Latest Posts

Pleistocene – Space Trap

June 22, 2015

I probably shouldn’t even be surprised anymore; at this point it’s safe to say that Rochester has officially raised the bar. Our I-90 neighbors have been churning out quality release after quality release, and their latest surge of fresh local music has given no sign of relent. This week we bring your attention to Space Trap, the latest EP from jangle pop superunit Pleistocene. The EP, officially released earlier this month via Cherish Records, finds itself amongst some of the best material in Pleistocene’s growing discography and proves itself worthy of inclusion with a confident bite to back up its bark. For those of you unfamiliar with Pleistocene as anything other than the ice age epoch of mammoths and sabretooths, it’s in your best interest to refamiliarize. The band’s jangly surf pop/shoegaze blend frequents our blog often (their 2014 song “Secular” snagged a top 3 spot on our ‘best of’[...]

Tiny Rhymes Announces A Kinder History EP, Releases “Arrows” Single

June 17, 2015

Our first introduction to Buffalo chamber-folk outfit Tiny Rhymes was a clip of the band performing its wonderful song “Arrows” over at the Unitarian Universalist Church last fall. And now, the band has officially released the song as the lead off single to its upcoming debut EP, A Kinder History. The newly recorded version of “Arrows” is Andrew Bird-esque, full of rich harmonies, lush strings, and whimsical percussion. The 4-track EP (which is currently streaming via Exclaim!) will be available to purchase/download beginning on June 23rd, and you can join the band later next month on Saturday, July 18th, to celebrate the EP’s release over at Pausa Art House on the Allen/Wadsworth bend. Listen to “Arrows” below.

Girlpool – Before The World Was Big

June 16, 2015

Girlpool is as punk rock as it gets. Two girls, at 18, release their first LP and gain a moderate following. No drums, just bleeding heart lyrics that are as honest as it gets with a clean guitar and some simple bass lines. A year later, a second, finely tuned LP drops from the duo and the punk rock continues. Of course, this isn’t the type of punk rock that the Beastie Boys pissed off their parents with. This is the new age of lady-punk that has taken over the indie scene ever since genre prophets Sleater Kinney bursted back earlier this year. Before The World Was Big hits you right in the heart when you hear it. I don’t care if you’re an 18 year old girl ready to ship off to college that has a moderate collection of vinyl she’s trying to find a place for in her[...]

Skirts Premieres First Single from Upcoming Comfy Split EP

June 16, 2015

After another week already full of relentless show announcements (now Built to Spill?!), it seems fitting that we near the end of our day with a post about something else that just won’t quit—Rochester’s 2015 music scene. With excellent and promising releases from artists like OHS, Howlo, Pleistocene, and Harmonica Lewinski (among many others) having dropped or on the horizon for this year, we’re happy to premiere another track worthy of your attention. Rochester garage-pop darlings, Skirts, have just dropped their first track from their upcoming split with Utica-based Comfy (that’s all of them in the photo being friendly), the tape slated for release later this summer on Miscreant/Dadstache. The song, titled “Indian Premier League,” does not disappoint, channeling an upbeat island sound similar to something you might hear from Cults or a chilled-out Vampire Weekend. The progression is fun and catchy, percussion is flavorful, and the vocal harmonies are[...]

Howlo Announces Debut LP, Shares “Bleary”

June 15, 2015

We awoke this morning to the pleasant news that one of our favorite Rochester foursomes, Howlo, is prepping the release of its debut, self-titled LP for late July. Comprised of busy songwriter/producer Ben Morey, Justin Pulver (Europa and the Great Red Spot), Jane Bryant, and Christine Benincasa, the group shared a couple album teases over on its bandcamp page to keep us busy until next month. The first, the newly recorded “Blanka,” was on the band’s short and sweet Attic Tapes EP last spring. Howlo‘s second tease, though, comes in the form of the fantastically dreamy “Bleary,” the first new recording we have heard from the band in over a year. Led by the sweet and tender boy/girl vocals of Morey and Bryant, the song is a melancholy cut of 90’s jangle pop, recalling the likes of Polaris, Flake Music, and early Cloud Nothings. Simply put, “Bleary” is one of my[...]

