Red’s Motel – Chapters End
Red's Motel has spent the better part of the last year brewing up their debut album, Chapters End. The band, led by the enigmatic Red Hawes, is a three-piece indie/alternative rock act based in Maryland who have been making plenty of waves in their local scene,...
Davis Gestiehr – I’m Always Lying… Make Me Famous
Twenty-three year old Davis Gestiehr is spring-loaded with youthful energy, evident on his latest release, I'm Always Lying... Make Me Famous (IALMMF). The four song EP finds the wunderkind exploring various sounds reminiscent of Arctic Monkeys, The Replacements, and...
Soft Mothers – Hysterical Love
San Antonio's Soft Mothers (SM) were formed in 2016 by Luis Rocha. Since then, they've released a steady stream of alternative-rock flavored music full of angsty guitar energy, heavily inspired by mid/late '90s and early 2000's post-hardcore and grunge. Their latest...
Jovi Skyler – Call It A Day
Last time we checked in with Sydney's Jovi Skyler, we were reviewing the ten-song LP Nothing To Do, full of Jovi's unique blend of punk and psychedelic rock with a fun, raw approach. Having embodied the spirit of the '90s with a DIY twist, we found his music to be...
Stinkus – 23
Stinkus (aka Tyler Thompson) is gearing up to release their first true body of solo work, a magnum opus of hazy bedroom-pop-meets-slacker-rock called 23. Having previously had success with their other bands WILD and girlhouse (and some stints producing for other bands...
Summer Like The Season – Aggregator
We're not sure if we could consider "outsider rock" a burgeoning genre, but it's no longer reserved for left-field listening parties and music lovers looking for a challenge. Continuing in the footsteps of The Shaggs and Mort Garson (or maybe more like Marnie Stern...
SEER SEEKER – TO THE CORE
Virginia indie-hip-hop act SEER SEEKER is here with an electrifying blend of genres on their debut release, the eight-song TO THE CORE. Blending hardcore intensity with a hip-hop core (and more than a bit of glorious late '90s/early '00s nu-metal nostalgia), this...
Cipriani – Meek
Swiss singer/songwriter Claudio Cipriani is hot off of the release of his latest offering, Meek (February 29, 2024). If the auspicious leap year release date wasn't indication enough of this EP's transcendent qualities, a full listen through Cipriani's work will have...
Jared Bill – Mystery Man
There's something intangible about the latest album from country act Jared Bill... Or maybe the word I'm looking for is tongue-in-cheek? Either way, the rock-tinged country of his sophomore album, Mystery Man, is a compelling journey of flavorful storytelling, fun...
The Daze – Methomania
Winters in the Northeast are no joke - I surely don't need to tell any of our Buffalonian readers that. Our neighbors across Lake Erie in Cleveland might know a thing or two about how to get through a brutal winter, too... Something like: watch your football team lose...
Jenny Rubicon – Greedy
Jenny Rubicon (JR) is a fresh-faced indie rock act hailing from NYC composed of James Bannon and Max Chomet - the duo's evolution from collegiate friends with differing musical opinions to co-songwriters in a band is a wild one, but it's these unlikely pairings that...
Into The Light – Into The Light
Rochester-based act Into The Light formed in 2022 and boasts an impressive pedigree of Rochester talent - think members of Bad Bloom, Union, Hard To Know, The Silence Broken, and Achilles. This particular crew is influenced by shoegaze, indie rock, and post-hardcore...
Kramer – Sitting Alone Suite
You might not believe him when he tells you, but despite having almost no social media presence, newly-minted act Kramer won a Grammy in 2023 (!). Having worked as a record producer and as a "behind the scenes guy" for years, social media was never a necessity for...
Backstrom – The Carousel
Swedish act Backstrom is gearing up to release their latest batch of songs - The Carousel, due out January 18th, 2024. The Carousel is a potent mix of folk, rock, and country tunes composed by songwriter/project mastermind Backstrom and sung by vocalist Bart Topher. A...
Just Leila – Just For Me
Originally hailing from Morocco, Just Leila (aka singer/songwriter Leila ليلى Moussaoui) grew up with a diverse set of influences, including jazz, Arabic melodies, French pop, and the rhythm of R&B. An avid traveler, Leila's wanderlust seems to have creeped into...
Nate Logston – Marriages & Divorces
Indiana-based singer-songwriter Nate Logston is on his fifth (!) full length album. His songwriting is dripping with experience and the hard-earned scars that come with being a seasoned musician (and life-liver, for that matter). His latest offering is the 11-song...
Joker’s Hand – Pride Before The Panic
LA-based duo Joker's Hand (JH) are mad, and for good reason. Everything kinda sucks right now in general (I don't think I need to elaborate on that much further)... But one of the greatest outlets for releasing said emotions is music, and JH have honed in their...
