Latest Posts

Tonight: Sugar City’s 10th Anniversary Party with Calvin Johnson

October 12, 2018

Sugar City, the city’s only remaining DIY arts and performance space is celebrating ten years of existence in both the material and immaterial worlds tonight with two parties, an excellent lineup featuring friend of Sugar City, indie rock hero Calvin Johnson, and you beautiful people. It’s been quite the adventure for Sugar City since it’s grassroots founding back in 2008, existing first in the hearts and minds of it’s early organizers and supporters, then in a magical physical space on Wadsworth at the base  of Allentown, where magical things happened… before being gentrified out and/or beset upon by unfriendly forces, depending on who you’re talking to. Then it was back to the whole hearts and minds thing as Sugar City regrouped, staging events around the city and keeping the flame alive until an unsolicited grant from Robert Rauschenberg’s foundation put enough wind in their sails to land another wonderful space on[...]

Hop Hop Delivers Video For “Scratch”

October 2, 2018

Premier Buffalo MC Hop Hop has a video for her latest single “Scratch” that’s a perfect showcase for her art and skills, and the city itself. Shot and edited by producer and co-conspirator Brandon Schlia, “Scratch” is an earworm in video form and a clever bit of DIY guerrilla filmmaking , utilizing a whole lot of the important new public art that’s sprung up over the last few years all over the city, our newly re-purposed post industrial decay, and various tasteful West Side doorways and rooftops as backdrops for the irrepressible brilliance of Hop Hop, who will most definitely not be defined by an old white guy like me anyways, so I won’t even try it (not that I’d try it anyway). From “The Freedom Wall” on Michigan and East Ferry to the Betsy Casanas mural on Niagara Street and the trusty Elmwood Avenue 24 Hour Store, “Scratch” is an inclusive,[...]

Chill Ali – FREE YA MIND

July 23, 2018

Rising Buffalo-based emcee, Chill Ali, earns his moniker with his latest, long-gestating project, FREE YA MIND. This nine-track offering, which Chill served as both rapper and producer, is two years in the making. The thought and dedication that went into the process is obvious, but as a result Chill has created a superbly cerebral and zen indie-rap album that shows promise of the spitter’s budding signature sound. As a producer, Chill’s productions are spotlight stealing and mess with your senses and perceptions in the best way possible. Hypnotizing beats reverb, melt and ungulate with the syrupy influence of the Houston and cloud surfing hip-hop scenes. The closing title track in particular will massage your brain and get your head nodding in euphoric satisfaction. As a wordsmith, Chill floats over his dreamy beats with a cool and assured flow. His subject matter varies from Buffalo street raps, personal anecdotes and third-eye[...]

SLINKY X – Darn

July 16, 2018

SLINKY X’s Darn is a feelgood summer record if, for you, feeling good in the summer means waking up late and groggy on a Sunday, throwing on yesterday’s clothes, jumping in the car and stopping at the gas station on the way to a party because, while you didn’t have enough time in the morning to brush your teeth or shower, you have plenty of time to buy beer. In that moment, this is the disc you’d pop into your CD player (you’d be playing music off your phone, but you dropped it in a swamp last Tuesday and haven’t bothered to replace it). Darn is fuzzy garage-pop, with riffing guitars laying the base for matched-up male-female vocals that alternate between “ba-ba-bas” and cheeky lines like: “My brain feels like a slinky… always feel like I’m drinking/soda water from the sinky.” That line, from lead track and standout “slinky,” sets the[...]

Humble Braggers Drop Lush New Single, “Reckless”

June 22, 2018

Buffalo’s resident synth-poppers Humble Braggers are gearing up for the release of their fourth EP, Cycle, with a phat new single. “Reckless” is another banger from Tom Burtless & co., anchored by an instantly memorable chorus, electronic drum samples, and lush layers of synth. “Reckless” is a not-so-subtle reminder of the high-quality song crafting that this quartet is capable of (and is a real earworm to boot) – give it a listen via the widget below or stream it on Spotify. Cycle is slated for release via Admirable Traits on 8/31 with an accompanying release show. Until then, be sure to pick up “Reckless” through iTunes.

