Latest Posts

Huns – Vom Fruhling

November 3, 2017

The Buffalo trio Huns give you what you need and none of the filler with their eclectic brand of instrumental rock/metal. Finding your fix for instrumental music that strikes a balance between interesting and listenable can be a challenge. Sometimes, that sonic pendulum can swing. A song may simply be a repetition of the same riff or beat or it’ll be an instrumental that’s so far out there, it turns into being different for difference sake. Which is why what Huns are able to do on their album, Vom Fruhling is such a riveting journey. Made up of members, Brandon Schmitt on guitar, Jake Whitefield on bass, and Frank DiMaria on drums, Huns make a huge, interesting sound with a few moving parts. It’s tough to know exactly what their pedal boards might look like, but chances are it’s varied enough to attain the breadth of sounds they’re able to[...]

Dirt War - Loss

Dirt War – Loss

October 26, 2017

Cascading down from some place on high comes falling to earth, hardcore doom rockers Dirt War with  their newly released EP, Loss. Formed from the missing and severed limbs of various Buffalo groups, it’s possible you haven’t heard Dirt War yet. Their last recording was a Demo from 2015. But after giving Loss a listen, it won’t be easy to forget them. In the realm of doom, stoner, metal/rock, things can get both stale and confusing. With multiple different classifications and genres floating around, and a tendency for some bands to simply sit back and hash out a groove for 20 minutes, the realm has its fair share of bands that, well, tend to sound the same. Either by accident or design. But, on Loss, Dirt War go left instead of right. The band uses a dual bass setup and forgets about guitars all together. This isn’t a gimmick, it’s a[...]

Zillion Eyes – Demolished

October 9, 2017

Buffalo sludge rockers, Zillion Eyes are front and center with the release of their latest, Demolished, that came out mid September. Zillion Eyes are no newcomers to the scene either, the project consists of former members of Sonorous Gale and Ancients of Earth.  The trio showcase a solid collection of heavy riffs on this five track outing. For those that may not be familiar with sludge or stoner rock, or for those who have been all over the genre for years, Demolished is a step in a different direction from where the genre usually finds itself. The opening track, “Splendor In The Gas,” sets the pace for the rest of the album and shows some of what sets Zillion Eyes apart. There’s a hint of a 70s space/funk vibe throughout the record that really works in setting off the atmosphere of Demolished. Combined with the slow, crushing riffs, hallmarks of stoner/sludge, the album is chilling experience, in both senses[...]

The Slums – Bloodsucker

September 15, 2017

The Slums describe their band as ‘loud rock ‘n’ roll’ and their music as ‘loud songs,’ a pair of phrases that perfectly describe their latest EP, Bloodsucker. In fact, they’re pretty much the hallmarks of the record. Bloodsucker explodes like a house of fire on the opening title track; a barrage of powerful swagger, cacophonous screams and jarring cymbal crashes.. However, the Slums quickly pump the brakes on the subsequent “Black Dress,” proving they aren’t mere pomp and circumstance by tempering the pace with angular riffs and soaring hooks. This goes until the final 40 seconds or so, when the band brings the noise back to your speakers once the track devolves into a sea of discordant shrieks, wailing guitars and loud percussion. The closing “Eight Months” represents the best of Bloodsucker’s trio of tunes, effectively combining the bands ability to craft stirring melodies and still crank everything to 11[...]

Pink Elephant – Around Your Neck

September 4, 2017

Rochester garage/noise-rock outfit, Pink Elephant are hot off their recently released single, and have dropped a new LP, Around Your Neck on 20 Blood Records. The four piece consists of Eric Witkowski on vocals and guitar, Greg Wilcox rocking the bass, Jeff Thompson banging on the drums, and Nick Walter rounding out the group on guitar. Around Your Neck is a conjoined effort to put out some solid tracks that bridge the gap between pysch-noise and post-rock. What sets Around Your Neck apart from other alt-rock records is with its diversity. There’s so much going on with the record that things never get stale, like week old bread left out on the counter. These songs aren’t a band trying to reinvent themselves, or a band straining to be “different”. Instead, this diversity just shows how strong Pink Elephant are as a band. Songs like the title track, “Around Your Neck”[...]