LongRoad – Faith in Greater Things?
It's been a, *ahem,* long road for New Jersey-based act LongRoad, but they seem to have all come out on the other side. Formed from a trio of Rutherfordians (NJ) and Vermont's Ted Ames, the quartet originally met at the Knitting Factory in NYC and immediately...
Hot Spoon, Cold Mango – Paws on Ears
"What is it that you see when told stories that have no pictures?" An interesting question posed by Stephen Meeker, the individual behind Hot Spoon, Cold Mango. The curiously-named project (which also includes Stephen's lover) was conceived after the duo used a warm...
James Bannon – Heat Ghosts
James Bannon is a New Jersey-based act who just released the six-song EP Heat Ghosts (HG). Full of folksy strumming and plenty of 90s-era adult contemporary flavors, HG tells several poignant stories of love, loss, and human connections. Album opener "Kitchens...
Playing With Fireworks – Runaway
Playing With Fireworks (PWF) is the moniker of Luke Underhill. The Chicago, IL native is here with a new sound, shedding his singer songwriter roots for something a bit more lush and expressive. The result of this new identity is a fresh, new EP, Runaway, a four-song...
Vast Robot Armies – The What Gallery
Vast Robot Armies (VRA) has existed for the better part of a decade, an impressive feat for any band. VRA rose from the ashes of many respected projects, think The Life and Times; Sometimes Why; Shiner; Failure; and Sundiver - bandleader Jason Thomson used his veteran...
Chris Portka – Trash Music (Vinyl)
A few months ago, we reviewed Chris Portka's Trash Music (you can read our original review here) - as a creative, challenging, and utterly unique work of art, Trash Music goes down, at least in our annals, as one of the most left-field recordings we've ever had the...
Chief Broom – Hidden in Plain Sight
The story of Chief Broom (CB) is sadly a tragic one. Centered around the songwriting of Shadrach Tuck, this revolving cast of Boise, Idaho natives create songs that focus on "the fragility, monotony, beauty and horrors of everyday life." Crafted in the wake of the...
Casual Confrontation – Marriage Culture
Casual Confrontation is the stage name of Frankie Diez, a Romanian born artist who grew up in Puerto Rico and Miami before landing in Nashville. He's here with his latest album, Marriage Culture, a sprawling and expansive 17-song offering that promises a look at the...
Idledaze – Sandbox
Sandbox is a seven song EP from Whitewater, Wisconsin-based one man band Idledaze, released in anticipation of a full length album due out spring of 2024. Idledaze performs as a solo act but also does cover projects as a the Idledaze Trio with a setlist that spans...
Ravetank – Echoes From Feedback Mountain
When you get a heads up that an album you're about to enjoy is classified as "absurdist noise folk," you kind of already know what you're getting yourself into... Or maybe, its more likely that you don't actually have any possible clue. Either way, the latest LP from...
James Beastly – Junk Values
James Beastly. The man, the myth, the legend. One listen through the blistering punk/alternative/slacker/??? vibes of his latest album, Junk Values, and you'll be thinking the same thing. He's self-described as "too indie to be punk and too punk to be indie" and we...
Couch Cult – The Couch Cult EP
Couch Cult started the same as many new acts - a passion project that rose, like a phoenix, out of the ashes of the pandemic. This particular trio watched, ostensibly, from a basement window as the world woke up again. This re-awakening of the world inspired their...
Made of Mana – Made of Mana
Made of Mana (MoM) is a jazz-infused quartet from San Francisco, and their self-titled EP was recently released July 28 - in anticipation an LP coming later this year. MoM is made up of four lifelong friends (Phil, Sean, Dane, Alec) who have worked together previously...
Unca John – Midlife Crisis Vanity Project
Midlife Crisis Vanity Project (MCVP)... Without even writing any words of my own, the title kind of says it all. Unca John is a Baltimore-based singer-songwriter hiding behind his secret identity as an economics professor. He's emerging out of the shadows to debut his...
The Freeloaders – Cheap & Used
Pittsburgh-based act The Freeloaders are a band that knows their roots. There's never a wrong time to acknowledge where you come from, and this quartet certainly does that (and does it well) on their latest LP, Cheap & Used. This ten song collection is full of...
Liquid Pennies – A Wake-Ending
St. Petersburg based act Liquid Pennies specialize in an indie-psych sound that toes the oh-so fine line between concise and abstract. After hammering out a new batch of tunes on stage, in between shows, and even on a live radio performance, they're back with a...
Bathe Alone – Fall With The Lights Down
Atlanta musician Bailey Crone, better known as Bathe Alone, recently released the latter half of her double EP Fall With The Lights Down (Velma). That, along with, Side A: (Louise), August 4th, completes the homage to her great-grandmothers; whose pictures adorn the...
