Latest Posts

Seldon – The Truth

Rochester up-and-coming jazz-pop band, Seldon, just dropped their second single “The Truth.” The group met at and are based out of Eastman School of Music, but hail from a variety of places, Las Vegas, Boston, Los Angeles, St. Louis, and the list goes on. The, lets just say, this American seven-piece cultivate an impressive fully-fledged soulful jazz-pop sound despite only forming in fall of 2022. Their first release and prior single, “I Still Want You,” excels in dazzling listeners with luscious R&B melodies and a subtle funk groove. The group perfectly meshes behind lead singer, Lily Bogas while a jazzy sax solo rounds out the track’s second half. Seldon explores an even more emotive sound on their new one, “The Truth,” an appropriately named slowburner about honesty within heartbreak. It starts with a contemplative solo acoustic guitar part before Bogas comes in with poignant lead vocals. Strings creep in as[...]

Jimso Slim – 3 is the Number

Shane Joyce is Rochester’s one man indie rock wrecking crew. Joyce is a talented multi-instrumentalist and his project, Jimso Slim is a jewel in the Western New York music scene. Of his project, Joyce said: “I record and play all of the parts. The only exception is a recent song called ‘Brother’s Dead’ where my friend Russell Brinkman recorded the bass.” He continued, “Everything is recorded out of my basement. I have a drum kit, a few guitars, a bass, a couple amps and a couple microphones. I’m certainly not an expert at recording or instrumentation, but I just do what I can and see what happens.” His latest release 3 is the Number, is an EP composed of, you guessed it, three great indie tunes. On the first track, “Rita Says,” Jimso Slim’s nasally Dylan-esque delivery grabs the listeners attention over a swooning instrumental. Backing chorus vocals add dimension and[...]

Vibropath – “Snare”

“Snare” is the latest from Rochester native Frank Marino-Moore, an artist and producer making music under the name Vibropath (good band name, honestly). Being that he’s so close to us geographically and puts out some catchy tunes, you can see our previous coverage here. The opening bass line is laid on delightfully thick and given time to shine for the first 45 seconds, eventually giving way to vocals, drums, and guitar – the latter of which has the fuzzy lo-fi effect turned to 11. I’m simultaneously given My Bloody Valentine and Gish era Smashing Pumpkins vibes with the whole track and I frankly couldn’t get enough. The rawness and the myriad layers of this track really resonated with me, and if you enjoy this you’ll certainly want to check out his other work. You can find “Snare” and more over on Spotify, or check it out below from his Sound[...]

Georgie – Intimacy Hangover

Georgie is an ever-growing outfit of artists from Rochester, NY, centered around mindful, calm songwriting on banjo and other interesting instrumentation. Their latest EP, Intimacy Hangover, came out Friday, August 4th, including interaction of cello and guitar underneath sensitive and perky vocal tunes. The band released a one minute trailer to the upcoming EP just three days before the release to get their fans more anticipated for what they are about to hear. You can see, hear, and feel the passion of the band’s music within the video as they are all jamming and blissing out in the living room of a house playing one of the songs from the project with joyful smiles.  The project starts out with the opening track “Alaska” that’s only a minute long and it starts out with smooth banjo that makes you feel like you’re floating. If you didn’t think you were already light[...]

Virtual Perfection Cowboy – “Stoned Ape”

“There’s really no point to any of this, so please enjoy.” Wise words from recent Rochester native Virtual Perfection Cowboy – they caught our ears with the unique synthwave textures found on their latest single, “Stoned Ape.” Reminiscent of a late 90s video game soundtrack, “Ape” is both soothing and invigorating; it’s full of futuristic synth swoops; ethereal swells; and a neurotic drum beat. With its unique influences, it’s best to hear from VPC themselves – here’s a little bit about the song in their words: “A liquid drum n bass track inspired by the soundtrack of Ape Escape by Soichi Terada and Terrence McKenna’s Stoned Ape Theory. The soft, ethereal sounds and cute animated music video will make you nostalgic for the old PS1 games of the 90’s, while also bringing you into the modern day of psychedelic experimentation. We are an ape with a symbiotic relationship to a[...]

The Demos – “Streetlight Glow”

Our Rochester neighbors in The Demos just released a new single, “Streetlight Glow,” that shows off their penchant for writing hooky indie-garage riffs. With its synth-laced choruses; smart pop sheen; and angular indie rock guitar stabs, “Glow” reminds us of The Strokes; Cold War Kids; or even their fellow Rochesterians in Joywave. About the song, The Demos say: “Youthful love under the glow of a streetlight. Streetlight Glow is a song about your first love and the feeling that no matter what happens, everything thing will be alright as long as you are with them.” You can also find “Streetlight Glow” on Spotify. thedemosmusic · Streetlight Glow

Animal Sounds – “Miles (Jonas Song)”

Leave it to the Rochester band Animal Sounds to present us with a song that you could bellow through canyons far and wide. Built around a bouncing bassline and twinkly guitar textures, their latest, “Miles (Jonas Song),” sounds of an echoed call for salvation that we’ve heard in our heads from time to time. “It’s hard to build up a temple on miles and miles and miles of wasteland” is a line I had to take a second to digest in full, and as soon as I did, I was hit right in the feels. Feeling like doing some constructive reflecting on your past for a better future? Listen to Animal Sounds. Stream it on Apple Music and Spotify 

Lower Expectations – “Talking To Myself”