Humble Braggers – Disposable Friends

June 14, 2015

Buffalo’s summer album of jams might have arrived at this past Saturday’s release show for Disposable Friends, the latest EP from synth-pop darlings Humble Braggers, out now on Admirable Traits Records. With an abundance of delightful hooks, soaring vocals, a full bodied sound, and intensely listenable tunes, Disposable Friends is a terrific salvo from Tom Burtless and company, and an easy pick to be Album of the Week. The funky guitar licks, understated post new wave atmospherics, and the yearning vocals of Burtless gets everything started perfectly on “How It Starts,” the EP’s lead single. Immediately, the synthesis of the various elements and heavy hooks hit you upside the head via your aural system. The ear candy continues with “All Alone,” a plaintive ballad featuring spacey yet restrained synth lines and a clean, melodic guitar that holds it all together. The attention to detail is most impressive. Disposable Friends really lifts off,[...]

Chauncey Tails Links with Ultra Doux for “Otra”

June 10, 2015

Buffalo beatmaker Chauncey Tails has been noted in the past for his strong remix game and his lush, multifaceted production on original tracks. For “Otra,” Tails unites with NYC songstress Ultra Doux for some melancholy electronic R&B. The instrumental features an array of whistles, blips and Chaunce’s signature pitch-shifted vocal samples. The longing of the beat’s sample provides the perfect undertone as Ultra Doux sings hauntingly of regret, drugs, and contemplation. Give it a listen below.

Embers Release New Recordings

June 9, 2015

Last winter, Rochester’s Embers submitted a demo to our inbox that left an impression strong enough for me to listen to over and over again on a flight to Chicago. Embers had some bangers, but seemed to have a lot of different directions it was heading, still developing its sound. Yesterday, the band released a new set of improved live-studio recordings that were quite impressive after jumping back into the studio in late April to rerecord two songs previously released on the Singles demo, “Stop Motion” and “Embrace.” Produced and recorded by University at Rochester student project titled Penguin Records, the recording quality has dramatically improved, highlighting the bands noteworthy 90’s indiemo sound. Check out “Stop Motion” below.

Sleepys Hahas Release First Single from From the Bottom of a Warm Lake

June 9, 2015

Speaking of lineup changes, Sleepy Hahas has gone through a bunch in the group’s four year existence, most recently losing long time drummer Steve Tripi and is currently operating with its third bass player. We think? Anyways, the frequent changes have not stopped the band from refocusing its sound once again and dropping its latest song, “Deep River,” the first single from the group’s forthcoming, 11-track LP, From the Bottom of a Warm Lake, earlier this morning. Recorded with sound engineer Drew Vandenberg, whose impressive resume includes work with Deerhunter and Toro y Moi, “Deep River” is an industrial tinged cut of psych rock, maybe something Nine Inch Nails and of Montreal would record together it they collaborated. The track is long way from the group’s early sounds of Arctic Monkeys-esque garage rock, and is a further example of never knowing what to expect from Sleepy Hahas, not to mention[...]

Comfy – “Poetic”

June 9, 2015

Utica and Rochester BFFs, Comfy and Skirts, respectively, are set to drop a split EP later this summer on August 7th through Miscreant Records and Rochester tape label, Dadstache. While the first listen from Skirts’ half of the EP won’t come until next week (stay tuned…), the Comfy boys (who you may have caught at our firth birthday party last March) dropped a tease this morning through Impose in the form of the less-than-a-minute track, “Poetic.” With Cap’n Jazz like vocals and a touch of Tim Kinsella-esque depression, “Poetic” is a perfect little morsel of the Comfy world, one that appears to be changing a bit as the group goes through some line-up changes (drummer Zeno Pittarelli is exiting the group this summer). You can now pre-order the record over at Miscreant’s bandcamp page for the very fair price of $5. In the mean time, listen to “Poetic” below.