Talking To Shadows – Lost
Talking to Shadows continues to amaze their listeners with their second EP, aptly titled Lost. Recently released on Bandcamp and streaming everywhere on July 21st, 2023, Lost absolutely solidifies the band's reputation as riffy shoegazers. Cat Van Glide’s ethereal...
Porcelain Tongue – Goodbye Peggy
Porcelain Tongue is here to talk about loss - the tellingly-titled Goodbye Peggy is their latest offering, a stark title for a hard look at what it means to lose somebody you love. The sophomore release from this Boise-based quartet is a shoegaze-tinged approach that...
The Cast-Iron Canaries – Propagaga
It's hard to believe that the 90s were 30+ years ago, but here we are in 2023... And that means grimy punk rock act The Cast-Iron Canaries are celebrating a milestone anniversary of their 1993 EP, Propagaga. Although the band thought their work had been lost forever,...
Shaven Primates – Birds Aren’t Real
Shaven Primates are a five-piece from Oxford, UK who hit our inboxes with the "alt thought" experiment of their latest EP, Birds Arent Real. The band exists to push the boundaries of independent rock music, typically challenging both ears and brains simultaneously...
Le Big Zero – At Arm’s Length
The perpetually rotating (but nevertheless crucial) members of Le Big Zero (LBZ) have persevered through a lot... Think cross-country moves; DIY tours; and the aforementioned revolving door of necessary-but-temporary bandmates. Since you're reading this review, it's...
Graffiti Welfare – Revolving Shores
Denver’s Graffiti Welfare (aka, mastermind George Lattimore) makes music to disassociate to. That’s not a dig in any sense of the word – in fact, the lush reverbs and cavernous vocal presence make for an otherworldly experience, perfect for simultaneously zoning out...
Duster – Stratosphere
It's hard to believe that 1998 was 25 years ago... And it's even harder to believe that 25 years after the fact, San Jose's Duster has found viral success on TikTok, of all places. Not to say the band doesn't deserve it - their mercurial blend of "home recording...
In Search Of – Alice and the Wonderland
Our latest feature comes from Los Angeles-based act In Search Of. The eclectic duo is here with a unique take on a literature staple, re-told through the lens of pop rock. It's called Alice and the Wonderland, and you can listen to it on Spotify right now. You may...
chris portka – trash music
California bay area-based artist Chris Portka has always dreamt of being a musician. With his roots dating back to the dirty, blistering grunge of the '90s, a young portka followed his heart... He fought past crippling stage fright; anxiety attacks during Elliot Smith...
Disco Sam – American Nightlife
In this infinite void of new music, few acts have the ability to transport your mind to a world of infectious rhythms, cheeky melodies, and fun bedroom-pop quirkiness quite like Disco Sam. He's about to release a brand new EP, his 7th (!), one he's calling American...
ROREY – “Apt 7d”
There's no shortage of NYC-based acts that have changed music... The Strokes, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Interpol - basically any band you'd have seen or read about in the semi-recent Meet Me In The Bathroom documentary. With The Strokes having won a Grammy for The New...
Anya Baghina – Anya Baghina
Anya Baghina, who you may know as a member of the Detroit-based act, Soviet Girls, has called many different places home – Moscow, New Jersey, nearby Ithaca, Detroit, Brooklyn, and then Russia again. Longtime collaborator Jonathan Franco has been accompanying Baghina...
Roscoe Tripp – A Cage Made of Tin
On Roscoe Tripp’s upcoming offering, the five-song A Cage Made of Tin, the band dives deep into a refreshing indie rocking sound, leaning heavily into moody expressions of guitar, synth, and other ambiance. Lead singer Greg Fine has relinquished the reins of...
Babe Rainbow – Fresh As A Head of Lettuce
Psychedelic. Permaculture-farming. Surf-cultists. These are just a few of the self-described terms that Babe Rainbow uses to self-identify, and they are a perfect encapsulation of their sun-soaked, indie-psych sound. The quartet is here with their latest EP, Fresh As...
Aleesha Dibbs – Paradise Lost
Aleesha Dibbs might be one of the hardest-working musicians in the world... At the very least in the top 5%. Having cut her teeth in a ton of different bands, (Dive Bell, Prudence, Lorelei, Double Vision, Mvlholland, Lisa Mitchell, and Angus and Julia Stone just to...
Arson Whales – Galactopus
As the pandemic raged and live music opportunities closed, the members of Arson Whales (AW) found each other at the perfect time. Since founding in 2021, the group has honed their sound, falling somewhere on the spectrum between psychedelic rock, nu-disco, and...