Latest Posts

Kibby – “on my self”

September 6, 2025

Columbus up-and-comer Kibby only needs 1:25 to make an impressive first impression with his newest single, “on my self.” Bass knocks right away while Kibby drops venom-laced lyrics, sounding like a Midwest Denzel Curry. The title of the track comes from his self-confidence in acquiring all these damn riches. Big bank take lil bank, better rich than sorry, shit like that. Kibby’s crafted a swagger-filled single that’ll fit in right alongside your other hype rap tracks. The production pairs a booming bottom half with some delightful sprinkles of soulful vocals. Check out more from Kibby on Spotify, and while you’re there give our Emerging Hip Hop playlist a spin.

Stevie Bellard – “motion”

September 6, 2025

Repping his Yeniche roots, independent hip hop artist Stevie Bellard flexes his ear for melodies and knack for sharp lyrics on his latest track, “motion.” “The Gypsy Prince” picks up influences from all over the road, citing acts like Tupac, Chris Stapleton, and Stevie Wonder in the same breath. At the same time, he stays true to his heritage on “motion,” kicking off the track with the line “I’m a traveler.” This line and many others throughout the track have weight, double entendres, and more as Stevie pours heart into his pen. This track has a motivational, radio-ready sound to it and a low melodic hook that comes from the clouds to get caught in your ear. You can listen to more from Stevie Bellard on Spotify and can hear “motion” on our Underground Hip Hop playlist.

american storyteller music

American Storyteller Music – “Livin’ it up in Chi Town”

September 6, 2025

Close your eyes and get transported to the windy shores of Chicago with the latest track from American Storyteller Music, “Livin’ it up in Chi Town.” The ambient study beats track pulls in the sights and sounds of Chicago. The Storyteller pairs fuzzy piano and saxophone with area references, taking us on a tour through neighborhoods and down streets. Lake Michigan looms line by line, and the soulful hook ensures your feet feel grounded in the shoes of a Chicagonite. The artist is heading an ambitious web project, Songs Across America, that identifies songs tied to regions and cities throughout the U.S. You can find “Livin’ it up in Chi Town” on here, and explore other parts of the country and the art that reflects them. You can also find it on our Underground and Emerging Hip Hop playlist on Spotify – updated every single week.

First Umpire – “Windows”

September 6, 2025

It doesn’t get much darker than this – First Umpire is ready to ruin your day (in a good way) with the angry post-punk of “Windows.” Built around the genre centerpiece of a driven bass line, “Windows” eventually bursts into a display of warped, dive-bombing guitars that any shoegazer will love immediately. Keep your eyes peeled for FU’s upcoming album, Crave, and until then, let the swirling torment on “Windows” wet your whistles.   “Windows” is available on Spotify (below) or Apple Music.  

Stinkus – “Holy Virgin”

September 6, 2025

Stinkus is a buffaBLOG hall-of-famer (featured here and here), and we’re happy to be on the Stinkus train again. Latest single, “Holy Virgin,” picks up with Stinkus left off, finding him crafting more of the melody-minded, stream-of-consciousness indie/emo that might appeal to fans of Slaughter Beach, Dog or those whose favorite album was Home, Like No Place is There 10 years ago (and probably still is). Stinkus wrote this song about walking his dog around his neighborhood and seeing all his neighbors – just as effervescent as always. Lock in for the bouncing bass rhythm, but stick around for Stinkus’ uncanny hook-crafting skills set to off-beat lyrics.   “Holy Virgin” is available on YouTube (below) and Spotify.  

Slark Moan – “Emphatic Love”

September 6, 2025

Slark Moan knows a thing or two about appealing to the buffaBLOGGER in us. Their new single, “Emphatic Love,” rips. Straddling lines between psych rock and indie pop, “Emphatic” lures you in with bell-tone guitars and hazy vocals and absolutely finishes you off with a heady bass line. Beyond the dope instrumentation, “Emphatic Love” has a great backstory too – more below:   “I wrote ‘Emphatic Love’ about a year or so before I made the decision to transition. I was experiencing uncertainty with how my evolving gender presentation might affect my relationship. During this time, my partner showed me the most enthusiastic acceptance, and I think this song came out of feeling seen and celebrated. It’s the sort of love song that comes from truly knowing someone and being inspired to be creative collaborators.”   You can find “Emphatic Love” on YouTube (below), or on Spotify/Apple Music.  

Moon Panda – “Superstore”

September 4, 2025

“Superstore” is the latest from duo Moon Panda, and if you’re having a *day* it’ll definitely help bring you down. Somewhere between dreampop and chillwave (they refer to themselves as ‘cosmic sway’), it’s just a sublimely layered track full of fuzzy lo-fi goodness. My friend likened it to “lil high + walking home at 1am.” Speaking to the track, the band had this to say:   “‘Superstore’ is about the micro moments of wanting to convince your partner of what you can be for them. I told our producer I wanted the chorus to feel like that scene in the movie ‘Challengers’ where they are outside and the trash is blowing everywhere. Total chaos and longing.”   I have literally never seen Challengers so I’ll just have to take their word for it.   You can catch the music video (with lyrics) below from YouTube. The track is also available[...]

Beast Beast – “Glue & Glitter”

September 4, 2025

“Glue & Glitter” is the latest track from duo Beast Beast – consisting of Gustav Cederberg and Mikael Landén. This is a fabulous mix of groovy guitars and even groovier bass…. grooves. The bass reverberated through my soul and felt, cleansing? I don’t know how else to describe it. It’s a nice amalgamation of jazz and low key rock, with the band charting their own course around pigeonholing to make something truly unique and good. Their attention to detail, specifically going with an analogue approach to recording, (which makes things even more difficult vs. the digital approach) certainly helped in this endeavor.   You can hear “Glue & Glitter” below on YouTube or add it to your playlist on Spotify. Keep your eyes peeled for the band’s upcoming album, B&B, due out sometime in the future.    

