Latest Posts

Able Bodies Drop Video For “Pedaling”

October 22, 2018

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”

October 3, 2018

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

September 21, 2018

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

September 17, 2018

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”

August 20, 2018

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”

August 7, 2018

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”

August 3, 2018

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)

July 19, 2018

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

Soft Opening – Don’t Like Most Things

July 9, 2018

Don’t Like Most Things, the new release from Rochester’s Soft Opening, is not nearly as misanthropic as the title suggests. Far from it, in fact – the best moments of the album spring from longing for connection, not denying it. The first song, “Don’t Bury Me Yet,” kicks off with distorted and strutting hard rock machismo, but it’s just a feint. It’s almost immediately undercut by a cleaner guitar and a cooing saxophone that launch us into something closer to Dinosaur Jr. than T. Rex. Singer and songwriter Justin Pallini soon begins to catalog his fear of death by bodily breakdown: “Feeling swollen, aching knees/Body’s breaking, takes what it needs/Getting harder and harder to breathe… Soon, I’ll die, won’t I?” The humming sax lines, quick tempo and over-the-top neuroticism keep the mood light, as if he knows the obsession is ludacris and counter-productive. He just can’t help himself. “Love Dumpster”[...]

Rochester’s Derelict Vessel Drop Debut Post-Rock EP

June 28, 2018

Derelict Vessel are a newly-minted post-rock band hailing from Rochester, NY. Their debut EP, Skeleton Coast, is a six-song offering specializing in quiet-loud dynamics with poignant flavors of emo, rock, and ambient music mixed throughout. Opening track “Drowned Cities” highlights the group’s penchant for tuned-down guitars, sludgy tempos, and epic moods. They transition into songs like “The Guard” and “Tower of Silence,” a couple of six-minute epics that resolve with borderline heroic climaxes. Album highlight “We Were Here” shows off Derelict Vessel’s surprising range, trading their typical doom guitars for a more ambient approach (concluding, of course, in an explosive ending). Lyrically, this quartet keeps it simple, but poignant – closing track “The Mother” is evidence enough. Skeleton Coast is available now via Bandcamp for a very reasonable rate. Skeleton Coast by Derelict Vessel

Katie Preston Drops Single “The Art of Falling Apart”

June 12, 2018

Singer-songwriter Katie Preston has officially released her first solo single. “The Art of Falling Apart” comes in advance of a full EP titled Soap Opera, due out later this year. Preston has been a fixture in the Rochester, NY music scene, appearing in various bands, but noticeable for her tenure with rock group Pleistocene. She now embarks on a solo journey, venturing to Nashville to record, both this track and the EP, at Sound Awake Studios and Tiny Tape Room. “The Art of Falling Apart” is melancholic and breezy, dripping in that kind of sunny-yet-sad vibe that dominated California pop in the ’60s and ’70s. There’s also something very modern here, too, with an ambient dream pop sound that cloaks the song’s tuneful, almost Beatles-esque bounce. Harp flourishes and a downward-descending bass line meld with wilting and reverb-soaked guitar and keyboard passages, while Preston’s laidback and understated croon sits perfectly[...]

Soviet Dolls Unleash New Single “Hunters”

April 11, 2018

Synthetic pop-rockers, Soviet Dolls, are back and unleash the latest single and title track off their new EP, Hunters. With a beat like a panther stalking its prey in the moonlight, the Rochester quartet mix Siren vocals, velvet riffs, lurking keys and a soaring chorus for a tune that will tap into your primal thrills and desires. Pounce on this electrifying and irresistible listen below ASAP. Check out and support Soviet Dolls’ Hunters on Bandcamp here or stream it on Spotify here. Hunters by Soviet Dolls

The Able Bodies Release Video for New Single, “Ordinary Life”

April 5, 2018

We all could use an escape right now. The wheels are coming off our government, 1984 is our reality and now the Tatums are separating. Thankfully Rochester’s electro-pop pride and joy, The Able Bodies, offer one with the liberation of their latest meme-inspired video, “Ordinary Life.” Armed with a guitar and drum machine, this promising pair craft a catchy, stress-relieving psych-rock track with dreams of escapism you won’t be able to help sing and dance along to all day and night. This is the third video release from Able Bodies and arguably their best and most exciting one yet, so take a break from your troubles and check it out below. Subscribe to The Able Bodies YouTube channel for more videos here or stream them on Spotify here.

YLXR Collabs with Teflon Sega & Drops the Track “Closure”

March 29, 2018

Rochester producer YLXR tag teams with Teflon Sega, an up-and-coming crooner in the fast lane, for the sensual electro-R&B track, “Closure.” Sega’s talents truly shine as he wallows in YLXR’s lonely, cloud surfing production with a serenading voice that’s vulnerable and emotionally striking, making for a heartbreaking listen you won’t get tired of hearing. Close your eyes and get lost in this tactile tune below. Check out more YLXR and Teflon Sega tracks on their SoundClouds here and here.

Hawker M. James Releases New Single & Video, “Falling Out,” Off Upcoming Album

March 29, 2018

Hawker M. James, pseudonym of Mike James (formerly of Longwave and The Demos), brings us his emotional first single and video for the song, “Falling Out,” off his upcoming album, The Cool Wind. The Rochester songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and producer reflects on the devotion to one’s craft and sacrifices made in pursuit of dreams on this gentle, contemplative folk ballad. Evocative and thoughtful, the track is comprised of soothing acoustic strings and touching piano keys wrapped up in James’ warm and cozy vocals. Check out the visuals for this infectiously introspective tune below. Keep an eye out for the release of The Cool Wind and in the meantime check out James’ SoundCloud here for more tracks.