Latest Posts

The Naturalists Announce New EP, Premiere “Slip” Single

May 4, 2015

This past week, Buffalo-based grunge trio, The Naturalists, revealed the first single off its forthcoming EP, Home Honey, I’m Hi. The EP’s lead off track and single, “Slip,” was recorded with Paul Besch at ever busy Quiet Country Audio studio. The band’s brand of raucous and brash garage rock would have fit in nicely during the genre’s revival in the early 2000s. Look for the four-track, Home Honey, I’m Hi EP to drop on July 28th. You can catch the trio next at Mohawk Place on May 23rd with The Retinas and Pale Hound. In the mean time, listen to “Slip” below. Photo by Drew Lazelle

Night Slaves Release Debut Demo “Crown of Walls”

May 1, 2015

John Toohill (JOHNS, Alpha Hopper, the Hamiltones) and Dave Kane (Them Jazzbeards) just released the first song from the duo’s new group, Night Slaves. The dark, industrial act immediately recalls Nine Inch Nails on the unnerving demo, “Crown of Walls.” The pair will make its debut performance tonight at Nietzsche’s as part of the eighth installment of ElectroRespect, an evening of music dedicated to the late, local musician/artist/visionary, Mark Freeland. The show kicks off around 10pm. In the mean time, listen to “Crown of Walls” below, which, by the way, can be yours for a mere $100.

Thursday at Canalside Report Card

April 30, 2015

The announcement of the Thursday at Canalside series, now years away from the cesspool that was Layfette Square, is one of Buffalo’s true indicators that summer is pretty much here. And with that announcement, comes lots and lots of bitching, at least normally. My fellow buffaBLOGGER Cliff Parks once told me “if you like three of the Canalside acts, then it’s a good year.” And you know what? The guy is 100% correct. What people don’t realize is that this FREE lineup isn’t made for you, or your parents, or a fan of one particular genre, rather, it’s made for everyone, which means multiple genres/bands/sounds will be represented, some to the pleasure and some to the disdain of those looking to spend a nice Thursday evening down on the water front. As per tradition, I have compiled my Thursday at Canalside Report Card, and before I go any further, please take[...]

Just Announced: Anklepants

April 28, 2015

The nearly year long Wonk Sesh series, presented by pop musician Lesionread, has always been known for its left-of-the-dial acts, but the for the series upcoming show, we clearly have a front runner for the strangest set yet. On June 28th at Sugar City, and presented by Squeaky Wheel, Wonk Sesh is proud to present Anklepants. Until I heard from Wonk Sesh curator, Shawn Lewis/Lesionread, I had no idea who/what Anklepants was, so let me let Reecard Farché ( the man behind Anklepants) explain it for himself: “Anklepants…is a one man mechanical faced sound creature from the depths of the the Australian übergründé. Anklepants is a perfect specimen. His eyes nose face and mouth are perfect. Anklepants is a live electronic music machine.” Ok, maybe that didn’t explain enough. Farché  was the set designer for Prometheus (that mask does look a little bit like the Space Jockey helmet), and when performing, uses a Wii-like controller attached to[...]

Gay Angel Releases Second Installment of floral

April 28, 2015

As promised back in February, the next installment of floral, the ambitious, 100-track project from Rochester’s chamber folk musician, Gay Angel, has arrived. After about a year of listening to Jake Bellissimo’s Gay Angel recordings, there are always a few things to expect on each release: an overwhelming track list (although once you look at some of the track lengths it becomes much less), an endless list of featured musicians, and some vulnerable, heart on your sleeve lyrics. For floral, pt. 2, Bellissimo didn’t stray to far from what made pt.1 so great, but the new installment does see the musician head in a couple new directions. “growing leaves” finds Gay Angel dipping his toes into folk-punk, while “letter to brazil” may be the closest Bellissimo comes to releasing a doo-wop song. “whose fault is it” even sounds Dirty Projectors’ Amber Coffman doing some vocal warm ups before a show. With the sudden[...]

Space Cubs Readies Debut LP The Fire And Things Forgotten

April 27, 2015

Buffalo born electro musician, Suzanne Bonifacio (aka Space Cubs), left town nearly two years ago for Chicago, and later found herself hiking the Appalachian Trail before settling in North Carolina in the late summer of  2014. What followed was a “journey of creative reflection and change” for the former Chromakid member. And after a period of recording, today sees “The Eye,” the first single from Bonifacio’s upcoming, debut LP, The Fire And Things Forgotten, premiere, while the album is set to be released on May 12th through Unspeakable Records. “Some of the recordings are ones I started many moons ago and re-worked entirely, explains Bonifacio. “I produced most of this album while living in the middle of the woods for three months in the Pisgah National Forest during the fall and winter of 2014-2015. I also spent some time recording outside sounds from that area as well as in Charlotte, North[...]

THICK WINTER BLUD Debuts First Single “Stupid Me”

April 27, 2015

With the official conformation that one of the blog’s favorite pop-punk acts, I Can See Mountains, are no longer (again), it was a pleasure to see that Mountains’ guitarist/vocalist, Matt Cox, has debuted a new project called THICK WINTER BLUD. Recorded with Buffalo’s go-to producer, Jay Zubricky of GCR, the catchy and crunchy single “Stupid Me” should appeal to fans of Say Anything, the Maine, and yes, I Can See Mountains. Give the track a spin below and catch the trio live at the Humble Braggers’ EP release show later this June.