The alt-rock band from Rochester by the name of Lower Expectations raised the bar on their latest offering, “Talking To Myself.” The lyrics “when I tell you it’ll be alright, I’m talking to myself,” hit me harder than a train. The righteous rock tune explores the idea of fighting the façade you bring upon your everyday life. It’s a message that sounds comforting coming from someone else; we have Lower Expectations to thank for that. Stream it on Spotify & Apple Music Talking To Myself by Lower Expectations

The Weather Might Say Otherwise – “Statue Of Frogs”

The Weather Might Say Otherwise found their way back on buffaBLOG with their latest offering, “Statue of Frogs.” Coming with a rough and rugged delivery, the Fredonia three-piece rages the faces off of their fans for three and a half short minutes. That being said, there is a really cool breakdown section a little over halfway through the track for all of those in the mosh to collect themselves properly before jumping right back in. To break down the inspiration behind “Statue Of Frogs” Singer Damian Brown talks vividly of his role with drugs and how he depends on them to pull him out of a depressive state, all the while pulling him further into his depressive state. Stream it on Spotify and Apple Music

Katie Morey – Friend of a Friend

About two minutes and thirty two seconds into Friend of a Friend, I downloaded the LP in its entirety. It was at that moment I knew that Katie Morey did not come to just play guitar or sing some songs; she came to create a moment that would last forever. The musical artist from Rochester has had quite the year so far with seven singles, a whole collaborative project with Pleistocene called Ontario Girls, and most recently, her debut LP Friend of a Friend… and it’s only April. She’s given us several years worth of music in the span of three months; Morey is a seasoned musician, but it almost makes rookie of the year sound like an understatement. Album opener, “Hotter Than Heaven” is an excellent distillation of Katie’s work. The song starts with plunking piano chords laid overtop simple electronic drum samples that together, create a warm and[...]

Vibropath – “Turning Inside”

The light production blanketed over “Turning Inside” by Vibropath has the goldilocks factor of being just right. Rochester-based artist Vibropath, born Frank Marino-Moore, who I originally thought was a band is a tranquil experience to listen to. I could only imagine how laid back and relaxed his live sets are. It’s artists like Vibropath that inspire others to create their very own brand-like delivery when it comes to compiling sounds into symphonies, and that delivery is evidently displayed on “Turning Inside.” Stream it on Spotify and Apple Music Vibropath · Turning Inside

Arvid – “Ghosty”

Enter the Rochester-based artist Arvid’s realm as he pushes the wave of psychedelia with a lo-fi sense of elegance. “Ghosty” off of his latest project Pyreburning is undoubtedly the purest example of Arvid’s electronic art. This is the kind of music that makes you physically feel a sensation of vibrations riding up your stomach to the top of your head. I’m not sure if Arvid brought us “Ghosty” from a happier place but it sure will take you to one – surprisingly, it’s a song about the death of a loved one. Check it out on Spotify and Apple Music

Shep Treasure – s/t

Sunday morning, a few hours after a long night out, I lay flat on my back in my new, sparsely furnished apartment, the snow-reflected Sunday light streaming through the windows – a big departure from the glass-block filtered sun of a previous basement apartment. I zoned out with my eyes glued to the wall above my bookcase, and “Nothing” by Shep Treasure was stuck in my head. The next night, wrapped up in a quilt, I once again found myself spacing out, this time toward a cat toy on the floor, and “Friday” was playing in my mind. Rochester indie pop trio Shep Treasure’s debut, self-titled EP is our Album of the Week, and it won’t leave me. Frontwoman Sabrina Nichols has been narrating my thoughts for a few years now. This is her second time landing Album of the Week, the former being in the days of a previous[...]

Tonight: Mikaela Davis and Southern Star

Rochester-based songstress and premier harpist visits Babeville’s 9th Ward tonight for an evening of poppy, singer/songwriter star power. With her backing band Southern Star, Mikaela Davis‘ shine has risen over the past several years (prior to that was viral YouTube harp covers), in large part due to her 2018 debut album Delivery. Featuring Davis’ signature harp-playing integrated into dazzling and varied production, album highlights include the swelling head-nodder “Delivery” and the empowering harmonies of “In My Groove.” Davis’ lyrical themes are stream-of-conscience, lifted from a sharp-tongued diary. Most recently from her discog is”Take 54,” the opening track to 2019’s Tribute to Nillson, Vol. 2, a compilation of big names covering the work of early indie catalyst Harry Nillson. Davis has hinted on her social channels that 2020 may bring her follow-up album, so we’ll see if the mystifying harpist holds any surprises on the tracklist. The show kicks off at 8pm with doors at 7pm, $15 to get in that door. Get[...]

Full Body – Always There

Waste not, want not. If one uses their provisions wisely they will never be in need. Rochester-based band Full Body apply those wise words to their musical prowess, and it resulted for them in a wide ranging new album, Always There. Following their much applauded debut record, What’s Good?, Full Body have created a separate, and at times manic, new world. Full Body found themselves recording their sophomore effort away from their home turf. They tracked down to Headroom Studios in the bustling city of brotherly love, Philadelphia, PA, and worked with engineer and producer Scoops Dardaris. Track number one, “Small Voice (Still),” kicks the album off with slow sludge drums accompanied by metallic and beautiful guitar chord picking. Vocals hover over the main melody, and lead singer Dylan Vaisey long-windedly sings the main character’s motivation with the simplistic self-centered line, “I’m here for myself.” “Small Voice (Still)” lays down[...]