Manchester Orchestra – A Black Mile to the Surface

August 4, 2017

Indie rock stalwarts Manchester Orchestra have returned with their fifth album, A Black Mile to the Surface. It follows a several year gap that saw the departure of multi-instrumentalist Chris Freeman, the birth of founding member Andy Hull’s daughter, as well as Hull and lead-guitarist Robert McDowell scoring the Daniel Radcliffe-Paul Dano led film Swiss Army Man. The new record is yet another departure in sonic aesthetic, something the band has done with every release throughout their career. Starting out in the emo realm with I’m Like a Virgin Losing a Child in 2006, it has been a meteoric rise the last 11 years, with the band expanding and advancing their sound every step of the way, as they became one of alternative music’s more beloved acts. Each record has been a new experience that both builds on and pivots away from the previous one, first with supercharged alt.-rock (Mean[...]

Slow Dancer - In A Mood

Slow Dancer – In A Mood

July 7, 2017

“Less is more.” It may be one of those little things you’ve heard flutter by you, said on a commercial or by a wise elderly neighbor. So, in trying to be on the lookout for new and exciting music, the idea of “less is more” is sometimes not a criteria that’s really ever considered. The new record titled, In A Mood by Slow Dancer, released on ATO Records on June 9th, wants to make you rethink that notion. Slow Dancer is the stage name for vocalist and multi-instrumentalist, Simon Okely who hails from Melbourne, Austrailia. The strongest element on In A Mood is Okely’s vocals which are smooth yet powerful, like a croon that reaches out to touch you. The vocals are supported by a mix of throwback 60s and 70s folk and blues with strong pop song-writing. Everything is kept in harmony, never letting one element over power another.[...]

Supergoner – A Really Good Friend

July 3, 2017

Buffalo 90s indie rock outfit Supergoner has come back into the light after a break with the release of their album A Really Good Friend. With guitarists Sean Wild and Mike Fuller experiencing fatherhood and drummer Bill O’Connor moving to a farm in Watkins Glen, the band took a bit of a hiatus from Supergoner. The band has been a part of the Buffalo indie scene since 2003, with three of the members coming from the defunct Concubine, and bassist Lisa Yamagishi rounding out the group. A lot of the guitar work on A Really Good Friend pays homage to indie rock in the ‘90s. The guitar solo on “A Lot of Nothing” is reminiscent of the guitar stylings of a Dinosaur Jr. song; loud, smooth and rolling. Heavier guitar work comes out on “White Lines,” with the guitars coming in along the lines of punk, but also returning to the lighter side[...]

Amber Arcades – Cannonball EP

May 29, 2017

Two days may not seem like a lot of time to cut an EP, but Dutch artist Amber Arcades (aka Annelotte de Graaf) finished the Cannonball EP during her time off in New York from touring supporting Nada Surf. The EP follows the release of de Graaf’s debut album Fading Lines last year, which featured members of Real Estate, Quilt, and The Men. Nick Drake’s “Which Will” gets a new twist from de Graaf, trading Drake’s acoustics for an electric punch through the guitars. While it is a different interpretation sonically, the cover still pays homage to the message of the song, carrying a strong feeling of somberness as de Graaf’s vocals light the way through the hazy Krautrock instrumentals. On the third track “Wouldn’t Even Know,” Bill Ryder-Jones adds depth to the track with his somber crooning, which pairs well with the contrast of de Graaf’s lighter voice. The[...]

No, seriously by Hate Club

Hate Club – No, seriously

May 25, 2017

Hate Club is an Albany based band that exhibits all of the raucous and raw energy you’d want to find in an indie pop/slacker group. On April 19, Hate Club released their debut EP titled, No, seriously. It’s a refreshing 4 track outing that packs a punch. The 4 piece, consisting of Audrey Goodemote on vocals/guitar, Noah Bondy on vocals/guitar, Alex Brooks on bass, and Ethan Sullivan filling out the drums, are a relatively new band, only coming together in January 2017. The band describes themselves as Tweemo, a nice sounding portmanteau (unlike most other ones) of twee and emo. Vocalists Goodemote and Bondy trade off vocal duties, striking a balanced approach with neither band member overshadowing the other. Their voices mixed together have a dreamy quality to them, like wisps of smoke from two separate sources weaving in and out of each other. This particular sound quality is aided[...]

