Latest Posts

The Stedwells – “Wake Up”

Get your garage rock groove on with a tasty new tune from Rochester’s The Stedwells. The three piece outfit’s latest single is a heavy handed alarm clock rounded out with droning chords and an infectious riff. Ryan Warren brings belts out desperation in a vocal performance that plays right off of the high energy guitar groove and it’s a rock jam in every sense. The Stedwells are slated to drop their Hideout EP on November 22nd, with assists from Grammy-winning engineers Stephen Roessner and Dave Collins. Have a listen below: Wake Up by The Stedwells

superficial. – s/t

Speaking for myself a fair part of writing about local music is managing one’s enthusiasms and expectations to try to not get too carried away when something particularly tantalizing arrives via the inbox or emerges on the radar… or failing to do so entirely like I did after listening to Fredonia buzz band superficial.’s eponymous debut EP. Shimmering, mesmerizing, and completely compelling every second of it’s 15 minute running time, it bangs in a variety of ways from start to finish. Now ordinarily I’m not a stickler for rules but when it comes to putting out albums and EPs  there are a few as laid down by giants of bygone ages, and one of them is your first song better hit hard, unless you’re doing an intro in which case your second song has to or else, and superficial. satisfies with a flourish. All swirling synths and organs, “Intro” feels a little[...]

Able Bodies Drop Video For “#summer (Hashtag Summer)”

Rochester feel good electro funk duo Able Bodies are back with a new single and video by the name of “#summer(Hashtag Summer)” that is a whole mood and the definition of slow burning, sexy summer fun. The Able Bodies (Eli Flynn and John Viviani) have been building up some mojo over the last few years but on “#summer” they bring it all the way down on this blissed out slow jam that’s all throbbing bass lines, cosmic vibrations for the ears and soul, and Eli Flynn’s fine falsetto pleading with us all to not screw up this summer with bad vibes or worse. Check out the video below and keep an eye out for live shows from these guys.

Beef Gordon Whips Up New Single “ABC”

Rochester weirdo pop provocateur, Beef Gordon, channels an S&M Raffi on the subversive new single, “ABC.” Off his debut album, Queen Shade, Gordon (also from Buffalo Sex Change) crafts a playfully elementary beat entirely on a Casio MT-68 keyboard. With each keystroke, the wonderfully bizarre crooner lulls you into a lucid dream that’s far more mischievous than it lets on. Get tied up in this neat little track below. Queen Shade is out tomorrow (June 14th). Stream it on Gordon’s Spotify here or Bandcamp here. ABC by Beef Gordon

Younger Then at Mr. Goodbar (4/27/19)

Buffalo’s Younger Then ended a five-year hot streak with their final show at Mr. Goodbar on Friday, April 27th. Channeling their love of outsized alternative rock––U2, Arkells, Cage The Elephant, Kings of Leon, The Strokes, among others––the band combined richly-textured riffs with propulsive grooves, soaring vocals, and hooks as massive as the Grand Canyon. Playing to a packed house, the band pulled no punches, tearing through their greatest hits and fan favorites from their full-length album, “Bad Life” (Standby Records), and their self-titled debut EP. Though it was certainly bittersweet to commemorate the end of a talented group, the members of Younger Then––singer Zack Dupuis, guitarists Michael Wirth and Austin Dorr, drummer Jeremy Shields, and bassist Matt Dudek––are already planning their next moves, with a series of new projects in the works. Supporting acts included rust-belt rockers The Eaves and Rochester’s power-pop purveyors The Demos. The Eaves The Demos Younger Then

DRIPPERS! – APSEN ZURTS

Rochester bizarro world psych rock act DRIPPERS! has tapped into some profoundly esoteric emanations on their debut LP APSEN ZURTS to create some seriously out there psychedelic progressive rock that’s our Album of the Week. Ideal for your next scheduled freak out, everything about APSEN ZURTS seems to come at us from some place… else, a thrilling and  exuberant ode to Syd Barrett transmitted from a parallel universe where Syd Barrett never existed. I’m not exactly sure what’s going on with this album to be honest because DRIPPERS! aka Mike Turzanski has put forth a record that’s somehow imminently listenable yet utterly disconcerting simultaneously, like attempting to merge data from totally incompatible programs, or acute aural cognitive dissonance wrapped in vaguely sweet ear candy up until the oddly menacing frankly bonkers vocal performances kick up. 60’s psychedelia, free jazz and doom metal coalesce into the perfect soundtrack for somebody’s nervous breakdown, possibly your own. Even[...]

midnight Releases New Anti-Pop Track “Pressure Gradient” Produced by ylxr

Rochester anti-pop crooner, midnight, goes against the grain with his latest and exceptional collaboration with producer ylxr, “Pressure Gradient.” Dealing with the personal and contrasting emotions of racial injustice and bigotry in America today, the vocalist’s weightless whispers bring an electrifying melody and sense to ylxr’s turbulant amalgamation of software malfunctions and corrupted systems. This is a rebellious and charged pop track you don’t want to sleep on. Give it a spin below. Check out more midnight tracks on Spotify here and SoundCloud here.

Able Bodies Drop Video For “Pedaling”

Rochester feel good electronica duo Able Bodies have struck again with a shamelessly infectious video for their latest single “Pedaling” that is pure ear candy that’s possibly good for you too. Extolling the virtues of the active lifestyle with super fuzzed out synths, a sublime guitar riff, and vocals treated or otherwise that wrap you up in an encouraging hug, “Pedaling” is another unstoppable single from Viviani and Flynn who are currently four for four, and the video by Nick Kundrat and Adam Antelek is suitably over the top, trippy, and an adrenaline rush to get you going. Check it out below, and get out of the house!