Sixties Future Drops Newest Single “Sugar”

June 9, 2015

Having just recently emerged on the local band circuit, Sixties Future is on a bit of a roll here, despite its infancy. Last month, the quartet dropped two introductory tracks in “Skeleton” and “Shot,” giving us a solid preview of what the band is all about: straightforward rock-and-roll that is handsome, catchy, and radio-ready. This week, the group brings us another freshie in the form of “Sugar,” an upbeat fireball of a track channeling Springsteen in his best moments. The song, recorded at GCR Audio with Buffalo boardlord Jay Zubricky, balances quick, tom-driven percussion and loud, urgent guitar playing for a high-energy sweet spot that makes me want to front-kick holes in drywall. Fans of The National or The Gaslight Anthem: you’d dig. Sixties Future will play its first gig this Saturday at the Humble Braggers’ EP Release Party; don’t miss out. Until then, give “Sugar” a spin below. [soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/203939123″[...]

Major Lazer – Peace is The Mission

June 8, 2015

There is an appeal to Major Lazer even to those that don’t subscribe to the EDM culture. Guns Don’t Kill People, Lazers Do caught some attention in 2009 with one of the strangest combinations of sound heard at that time: reggae mixed with electronic dance music, smashed together with a sense of humor and a cartoon laser-toting Jamaican renegade soldier. It was fun in 2009, but that’s not the case anymore. Peace Is The Mission removes a good amount of the originality of Major Lazer and brings the project into the top 40. Lazer-founder Diplo seems to be travelling down the path that fellow pop producers Calvin Harris and Pharrell have recently went down: producing pop tracks for years, mostly under the radar, and eventually gaining enough cred in the Illuminati circle to release their own hit albums. While this album is probably going to do great in the sales[...]

Of Monsters and Men – Beneath the Skin

June 8, 2015

Nearly four years after their hugely successful debut, My Head Is an Animal, the Icelandic indie-folk/indie-pop quintet Of Monsters and Men has at last returned with a proper follow-up in Beneath the Skin. The record is a rare, near-perfect follow-up that both retains the group’s galloping choruses and effervescent energy while also pushing their sound in new directions. On Animal, the quintet’s melodies were so jaunty and jangely that even tragic songs like “Little Talks” – which seems to discuss communications between two lovers, one living, one dead – came across as bubbly and lighthearted. With Skin, some of alt-rock’s best hook-writers have gotten better at channeling that tragedy and beauty into their music. They still employ their big horn hooks and chants, but they’re done more subtly and artfully. The addition of pummeling tribal drums have also lent the music an oomph and expansiveness that fits excellently in the[...]

Mink – After Hours

June 8, 2015

Though many Buffalo show goers (myself included) may have been heartbroken having to say goodbye to Mink, the band’s posthumous EP, After Hours, could not be a better send off into the graveyard of local bands that were put to rest entirely too soon. Mink has a knack for easing you into a tune then turning you completely upside down. Just when you think you have the layout of a song figured out, they take you on an entirely different route. Between the impressively riffy guitar work from Brandon Schlia and the equally technical drum parts of Ken Culton, a raucous blend is created — one that pleases you and riles you up at the same time. Singer Jaz Frazier’s vocals are perfectly in sync with every change the music experiences. They are smooth and docile when needed, and piercing and powerful when there is an abrupt upsurge in attitude.[...]

mdnt and YLXR Team Up for “Baptize”

June 5, 2015

The pairing of Rochester electronic R&B artist mdnt and Buffalo bass artist YLXR is almost too perfect. The two have a knack for creating music that evokes or comes from a place of darkness, and YLXR”s past production hints that he’d be a great compliment to someone with the vocal characteristics of mdnt. Both artists also use abbreviated names, so that’s pretty perfect too. On “Baptize,” the creative forces unite for a song that deserves any and all acclaim. The mystique of mdnt”s drowning falsetto is paired beautifully with the dips and drones of YLXR’s futurebass production. The imagery in mdnt’s songwriting also deserves specific recognition, as the “reborn” theme of the track puts the picture of something like a water phoenix in the brain.  “Baptize” is the lead single from mdnt’s forthcoming debut EP VII Labors, due out in August. Give it a listen below.