*elijah Teams Up with OJ on New Single “thru it // ps. free lucky”

June 7, 2018

Homegrown in Buffalo’s fertile rap garden are artists *elijah and OJ who team up for the fresh new record, “thru it // ps. free lucky.” Collaborating since 2012, their latest offering carries the tranquility of a koi pond thanks to a buoyant production and ruminating raps from the dueling emcees. Both *elijah and OJ strike a perfect balance with flows that play off each other seamlessly as they tag each other in and out of the track. Check out this meditative and absorbing listen below and let it sink in as you sink into thought.

Hop Hop – Scratch

June 4, 2018

Hop Hop (aka Jaz Frazier) has delivered us from evil and boredom and into the future on her inspired and hypnotically irresistible new EP Scratch, and it’s our enthusiastic Album of the Week. A precision MC that bends time and space with her impeccable flow so that every consonant, vowel, word, and complex thought comes at you as if it (and you) are suspended in space like the visual effects in The Matrix movies and given a chance to inspect and savor all of it, Hop Hop does not play on Scratch, sharing and going deep while giving you the funky beats and jams you need. A concentrated headrush, Scratch comes at you fast with a fully realized sound that fills your ears with all kinds of incredible sonic sweetness courtesy of the pristine and ambitious production from Jaz and Brandon Schlia. There’s a fine sense of whimsy at work[...]

Dean Chatham Shares the Visuals for New Single “EL-P”

May 30, 2018

Buffalo’s resident emcee, Dean Chatham, comes to us with the video for his latest and greatest alt-rap track, “EL-P.” Titled after the celebrated producer and Run the Jewels rapper, this raw, lo-fi cut boasts a bumping technical beat that evolves and devolves like a Transformer. What starts off simplistic and jazzy deconstructs into a spirited musique concrète of electro glitches and technical difficulties that will surely pump some serotonin into your noggin. Tying it all together is Chatham’s stone cold flow that compacts deep, dizzying and multi-layered rhymes like a game of Tetris. At 23-years-old and having already shared the stage with Rae Sremmurd and the immortal Gucci Mane, keep an eye on this promising up-and-comer as he and his music continues to grow. Check out the video for “EL-P” below and jump over to Dean Chatham’s YouTube here and SoundCloud here for more videos and tracks.

Saturn V - LP

Saturn V – s/t

May 21, 2018

Buffalo three-piece, Saturn V have been making all the right moves following their EP, two songs, released last November. Since then the band has been blowing away crowds as they make a name for themselves in the local punk circuit. Saturn V dropped their first self-titled LP earlier this month that’s full of brash energy and a killer tempo from start to finish. The record opens up with the song, “weight,” which begins deceptively tame before Saturn V presses on the gas midway through and launches into a breakneck punk flourish. There’s a small moment right before the band really speeds things up. It isn’t a revolutionary musical breakthrough and only involves a quick 4 count on the sticks, but it just sets the tone for “weight” and Saturn V’s self-titled as a whole. The record is stripped of any unnecessary chaff and instead, gets right down to it. Over the course of[...]

Dotsun Moon Drop New Single “Sin Nombre en 18”

May 11, 2018

With a new EP on the way Dotsun Moon are back with a smoldering new single in “Sin Nombre en 18” that’s a breathless and bilingual slab of electronic pop and well worth a listen. “Sin Nombre en 18,” or “Nameless In 18,” conjures both 60’s French pop with a decidedly non French twist thanks to Maria Sebastian’s sweet vocals and vaguely menacing British New Wave via Richard Flierl’s synths, guitar, and slick yet organic production that crafted vast spaces to be filled with sound. Give it a spin below and stay tuned for more music this year from Dotsun Moon. Sin Nombre en 18 by Dotsun Moon

Yellow House Drop Fuzzy New EP

April 12, 2018

Yellow House have been a buffaBLOG favorite since their 2016 debut. After a short period of inactivity, the self-proclaimed “overblown shoegaze” act is back, boasting the blend of shoegaze-meets-punk-meets-emo that we’ve all come to love and expect from them. Their latest offering is entitled III, a four-song EP that is as refreshingly simple as it is mysterious. III was recorded across two sessions across the spring and winter of 2017 and finds the duo chasing a more vocally driven mix than its predecessors… The songs explore themes of nostalgia, hopelessness, and existentialism, case-in-point, EP opener “Walking Away.” In a minute-and-a-half of fuzzed-out guitar riffs, drums, singer/songwriter Matt DiStasio sings about feeling empty-headed and unmotivated. Similar vibes can be found on EP closer, “On Sunday.” Beneath the crunchy tones and smart riffing, it’s clear DiStasio is battling the ennui of day-to-day drabness. EP highlight “Montana” is a bit more nuanced, bringing to[...]