Repiet – “On and On”

September 4, 2025

If you’re like me and a novice when it comes to the different subgenres of EDM (sorry Chucks), you are probably at the very least cognizant that some songs sound different. Repiet’s “On and On” falls into the house flavor of EDM, and it’s catchy as fuck. Sometimes I find it hard to get into instrumental only music, which this is not as he collabs with Julia Kleijn on vocals. I could go on about how smoothly Repiet does his transitions or how he takes the less is more approach that leads to a gnarly crescendo… But you just gotta hear it to appreciate it. If you like house, you’ll definitely enjoy and if you’re not an EDM person you can admire the artistry.   You can watch the visualizer music vid below on YouTube or throw it on your house mix via Spotify.   Be sure to check out[...]

Manwolves + CRASHprez – “keep your focus!”

August 31, 2025

Two risers in the Chicago music scene combine forces for a cheery lil’ banger in the form of this new track “keep your focus!” Together, the “five regular dudes” of contemporary indie rock band Madwolves and effervescent windy city rapper CRASHprez are “CRASHwolves.” Their joint effort, “keep your focus!” takes the best of both sides – Manwolves expertly-crafted groovy guitar strums are the bubbly underbelly for CRASHprez’s town holler pronouncements. The wolves handle some hook work after Presidente’s catchy verses on this track that takes us back to the blog rap era. An indie rock hook with sharp underground rap on the verses fueled mine and many others’ souls for like 3 years in the early 2010s. And on this track, we get a verse from Manwolves too to really take it over the top. Give this a listen and check it out on our underground hip hop playlist, updated[...]

Goodnight House – “You Know I Know You Know”

August 29, 2025

“You Know I Know You Know” is the latest single from Goodnight House, formed by Joel Lane back in 2008 (remember ’08? rad year). We last covered Goodnight House earlier in the year here with their track “Existence.” Lane is a master of the fuzzy guitar and utilizes it very gently here and doesn’t beat you over the head with it. Sung with his wife Megan duet-style, they keep things at a light simmer that nonetheless ends up fully cooked at the end. The lyrics feel very personal and a little morose which makes the duet vocals an interesting choice that felt incredibly genuine.   You can hear “You Know I Know You Know” below from Bandcamp as well as Spotify.   If you’re diggin’ this, ho boy have I got news for you! October 3rd will see the release of the band’s latest album Good Consumers. Plenty more to[...]

da nang – “Kids”

August 29, 2025

Lead by queer Viet singer John Thai, da nang  is a group based out of Ontario and “Kids” is their title single off of their most recent EP. It’s an unabashedly delightful love letter to the 90’s garage rock of yesteryear intersecting with current day emo (something I think we can all agree is a very good thing).   No one instrument takes the spotlight immediately and gives Thai’s vocals plenty of room to stretch their wings. Power chords and the little diddy used in the bridge both definitely feel emo-informed and even have a pop punk vibe to them that I found enjoyable (think Blink-182 but everyone seems to get along and aren’t singing about fucking your mom).   You can hear “Kids” from Apple Music, as well as over on Spotify. Also, if you’re looking for more on the band be sure to use their linktree because, fun[...]

deb. – “Ankle Weights”

August 29, 2025

deb. Is it a statement? Is it a person? Is it a defunct, ’90s-era retail store in the McKinley Mall that specialized in prom dresses?   It’s actually a newish Buffalo band with a pedigree you might recognize – members of Previous Love, Canetis, Slow Animals, and Animal Sounds came together to create this super tight super group… And they’re creating sounds that are exactly what you might expect from these particular members. Springy, watery indie-pop with the perfect polish for 103.3 The Edge – think Young The Giant, The 1975, or Still Woozy. Eternally-nice eternal-front-man Brendan Orr shares the spotlight with his very capable bandmates this time around, including bassist Erik Corrie; lead guitarist Dakota Lord, and drummer John Perdue. They’re happy to share their “deb.ut” single, “Ankle Weights” – it won’t be hard to identify all the sugary-sweet melodies here, but keep your ears peeled from vocal performances[...]

Dulcet Days – “Dry”

August 28, 2025

Dulcet Days is a passion project. In today’s world of short form content and nepotism (we’re not naming any names), Jake Goldsmith and Benjamin Mills do it for the love of it, and that sincerity comes through on their latest offering, “Dry.” The Tamworth, England based duo power this whimsical indie rocker with drum machines and gauzy synths. Fans of Alvvays, Her’s, or Buffalo’s own Johnny & The Man Kids * are going to love the woofy, lighthearted feel of this.   “Dry” is available via the YouTube embed below, or, Spotify.  

Javy XI ft. Toneyboi – “Shooter McGavin”

August 23, 2025

Orlando emcee Javy XI (ex-I) connects with Buffalo mainstay ToneyBoi for a fluttery new boom bap single that didn’t make the Happy Gilmore sequel, and that’s probably for the best. “Shooter McGavin” has a timeless sound built on brass. Trumpets pace each rapper as they serve bars “from Orlando to Buffalo.” The energy generated from that production fuels Javy and Toney – the veteran rappers match charisma verse for verse. Toney gets a Buffalo namedrop in on his crispy verse on the back half of the song as he enjoys the variety of flows he can test out on this tight beat. “Shooter” is a standout from Javy’s latest release, We’ve Become the OGs…Now What?, boasting a tracklist of more thoughtful wordplay and heavy on the soul sampling – a great pair if you ask me. Listen to more from Javy and Toneyboi on Spotify – while you’re there, check[...]