Latest Posts

Letter to Elise – the five stages of grief

September 24, 2026

Team Reba! Never in my life did I think I’d be typing that for any reason, but here we are.   This week, we’re celebrating Letter to Elise, who is fresh off an appearance on NBC’s The Voice – a really, really cool opportunity, especially for an independent rock band from our neck of the woods. The Buffalo-based five-piece tout themselves as a “Rust Belt Rock ‘n Roll” band who write their songs with their blue collar hearts… I think that’s fair enough and technically true, but to my ears, this quintet is writing smartly-crafted pop rock, polished far past rust into a mirror-finish shine. Their latest album, the five stages of grief (which I will henceforth be referring to as grief), is razor-sharp and unapologetically glossy, taking cues from indie-pop luminaries like Neon Trees and Walk the Moon, and/or Heartland-esque rockers like The Killers to make a legit run[...]

The Rainlamps – “You Wrote My Favorite Song”

September 22, 2026

Indie-folksters The Rainlamps are gearing up to release a new album and they’re teasing us with the release of lead single, “You Wrote My Favorite Song.” Taking cues from bands like The Decemberists, Pavement, Belle & Sebastian, and Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin, “You Wrote My Favorite Song” details the act of “holding music like private treasure.” Stabs of guitar and breathy vocals burst out overtop jangly acoustic guitar and a trembling mandolin. It’s warm, fuzzy, and genuinely uplifting sounding… and if you’re a fan of “feeling sad at first and feeling happier 31 minutes later” (their words not ours), we think this one’s a dead ringer for you.   Down In The Bush Leagues comes out October 16th, 2026. Until then, get hyped on “You Wrote My Favorite Song,” embedded below via Bandcamp. Down In The Bush Leagues by The Rainlamps

DON’T WATCH TV – 99 DEGREES

September 17, 2026

Is a Buffalo Boy Band finally having a moment? Even during the prolonged periods of poptimism, nostalgia, and the heyday of music blog publication darlings Brockhampton, we can’t recall a boy band-y boy band demanding much coverage around the 716. But maybe the time’s upon us.   99 DEGREES, the debut project from Western New York pop rap group DON’T WATCH TV, is powered by Y2K influence. Sometimes it’s Pharrell (any iteration of Pharrell), and sometimes it’s One Direction, but it’s always a familiar energy. DON’T WATCH TV may not be a familiar name, but the group has been laying the groundwork and crafting their sound between Buffalo and Rochester in recent years.    Nic, Hirco, C3die and Austin Kelley each bring a growing local fanbase to the project, which is fair to call a collective as well as a boy band. C3DIE and Hirko serve as the primary vocalists[...]

Raybees – Seed Funding from the Federal Government

September 10, 2026

It’s Raybees, baybee. Live from the dungeon? Live from the sunroom? Who even knows how songs like these originate? There are only a few things that we do know: 1.) Buffalo-based songwriter Jacob Smolinski is at it again – Raybees is another vehicle for his uber-prolific musical output. 2.) This six-song EP doesn’t even breach six (6) minutes in length. 3.) These songs are weird as hell.   Ok fair enough – here’s a little background. Consider Seed Funding from the Federal Government a palate cleanser, if you will. Smolinski made a conscientious effort this time around to put out some music that felt a little less meticulously crafted than, say, Reaper, Take My Life For Free!. Being a songwriter is hard when you’re also a full time IT guy or insurance adjuster or human resources assistant, so off the clock, Smolinski turned to creating these noisy nugs as a way[...]

Tough Old Bird – “Come Back, Come Back”

September 2, 2026

Tough Old Bird keeps on keeping on – the fourth song in a string of successive singles that has seen the band put out a new song every three (3) weeks. The process of releasing music is cathartic, especially at a pace like that, and “Come Back, Come Back” embodies that expression. It’s carried by a trembling tremolo guitar; beautiful folksy harmonies; and a slow crawl tempo that really highlights the band’s penchant for modern folk songcraft, especially their super-tight live vibe, which they took extra effort to capture (excellently) here.   “Come Back, Come Back” is available on bandcamp (below), Spotify, and Apple Music.   Come Back, Come Back by Tough Old Bird

