Latest Posts

Harmonica Lewinski – Naked Brunch

February 16, 2015

Rochester deviant surf rockers, Harmonica Lewinski, are back with a hot new EP Naked Brunch (Reel Time Records) that’s sharp, delightfully nasty, and our Album of the Week. Four hot cuts of off color 60’s inspired psychedelic surf rock engineered to make you feel funny while riding your long board or shaking your thing at a swingers party later that night, Naked Brunch offers some interesting glimpses into what this always entertaining band of misfits might have up their sleeves down the road. While “Titty Citty” and “Black Pussy Blues” are restatements of the HL ethos: wildly careening, off kilter surf rock that’s over the top lewd and sleazily dangerous, “Har Har Bizarre” blows everything up with some superbly wicked vocals and some joyfully licentious lyrics reveling in all manner of bad behavior. Naked Brunch ends with the straight up garage rock of “Boy On Fire,” a super tight single that clocks in[...]

Drake Pulls Beyonce, Drops Surprise Album

February 13, 2015

Friday the 13th, February of 2015. A day that will live in Drakefamy. It was just yesterday that we were all wondering what rap superstar Aubrey “Drake” Graham was cooking up. Early in the day, he dropped “Jungle,” something of a promo video of him walking around his hometown of Toronto, and rumors of a mixtape had been swirling since Drake became increasingly active in recent months. And at about midnight, the hype came to fruition with the release of If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late. Always savvy, Drake went over all of our heads and dropped a full album on iTunes! Surprise albums have been all the rage in hip hop-RnB in the last few years, most notably starting when Jay Z announced during June’s 2013 NBA Finals that he was dropping Magna Carta Holy Grail on the 4th of July. That commercial, with all of it’s Rick[...]

Kendrick Lamar – “The Blacker the Berry”

February 13, 2015

It’s not that often a song comes along and actually makes my jaw drop. Every once in awhile, I come across a great song, but it’s rare one is so powerful to shake me to my core. And that’s why I feel so compelled to talk about the new Kendrick Lamar single, “The Blacker The Berry”, because it is that kind of song. A discordant guitar plays over what sounds like repetitious chanting as the track begins, immediately creating an intense hellish atmosphere reminiscent of the production of Kanye’s recent Yeezus album, all before dropping a beat that wouldn’t be out of place on an old Wu-Tang record. Then Kendrick’s voice arrives, full of righteous anger and vitriol. Over the course of three verses Kendrick takes up the role of a young black man who has watched violence rip apart his culture, violence that ceaselessly plagues the black and poor[...]

Father John Misty – I Love You, Honeybear

February 12, 2015

Almost 2 years ago, Josh Tillman, better known as Father John Misty, released his first full length album, Fear Fun.  After countless recommendations from friends along with finding out that Tillman was the former drummer Fleet Foxes, I was pretty eager to give it a listen. It was a really solid album, and a lot of my friends loved it, but I wasn’t really sold on it. The psychedelic folk sound he brought to the table was interesting, but it was a bit too poppy and bouncy for me at times. The strong point of that record was definitely the songwriting and storytelling, but the presentation was really a turn off at points. Coming into this new record, I Love You, Honeybear,  I honestly wasn’t that excited about it. The sound of his last record had been done by bands before and after Fear Fun’s release, and I thought it[...]

Trap Rapper HC Kush Drops “Sly Green”

February 11, 2015

Hood Connect’s HC Kush is a ruthless emcee well-versed in the trap lifestyle, and his latest single, “Sly Green,” is a testament to just that. A menace on the mic, the Buffalo rapper brings a cold authenticity to his lyrics. With a collected tone, he drops lines like “I’m Mr. HC, come and shop with me. 80 percent of my city prolly cop from me,” and “We can’t find you, we kill your family. 32 day city wide killing spree.” Kush doesn’t sugar coat anything. He can be mean, and he’s seen it all. He and Hood Connects have a slew of tracks on their YouTube page worth checking out, and peep out the vid for “Sly Green” below.