Redbeard Samurai Drops Visuals for Debut Single “Turn it Up”

Get your body movin’ as Rochester soul-hop artist, Redbeard Samurai, drops the visuals for his absolutely banging debut single, “Turn it Up.” Off his upcoming concept album, Second, the promising emcee cooks up a funky mix of soul, jazz and hip-hop influences over slice and dice rhymes for a fantastically fun, full-blown party track. This one’s going to blow so be one of the first to hear it below. Watch out for Second dropping soon and for more Redbeard Samurai, check out his official site here and Facebook here.

Tonight: Harmonica Lewinski

Tonight Rochester Hell raising gang of malcontents Harmonica Lewinski make a welcome return to the Queen City opening for local legends The Irving Klaws and fellow Rochesteronians The Fox Sisters at Nietzsche’s. Frankly, this is a pretty bonkers lineup, featuring the aforementioned Rochester hellraisers, plus the hard charging, R&B party up fun of The Fox Sisters, as well as the raunchy and intense fun of The Irving Klaws, so this show might be exactly what you need after this extraordinarily wacky week. Also, this show is so not whitebread that the only suburban Millennial gentrifiers you’ll have to put up with are the ones you pass on Allen on your way to the show. Cover is $5 and doors are at 10pm. Lewinski Grind by Harmonica Lewinski

California Cousins – Distant Relatives

California Cousins have been kicking around their native Rochester (and far beyond) for a while now… If you’re not familiar, they wield the most noodly riffs known to man stuffed into time signatures that will make your head spin. Distant Relatives (out now on  Chatterbot Records and Deep Sea Records) is their debut LP, a ten-song lesson in emo and skramz virtuosity. There are elements here of heartfelt-emo (The Hotelier) and heavier, vocal-cord-shredding hardcore (Touché Amoré), all wrapped up in a nearly impossible math rock (Tera Melos) package. “Aspirin” is an apt opener; the Cousins opt for a quick-tempo screamer to start things off with a bang. The real treat here (and throughout the rest of the LP) is the attention paid to sheer guitar acrobatics. In general, their songs are packed full of ingenious guitar tricks – squealing harmonics, swelling feedback, nimble bends, and quick licks that will make any musician nod with approval. Lead single “Extendo Weekend”[...]

KOPPS Unleash New Video for “Hott”

Beloved blog favorites KOPPS are back with a deliciously evil video for “Hott” that lives up to it’s name and the trashy and sexy aesthetic you know and love from them. Yes, our friends from down the 90 have gone Hollywood on us… and it is good, hitting us with a super shiny video clip featuring Joywave’s Daniel Armbruster, a budget, some vaguely McLuhanesque media commentary, an international cast of dancing fans, and some demonic hoodoo that beats that spicy new Vice produced Gaspar Noe movie to the punch and confirms again that Mrs. Patti is truly a magnificent front woman and hellaciously good at leading us all into sin. Sure their masked drummer and that brown ABBA turtlenecks and powder blue trouser ensemble will haunt your dreams and possibly make you reevaluate your views on Swedish socialism and the works of Stieg Larsson, but at least those freaky dreams[...]

The Demos Release Video For “If You Only Knew”

Rochester power pop band The Demos have released a self directed video for “If You Only Knew” off their upcoming EP of the same name and it’s as ludicrously irresistible as the single itself. What’s up with this band, dropping such an insanely good video in the post video age for a song as exquisitely crafted as “If You Only Knew,” with Jason Milton’s Thomas Mars channeling vocals, sweet riffs, ear pleasing production values. and that chorus with the band swooping in “Wall Of Sound” style like a modern day, bittersweet Electric Light Orchestra? Then they do a music video for it that’s smart, funny, beautifully shot, and exceptionally edited for maximum wit and charm? I mean, that Super 8 bit over the bridge that calls to mind Talking Heads videos with an early 90’s psychedelic Flaming Lips aesthetic is above and beyond the call of duty, especially when elegantly yet[...]

Sea Planes Drop New Single “Magnetic Love”

Rochester spralling electro pop duo Sea Planes have returned with a new single “Magnetic Love” and it hits so many sweet spots that it could almost be deemed indecent by the fun police. Fans of M83, Sigur Ros and Polyphonic Spree (also, Queen) will all hear something they like on an instinctive, gut level in this one, with it’s soaring harmonies, built up tension/release, and grand, out-sized gestures that come at you with reckless, childlike abandon from the very first notes. Also, these guys sort of disappeared for a while so this is a pretty nice comeback move to be honest. Check it out.

Japanese Breakfast at The Bug Jar (7/16/18)

Japanese Breakfast returned to Rochester, NY for a sold-out show at The Bug Jar on July 16th in the midst of their 2018 USA tour. Packing the tiny club to its full capacity, Michelle Zauner and her bandmates played an electrifying set of emotionally-charged, shimmering indie-pop, culling key tracks from 2016’s Psychopomp (Yellow K Records) and last year’s Soft Sounds from Another Planet (Dead Oceans). Radiating pure joy, Zauner’s sprightly voice and animated stage presence elevated her songs to higher plane of expression. Japanese Breakfast were supported that night by Philadelphia’s Mothers and Rochester’s own Calicoco. Check out the photos below. Calicoco Mothers Japanese Breakfast