Pendulum Girl Drops Mysterious heart demos

February 22, 2018

Leah Loefke, formerly of Love Scenes, is back like a phoenix out of the dark under the enigmatic nom de plume Pendulum Girl, and her recently released debut release heart demos, a magical lo-fi electronica dream pop gem that’s an instant triumph. Less an EP and more a collection of hymns to memory and getting through living, heart demos connects instantly with it’s hazy soundscapes, whispered, prayer like vocals, and delightful capacity for minimalist understatement and heavenly, out-sized emotional strokes, sometimes in the same song. Achingly heartbreaking from the very start, “magnet” sounds like a childhood dream about heaven, if it was directed by David Lynch and produced by Brian Eno, floating over a sweet metallic air conditioner drone. I’m definitely going to cue up the organ drenched and delicate “crying in the carwash” for my next trip through the Delta Sonic, and if I get overcome by the moment, I’ll be[...]

Into The Wake Release Dark, Three-Song EP

February 21, 2018

Into The Wake has been through a lot… For them, 2017 was a year of many shows (solo and otherwise), but an equal amount of loss and frustration. They soldiered on through a member change and still managed to hit the studio with Jay Zubricky at GCR this past autumn… Now standing strong as a solid quartet, the band is moving forward as always, having just released a three-song EP called Listening Through Silence. On Listening Through Silence, the band has honed their biting, political approach into something more emotional and nuanced. Into The Wake has polished many of their rough edges here – their songs are flush with lead guitar, and layered thick with shimmer and ambiance. There now exists a palpable darkness to their hard rock/heavy-emo songwriting – think somewhere between A Perfect Circle and Thrice. On lead single “The Note,” the band trades anger and guttural screams for tasteful[...]

Buffalo Trio Ghostpool Releases Debut EP

February 13, 2018

Pop-punk refuses to die, and it probably never will… Mostly because of bands like Ghostpool, a Buffalo-based three piece whose m.o. is crunchy guitars and hooks aplenty. Their debut EP, There is a Hole at the Center of Everything, is a five song offering chock full of catchy pop-punk tunes, set off by emo-esque vocals about longing, self-hatred, and growing up. Fans of Alkaline Trio, Green Day, The Menzingers should give this one a listen. “Nightmare Eyes” kicks things off perfectly with a simple chord progression, backed by a catchy lead guitar riff, and distant vocal ooohs. Ghostpool is at their most nuanced here, channeling bands like The Hotelier through unique progressions and dynamic changes. Songs like “Dropout” and “Humanoid” are more Green Day/Alk3 oriented, pairing spitfire guitar work with big, irresistible vocal melodies. It’s worth mentioning that Ghostpool has a knack for writing big pop hooks… They just happen to be wrapped up in a gritty punk[...]

Sundownchasing (Anthony Del Plato) Kicks Off Twelve-Month Songwriting Project

January 11, 2018

Sundownchasing (aka Batavian singer/songwriter Anthony Del Plato) announced late last year that he would be “shaking off the rust” by releasing one song per month for the entirety of 2018. His first offering, Another Shade of Blue,” is trademark Anthony Del Plato, evoking the frigid January weather via his eerily pristine musicianship. He pairs icy guitar tones with vaguely winter-esque lyrics about the Niagara River, frozen to look like a lion’s mane. Fans of The Appleseed Cast, Bon Iver, or Minus the Bear will love this song – be sure to check it out using the widget below. “Another Shade of Blue” is the first of many Sundownchasing songs to be released this year – they will all be available through Bandcamp. Another Shade of Blue by Sundownchasing