Brass Palace Begins 50 Bands, 50 Weeks Project

February 11, 2015

So after a busy day in the office yesterday (jk, we didn’t post anything), I was happy to see the continued progress in the “50 Band, 50 Week” project from Brass Palace, a Rochester based recording operation led by producer and engineer Chris Vandeviver. You may remember Brass Palace when we posted about the studio’s recording of Secret Pizza’s “Not a Lover” for the Shark Tank Sessions earlier this fall. Anyways, the Brass Palace crew has premiered three recordings so far in the near year long, fairly self-explanatory project, so far including songs from post-hardcore band, Druse, chill-hop MC, Benny Beyond, and most recently, prog-rockers, Edge of Jupiter. If all goes as planned, a new song should be added to the comp every week. No word yet on what bands will contribute future recordings, but you can follow the project at the 50 Bands, 50 Weeks’ bandcamp page for Brass Palace.[...]

Passion In Constellation Releases Forfeit The Genre EP

February 9, 2015

Buffalo electronic artist Chris Alan creates genre spanning electronic music as Passion In Constellation, bridging the gap between hip hop, trap, electronica, and dubstep with a highly polished production style that effectively accent the physical nature of his tracks. His latest effort, a three track EP titled Forfeit The Genre, features “Dat Purple Penguin” along with two remixes of previously released songs. “Dat Purple Penguin” begins with a slow pace, mixing atmospheric sounds with pitch shifting vocals before taking a more aggressive turn, set off by a dramatic build and drop. The result is a track that takes many changes in direction, and is best characterized by it’s ability to reach these varied sonic destinations smoothly through careful rises in energy that while drastically alter the mood, do so in an engaging manner. The EP can be purchased on the artist’s Bandcamp page or on iTunes. Watch the video for “Dat[...]

the gifted children – my museum pieces

February 9, 2015

For a band that’s been around for almost 20 years, it’s commendable that the gifted children are still on their A-game. The Rochester art-rock collective is fresh off the release of my museum pieces, a genre-spanning full length that channels the likes of The Decemberists and self-referential influences Guided By Voices. Highlighted by swirling instrumentation, rich harmonies, and the eclectic  songwriting style the band is known for, my museum pieces is not only a noteworthy collection of songs, but a captivating story record that has more than earned buffaBLOG’s Album of the Week. Taking a look at the roster/credits for the album on the band’s bandcamp page is dizzying to say the least; an impressive seventeen musicians contributed in some way to the album’s eleven diverse tracks. Much in the spirit of Broken Social Scene, the gifted children have a perpetually rotating cast of musicians that varies from record to[...]

Cooling Card Drops Shoe-Gaze Track, “All of Lost”

February 6, 2015

A rather mysterious band/artist popped on up Rochester’s bandcamp today in the form of Cooling Card. The artist page has no links to any other forms of social media, and the song doesn’t even have a date stamp on it. Is this even new? No matter. Whoever Cooling Card may be, the act delivered a solid cut of shoe-gaze in the track “All is Lost.” Droning vocals and reverb heavy guitars with the occasional jangle, pretty much the key ingredients to a good shoe-gaze, are all present on “All is Lost.” The song recalls a less mopey Smiths, a less poppy Pains of Being Pure at Heart, and even a touch of local act Spirit Choir. Check it out below and if you have an extra $666 lying around, you can purchase the track over at Cooling Card’s bandcamp page.

Grits Drops Debut EP, Shimshamwhimwhamanditalwayswillbe

February 5, 2015

Between taking over lead female vocals in Mallwalkers and handling bass duties in Mink, Jaz Frazier apparently has working on ANOTHER new project named Grits, which just dropped its debut EP,  Shimshamwhimwhamanditalwayswillbe(yes that is the title), earlier this week. Since debuting her Inquiring Mind project in late 2013, Frazier has always displayed an impressive vocal range and flair on any project she has been involved in. As for Grits, the 5-track EP is full of fuzzy guitars and more spoken word type vocals from Frazier. Think Kitten Forever or Le Tigre and you have a good place to start. Stream the full EP here, and check out, “Thich Nhat Hahn,” the stand out, Pavement-esque track from Shimshamwhimwhamanditalwayswillbe below.