Urge Surfer – Camp Club

September 1, 2026

Urge Surfer, a duo of multi-instrumentalists made up of Jordan Maelyn Smith and Chelsea O’Donnell (of Stress Dolls) recently packed up a bunch of modular synths, acoustic guitars, and other gear, and headed out to rural WNY for “Urge Surfer Summer Camp.” The result of their isolation, the new/unfamiliar locale, and a weekend of collaboration is their new EP, Camp Club.   Releasing music is hard… and stressful… and often a labor of love. So this time around, the duo focused on something novel – having fun. The songs were finished up and released quickly, because that’s what making music is about – doing art with your friends so you can eventually create more art. The duo’s work with modular synths is absolutely their calling card, but it stays rooted in organic pop songwriting with the backbone of acoustic guitar. The EP kicks off with “Night Owl,” a pulsating slice[...]

Orange Dog Club – little white house (on a hill)

August 27, 2026

Orange Dog Club (ODC) comes from humble beginnings – birthed from boredom somewhere in the middle-of-nowhere upstate NY – but they have quickly become one of Buffalo’s most exciting exports. The band is led by the enigmatic Tim Turner, who after emigrating to Buffalo at age 18, has sharpened and honed his songwriting into something wholly sophisticated for someone who’s still young enough to be in college. With his cornfield-bred friends and a few Buffalonians in tow, Turner & co. have crafted an incredible debut, little white house (on a hill), a razor-sharp collection of eight songs that Julian Casablancas probably wishes he wrote, if he went back to singing through a garbage practice amp instead of a fancy vocoder.   “dorm girl” kicks off this album and, immediately, Turner turns on his songwriting charms. This is almost assuredly the most beautiful song ever written about banging in a dorm[...]

Roger Bryan and the Orphans – “Concrete”

August 25, 2026

What’s left to say about legendary Buffalonians Roger Bryan and the Orphans? The band has been releasing great stuff for the last 18 years, give or take, and they’re back with another great guitar rocker called “Concrete.” With equally legendary Buffalo-based recording engineer John Angelo in tow, the bands rips and roars through big vocal melodies overtop wry guitar chords utilizing some of the sexiest tones possible. I can only imagine the guitar pedals that they have tucked and layered into this bad boy.   The band is gearing up to release their next record, Open Chord Dispatch, upon which “Concrete” resides. Until then, give it a listen on bandcamp (embedded below), or alternatively, on Spotify and Apple Music.   Concrete by Roger Bryan and The Orphans

Jerry Kingsman and his Model Horses – Year of the Horse

August 20, 2026

Jerry Kingsman and his Model Horses (aka Vanity Club aka Sal Constantin and a ton of his friends) are an explosion of youth. They have a devil-may-care, je ne sais quoi aura – but their existence is intentional and their ideas are fully realized. Sure, their greatest inspiration may be a Smiths cover called “Heaven Knows I’m Doing Your Mom,” but we’re thankful for low-hanging mom jokes in this case… Their latest album, Year of the Horse, reminds us of simpler times – when creating an album was the most important thing you could do with your time. Jerry & co. built a nine “song” offering, running the gamut between sweaty garage rock, salty surf tones, and full-on skits that make this experience as much performance art as it is an album   The first real song on Year of the Horse is “I Don’t Want To Work,” and it’s[...]

Jesse & The Spirit – cloudspotting

August 13, 2026

It’s both hard to believe and easy to envision Jesse & The Spirit (aka Jesse James) being around for more than a decade. With multiple acclaimed projects to their name (including the one we’re focusing on in this review, Jesse & The Spirit; sludge-gaze band Dolly Sods; freaked-out electronica act The Niagara River; and even their pre-pandemic post-rock bliss-out in Tomoreaux), they’re approaching, or has, by default, already achieved Buffalo indie rock royalty. James’ latest album is called cloudspotting, James’ umpteenth release, but one that feels anchored in multiple ways. Distinctly Buffalonian (we’ll get to that in a minute), cloudspotting not only chronicles James’ return to Buffalo, but also happens to host James’ 100th original J&TS song. 100 songs is nothing to sneeze at, especially for a prolific songwriter like James, who has split songwriting duties in so many bands throughout the years.   James’ approach for Jesse & The Spirit[...]

