens and the Sundowners, We/Ours are a fuzz-noise band with the ability create hooks...
Just Announced: The Tragically Hip
Buffalo's favorite Canadian act, the Tragically Hip, will be returning to town this spring, Saturday, April 18th, with a show set for the First Niagara Center. After a triumphant solo set this past summer at Canalside, Gord Downie and crew will be making their annual...
A Hotel Nourishing – Empty Gesture EP
For those of you who still cannot comprehend how A Hotel Nourishing is just two people—guitarist Sonny Baker and drummer Cameron Rogers—you’re not alone. I, too, have struggled with this concept since the band’s conception over seven years ago. Anyone who has seen the...
Today: Buffalo Porchfest
Well, its pretty awful out. After almost two straight weeks of nearly perfect weather, its currently pouring. But, the Elmwood Village's third installment of the Buffalo Porchfest will continue on. Many of the porches that volunteer do have some sort of covering....
Tonight: Code Orange Kids
Code Orange Kids live up to their name in age only. Though they are young, they have an extremely mature grip on their hardcore, punk sound. Signed to Deathwish, they have already toured, recorded with, and garnered praise from genre greats such as members of...
Thom Yorke – Tomorrow’s Modern Boxes
Over the years, Radiohead frontman Thom Yorke has garnered attention as a sort of outspoken purveyor of electronic music. Upon being asked what he would pick if he had to choose between using a guitar or the medium of electronic production for the rest of his life, he...
Tonight: A Hotel Nourishing EP Release Show
After a dark, seven-year hiatus, A Hotel Nourishing (Sonny Baker and Cam Rogers) returns tonight to release some new music, the deeply textured and haunting Empty Gesture EP. The band will be taking the stage at the recently re-opened Mohawk Place, so get ready for a...
The RealBads Drop “Prom Night” Music Video
Beyond paying attention to the music scene in Buffalo and Rochester, we like to explore a bit in Ithaca and Syracuse's music scene. Today was a good day to poke around, because Ithaca's the Realbads just released their debut video, "Prom Night," off the forthcoming...
God Help The Girl Opens at the North Park Theatre
One of the most exciting development in Buffalo this year has been the rebirth of the venerable North Park Theatre on Hertel Avenue. Beyond the wonderful ongoing renovation efforts restoring the theater to a condition minter than in our wildest dreams, it's the...
Tweedy w/Hospitality @ Town Ballroom (10/1/14)
Jeff Tweedy was met with an uproar of approval after telling the packed Town Ballroom “You guys are the best audience we’ve had, hands down.” No doubt his claim was validated—the Wilco frontman played over a two hour set for the adoring crowd. His new solo outfit,...
Tonight: Giant Panda Guerilla Dub Squad
Catch three of Rochester's best acts on one bill tonight at the Tralf to support Giant Panda Guerilla Dub Squad. The boundary-bending reggae act is known for their live shows, and they truly put the jam in jam band. Their latest album, Steady dropped September 30th on...
Tonight: Ab-Soul
After Dark presents hip hop artist Ab-Soul at Waiting Room tonight. Hailing from California, the rapper, born Herbert Anthony Stevens IV, has had a long winding road that has led him to where he is now. He has had three albums released and has been featured and...
Jon Lewis Releases Animated Video For “Tomorrow”
Earlier this week, we came across the new music video for "Tomorrow," a Jens Lekman-esque track from Rochester singer/songwriter, Jon Lewis. The animated clip, which was directed by Johnny Mchone (Adult Swim's Mr. Pickles), features a reflective, gumby-like man...