Krill – “Tiger”

February 5, 2015

One of my go-to bandcamp pages I frequent while zoning out to Super Smash Brothers is Boston’s up-and-coming trio, Krill. Although I love visiting wheretheresakrilltheresaway.bandcamp.com, I must admit that the songs were starting to get old with my roommate (“Are we fucking listening to Krill again?”).  Well, Alex will be delighted tonight to find out that Krill has a brand new song that has debuted via Rolling Stone.  The new single, “Tiger,” off of the band’s forthcoming junior release, A Distant Fist Unclenching, proves that Krill have graduated from the super cool underground indie playlists to super cool indie playlists. What I truly love about Krill is lead singer Jonah Furman’s free-wheeling, Tim Kinsella-like delivery. Oh and just so you don’t try to over think the lyrics, they are about a very likeable villager that’s mauled by tiger. Check it out below.

Title Fight – Hyperview

February 4, 2015

The first time that I ever heard of Title Fight was in 2012 when I read a review bashing a single from the band’s new record, Floral Green. The write up stated the new track was a complete departure from Title Fight’s current sound at the time, and was not worth even listening to if you liked the band. Obviously, I had to go listen to the song, “Head in the Ceiling Fan.” From what I understood, Title Fight was a punk / post hardcore band, but this track was incredibly slow and dreamy. After hearing that song, I dug deeper into the band’s discography and really became a fan. When the band began dropping songs for new album, Hyperview, I was really surprised. These two new songs, first “Chlorine” and then “Rose of Sharon,” continued on the underwater sounding, dreamy path of “Head in the Ceiling Fan,” and the fact[...]

Kristachuwan Releases Seeing Eyes (will not be) EP

February 3, 2015

Electronic producer and former Cinnamon Aluminum multi-instrumentalist, Kristachuwan, is known for his dense arrangements, often combining abrasive sounds with melodic, lush samples to make for an experimental take on electronica, house, and ambient music. Prior to relocating to New Mexico late last month, the artist released his latest EP, Seeing Eyes (will not be), which furthers his style of layering organic sounds in an abstract manner and is yet another unique collection of tracks that share a refreshing sense of playfulness. The album’s title track blends warm, inviting vocal melodies with a stark bass line and gritty, off-kilter percussion, while tracks like “Romanky,” “Bourgeois Harem,” and “Zebra (St. Sophia)” take a more meandering, jazzy approach with saxophone samples, bringing to mind the expansive work of producer Flying Lotus. Similar to the Los Angeles artist, Kristachuwan brings progressive ideas to styles like jazz, funk, and soul in an attempt to put past[...]

Cookie Drops Debut EP, Tell it to the fudge

February 3, 2015

In the essence of Spring newness (we’re getting there) and spontaneity, Cookie, the fresh punk project of Jordan Nittoli (Newish Star, Dream Journal) and Dave Dluga (Softlines, White Whale, Mapmaker) has dropped its debut EP, Tell it to the Fudge. The three tracks listen like a Japandroids / Built to Spill combo– sometimes fast, sometimes brash, but always on point. “Recording these songs was a pleasant surprise” notes Nittoli when asked about the project. “We had messed around with the riff for ‘Research and Development’ a few weeks earlier… thought it would be cool to write a couple more songs, and here we are.” While you shouldn’t expect to catch Cookie live any time soon, new songs may still be on the horizon. “It may continue to be a recording project,” adds Nittoli. “More or less to solidify some floating ideas.” I particularly enjoy the hearty stroll of  “Rule the Universe,” definitely[...]

Bob Dylan – Shadows in the Night

February 3, 2015

Shadows in the Night is certainly one of Bob Dylan’s most confounding projects. From one of the greatest and most innovative architects of modern music – the man who redefined the scope and sound of what an artist could do, and stands still as the voice of the 1960s counter-culture movement – probably the last thing we would expect is a full disc of music that pre-dates his own towering influence, while also avoiding the music that informed most of his career – namely, folk, country, blues, gospel, and Americana. Instead, Dylan goes entirely pre-rock on Shadows, offering us 10 covers of traditional pop standards made famous by Frank Sinatra. But, as even the most casual observers know, Dylan is no stranger to throwing left field efforts. And he’d hinted at his inner Frank in more recent releases; see the slow-dance swooner “Soon After Midnight” from 2012’s Tempest, and the[...]