Knife Crazy – Knife Crazy

August 6, 2026

Picture this – it’s 2007. I’m in high school trying to grow my curly hair long but it’s just growing more and more into an unmanageable ‘fro. George W. Bush is president, for better or for worse (see album cover). Buffalo trio Knife Crazy is about to shatter spectacularly, but for the time being, they’re freezing their collective asses off in an uninsulated Buffalo hayloft, recording indescribable, jagged indie rock in between firehouse sirens and the rumble of motors from the auto shop downstairs. These final, pre-shard moments together as a unit would eventually become Knife Crazy – a long-rumored, 14 song collection of aptly-named “shardjamz” that is finally being released nearly 20 years later. The group reconvened virtually to finish it from pretty much all across the globe – Fen Ikner in New Zealand (now of Lips); Vic Lazar in LA (now of Some Gifts); and Phillip Freedenberg, still in[...]

Philip Stephen – Field Guide For Loneliness Vol 1

July 24, 2026

Philip Stephen (more formally known as Philip Sivecz) has been at it for, like, two decades now (ask me how I know). Having long been a mainstay at open mics, acoustic showcases, and any other type of performance really (especially across his many other projects like Skamagotchi, Threefold, and stints in a ton of other local bands), it would be surprising for any Buffalo music connoisseur to not have stumbled upon one of his many projects. For as prolific a songwriter as Sivecz is (just take a look at his IG feed, or stay up with his stories), his solo recordings have been few and far between – which is why we were delighted to stumble upon Field Guide For Loneliness Vol 1. (FGFL) Alongside frequent collaborator (and fellow first-name/middle-name monikered) Sara Elizabeth, Sivecz has crafted an album that highlights his stellar acoustic guitar playing and folk/alt-country roots. As per Sara[...]

Amateur Hockey Club – “Ted”

July 13, 2026

Amateur Hockey Club aim for summer anthem status on their latest single, “Ted.” A bona fide diss track about a landlord who doesn’t care (landlords, amirite?) and a drum set rotting in an inch of standing water, “Ted” is surprisingly breezy for its background rooted in hatred. There’s an island-y acoustic guitar chiming behind the typical AHC-style guitar chugging, but by the time they sing “I guess that I won’t see you around my dude,” you realize this one’s less about chilling poolside and more about telling someone to rightfully eff off.   “Ted” is out now – peep the Soundcloud embed below and then add it to your favorite Spotify playlist.   Amateur Hockey Club · Ted

Mother Nature’s Son – The Seven People You Meet In Heaven

July 9, 2026

Mother Nature’s Son (MNS) are an injection of fresh energy into Buffalo’s music scene. Their synth-meets-guitar music is as intriguing as it is energizing, and they’ve just released a magnum opus of an EP into the world. The Seven People You Meet In Heaven is perhaps unsurprisingly inspired by Mitch Albom’s The Five People You Meet In Heaven – a novel that talks about interconnectedness, life meaning, and purpose. Those themes are found all over this EP – wide-eyed in an over-informed (and probably chronically online) kind of way, The Seven People You Meet In Heaven is less your typical pop punk album and more a reflection on what it means to be human, especially in a our post-pandemic, questionably apocalyptic existence that is 2026.   “Wrong Jazz” is the album opener, and it’s a perfect introduction to Mother Nature’s Son’s sound. A cross between the glasses-wearing, Moog-tickled pop punk of Motion City Soundtrack and[...]

Tough Old Bird – “Wednesday’s Child”

July 8, 2026

Brothers Matthew and Nathan Corrigan, perhaps known best around Buffalo as Tough Old Bird, are back, this time with a few extra musicians in tow. They’re joined by Ricky Bechard on drums and Brendan O’Shea on bass for a refreshing new take on their already storied catalog. “Wednesday’s Child” is a full-bodied jam making use of twangy guitars, soulful vocals, and a distinctly Americiana-based sound. It’s the first in a string of singles-to-come that were captured at Sunwood Studios in Trumansburg, NY, mostly live-in-studio, which encapsulates the band’s live sound perfectly.   You can listen to “Wednesday’s Child” via the bandcamp embed (below) or via Spotify.   Wednesday’s Child by Tough Old Bird