Julie Byrne – Not Even Happiness

January 27, 2017

There’s something about the songcraft of downstate-based singer-songwriter Julie Byrne that appeals to more than just the ears. Her music, at once spectral and tangible, whisks the listener to Byrne’s weightless place of soft melodies and personal experience. And it is this very suspension in which Byrne spends most of her latest album, Not Even Happiness. A sprawling musical simplicity contrasts the album’s deepest exploration of feeling, in what can be considered one of the most striking collections of songs so far this year. Musically, Byrne channels artists like Cat Power, Leonard Cohen, and Sufjan Stevens, all of whom with music that shares innate, personal elements. Not Even Happiness uses that element liberally, with tracks that explore the places, namely the Pacific Northwest, and feelings of Byrne’s most recent years. The expansive skies and ebbing tides of this record almost purposefully paint it a faint blue, with songs that breathe[...]

SURVIVE – RR7349

October 11, 2016

The second half of 2016 has been a very good to Austin, Texas electronic band SURVIVE. The preposterous viral success of Stranger Things on Netflix this summer catapulted the largely unknown band into the public’s imagination thanks to adoring articles from Pitchfork, NME, and AV Club, a hot two volume soundtrack album from band members Kyle Dixon and Michael Stein, the show’s obsessive fans, and the band is making the most of it with a national tour and a well timed sophomore album, RR7349. But could it live up to the expectations that come from sudden increases in attention, and could it exist separately from Stranger Things? The answer on both counts is definitely. SURVIVE as a full band trades emotive minimalism for glacial synths and pulsating, widescreen vistas that occupy an entirely different sonic space. The layered sounds of RR7349 conjure 80’s futurism, bleak coldness and human struggle, to create subdued but epic soundtracks for movies[...]

Prince Daddy & the Hyena – I Thought You Didn’t Even Like Leaving

September 7, 2016

Do you like Bomb The Music Industry!? Do you like PUP? Do you like Weezer?  Do you like WEED? If you answered any of those questions, you should probably go put on I Thought You Didn’t Even Like Leaving by Prince Daddy & The Hyena.  Hailing from Albany, NY, the four piece has been ripping it up in the DIY circuit since the release of their two tapes, Skip Cutscenes! Blow Loud! and Adult Summers, which we loved. After signing with emo super label of sorts, Broken World Media, the group really started picking up speed. Simply put, I Thought You Didn’t Even Like Leaving somehow pulls off being a total fucking blast, while still tugging at the heartstrings. From the driving title track to the all too easy to relate to album closer, Really?, P Daddy takes no breaks. The album boasts nine brand spankin’ new tracks, as well as clean sounding re recordings[...]

De La Soul – and the Anonymous Nobody…

September 2, 2016

It isn’t easy being De La Soul. Almost from the start, the struggle has been real for the Long Island trio: instead of enjoying immediate cultural impact of their debut album Three Feet High And Rising and it’s idiosyncratic and irreverently funny explorations of hip hop and it’s possibilities, they got to be sued over a sample not even used in a hit song by the utterly forgotten original artist (Flo and Eddy?). They refused to be pigeonholed by fans and critics, confounding both on subsequent albums De La Soul Is Dead and Buhloon Mind State, and have seen their whole catalog get trapped in legal and record label Hell. After all this there was much rejoicing when the band announced that they were working a new album, their first in eleven years, and more when it arrived last week. Made possible by a resoundingly successful Kickstarter/Go Fund Me/whatever campaign, and the Anonymous Nobody by De La Soul finds Pos,[...]

Governess – (Let Me Be Your) Governess

August 10, 2016

Have you ever partied so hard that you blacked out? If so, think of that last thing you remembered happening when you woke up the next day. Whatever that may be is what Governess sounds like. The bands’ debut album, (Let Me Be Your) Governess is a foul blast of fresh air to purify your poisoned hearts, and gleefully torch your saccharine souls. The concept of “rock n’ roll” has been twisted into so many different forms over the years but at the root of all the best kinds is attitude, energy, and some sort of lust, which this album is soaked in. You can’t fake this; sure you can try, but the kids always suss out the posers and this should pass any test you wanna throw at it. There are many influences heard on Governess’ debut (hard rock, 70’s sleaze, vintage punk, & a sprinkling of metal, in case[...]