Humble Braggers Sign to Admirable Traits, Release “How It Starts” Single

April 27, 2015

Humble Braggers, the latest project from former Streamside front-man Tom Burtless, has signed on with the ever busy local label, Admirable Traits, to releases it’s debut EP, Disposable Friends. After ditching the pop-punk scene for synth pop, HB has been building a nice following over the past year while sharing bills with fellow local buzz acts like Made Violent, Bryan Johnson & Family, and M.A.G.S.. “How It Starts,” the huge, soaring first single from Disposable Friends, premiered this morning, and is the first listen to a new collection of tunes that just happen to be the band’s best yet (wait til you hear “Cold”). Humble Braggers would appeal to fans of acts like Tears for Fears, Passion Pit, the Temper Trap, and even Rochester’s rising Joywave. The band will celebrate the release of Disposable Friends at Mohawk Place on Saturday, June 13th, supported by a great cast of WNY acts[...]

Just Announced: Mac DeMarco

April 22, 2015

After a sold yet, yet unexpected solo show last summer at the Tralf Music Hall, indie rock class clown, Mac DeMarco, will make a return appearance later this summer, hopefully with band in tow, to the downtown venue on Sunday, August 16th. Earlier this morning, both Rolling Stone and Stereogum announced DeMarco’s MASSIVE tour, which kicks off tonight in Portland, as well as a new “mini album” titled Another One, set to drop sometime this summer. On-sale dates and prices were not available at the time of this writing, so keep an eye out. Photo by Candace Camuglia

Mooses’ Side-Project, Moody Cosmos, Drops Debut Single

April 22, 2015

After debuting just over a year ago with his Fredonia based band, Mooses, front man Peter Cahlstadt has released the first track from his new solo project, Moody Cosmos. The solo venture, like Mooses, relies heavily on psych elements, but where as Mooses soar, Moody Cosmos chills out. “Rocky” sounds like Shuggie Otis and Foxygen got in the studio and burnt a couple down as Cahlstadt’s laid back, layered vocals mix with the track’s smooth, almost R&B groove. Check out “Rocky” below and keep an eye out for future music from Moody Cosmos.

Done Diggin’: Staff Grabs

April 19, 2015

Another Record Store Day came and went this past Saturday, and it turned out to be a great overall experience for many of us on staff here at the blog. The weather was fantastic, dozens of local bands were playing free shows all over Buffalo’s record shops, and we even bought some decent vinyl. Check out what a few of our writers had to say about Record Store Day 2015. Cliff Parks My football (soccer) team Arsenal was in the FA Cup semifinal, forcing me to bail on the prodigious line at the original Record Theatre at Main and Lafayette, which wasn’t specifically the end of the world because there weren’t too many RSD special releases this year that I considered “MUST HAVE.” Next year, hopefully I won’t such a conflict again, otherwise I’ll have to get in line at 5am like the brave souls at the head of the[...]

Tonight: Modest Mouse

April 17, 2015

I was originally going to write a long piece on Modest Mouse in honor of the band’s sold out appearance tonight at Asbury Hall, but what’s the point. You know who Modest Mouse is. The show wouldn’t have sold out in 10 mins if you hadn’t, so I will save both parties the trouble and just bring us to up the present. The Portland-based rock outfit released its sixth studio album and first in eight years, Strangers to Ourselves, exactly one month ago to the date. I met the album with a pretty tepid response, thinking “it took eight years to release that?,” but after a few more listens, Strangers really grew on me, and I am really looking forward to Isaac Brock and crew tackling the new album and the band’s deep catalog later this evening. As I mentioned before, this show has been sold out since Day 1,[...]

The Soft Love Drops Debut Track “ALL OF IT”

April 17, 2015

Over the last couple months, the Soft Love has been making the rounds around Buffalo clubs, with each band mate dipping their toes back into the live scene after a couple prolonged absences. Made up of former members of the Thermidors, Fairweathers, and Son of the Sun, the four piece released its debut single, “ALL OF IT,” early last night. Recorded with go to Buffalo producer Jay Zubricky of GCR, and polished off over at Paul Besch’s Quiet Country Audio in Alden, “ALL OF IT” is a brash rocker that recalls acts like Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Oasis, and even a less brooding/more agressive Interpol, certainly meant to be downed with a few shots of fine whiskey, or at least whatever is at arm’s length. The band can be seen live twice this weekend: tonight as part of the Tins’ Kickstarter Benefit Show at Mohawk Place and tomorrow, somewhere within[...]

Still Diggin’: To Buy or Not To Buy

April 15, 2015

I download a lot of music, like a lot, and not in the legal way (shhh). It’s just so easy to go on a torrent page and type in an artist/album, and within seconds, have that music at my finger tips. Last year, after owning one of the crappiest record players known to man (thanks for nothing Urban Outfitters), I finally bought a solid player from U Turn, based on the recommendation from a fellow Rochester music blog. Once I got my player/receiver/speakers finally step up (which was another headache in its own right), I started to put a conscious effort towards building a small record collection. I began with some of my all-time favorites: Broken Social Scene’s You Forgot It In People, Wilco’s Being There, pretty much any Radiohead, but after that, I kind of just stopped. I would spend hours walking up and down aisles in shops like[...]

“Night Time with Harvey O’King” Seeks Music Submissions

April 13, 2015

If you happened to notice your facebook feed was decidedly phalic-less over the last few months, then maybe you didn’t catch the note that Well Worn Boot had hung up the masks as the Plainsman road the Horse into the sunset for good. All is not quiet though on the WWB front. Former frontman, Matt Wisnewski, is set to debut a very different new project, a web series featuring paper mache dummies and puppets titled “Night Time with Harvey O’King.” According to the presser, the series is about a “washed-up talk-show host and his side-kick monkey.” So what does this have to do with music? Well, Wisnewski and crew are looking for artists to submit music to be featured in the series. Local acts like Mr. Boneless, Crontab U-John, and Green Jello have already gotten in on the fun, and more acts are being sought. If you are interested in possibly having your music featured[...]