Latest Posts

She’s So Rad – “Levels”

April 8, 2014

Our inbox gets close to a hundred e-mails a day from PR agencies, freelance managers, and independent bands casting their nets for coverage. With the new updates to the site, we pledged to give more listens, reads, and write-ups to these e-mails. With that being said, Auckland, New Zealand’s She’s So Rad caught our attention with their new-shoe-wave single, “Levels.” The song is the returning single for the band after a member suffered an unprovoked beating that left him in coma. “Levels” is sincere, dreamy, and hypnotic. Fans of Black Light Dinner Party, Cherub, or even Metronomy would dig this euphoric synth-pop jammer. [soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/134482097″ params=”auto_play=false&hide_related=false&visual=true” width=”100%” height=”450″ iframe=”true” /]

Like A Parrot Debut “Awkward Arm”

April 8, 2014

I just want to dance! Maybe it’s because it’s Tuesday or maybe it’s because Like a Parrot has just released the brand new track, “Awkward Arm.” Consisting of Aaron Bonus and Justin Gammella, Like a Parrot have been making music together for the past year, creating their own brand of indie dance-pop in the vein of Walter Meego. Gammella commented on their recording habits; “We are always writing new music. Our goal was to write 50 songs this year, while still working other jobs. Our next goal is to write at least 100 songs in a year when we are doing nothing but music.” In the past year, they have recorded with the likes of Bianca Dyrland of ARIA, with future collaborations set to include Dan Erickson and The Spin Wires. The name Like a Parrot is a tongue in cheek jab at the industry. “ In briefings we get[...]

Avey Tare’s Slasher Flicks – Enter the Slasher House

April 8, 2014

After more than a decade together as one of the most prolific and unorthodox psychedelic-pop indie bands, Animal Collective’s founding member Avey Tare has decided to break away and form an alternative trio side-project called Slasher Flicks. Unlike many of the less than stellar attempts to start a band anew, Tare’s new musical experimentation is strikingly catchy and stylistically cohesive. It all starts off on “Little Fang,” a sleek psych-funk jam that compels listeners to “remember that your gifts are your game” all on top of rhythmic keyboard strokes and airy vocals. Thankfully, Enter the Slasher House downplays Avey Tare’s tendency to blow instrumental arrangements out of proportion with extraneous layers of sound as was the case on the last Animal Collective album. Stripping the songs down helped this trio, which includes former Dirty Projector member Angel Deradoorian, especially on the trippy “Strange Colores,” a track that finds the perfect balance of[...]

Fat Africa Releases Teaser Single

April 4, 2014

Set to be released on Dadstache Records (Skirts [formerly Meanagers], Routine Involvements, and bc likes you!), Rochester based outfit, Fat Africa, released their teaser single to  their upcoming album. “Futility, or…” is a crawling minimalist track which can be be described as Modest Mouse’ “Dramamine” covered by the xx. Check it out below.

Queen City Music Lottery Band, Nail School, Debuts First Song

April 4, 2014

On the eve of the Queen City Music Lottery Showcase, one of the randomly assembled acts, Nail School, has released its first track via bandcamp. Featuring members of JOHNS, Merchants, and Space Wolves, Nail School’s “Russian Bride” is a cut of dark, aggressive garage-punk that doesn’t sound too unlike some of singer John Toohill’s other projects, including the recently debuted Alpha Hopper. You can catch Nail School, along with Plosive, Move Real Fast Stop., and a handful of other brand new acts, tomorrow night at the Foundry (298 Northhampton St) starting at 6pm.

April 3rd

April 4, 2014

Lone – “2 Is 8” British producer Lone was responsible for one of the most infectious singles of 2013 with “Airglow Fires,” a track that features a hip-hop inspired outro, hinting at a possible new avenue for the artist. “2 is 8,” the latest single from his upcoming album, Reality Testing, is a mesmerizing blend of hip-hop and house, channeling J-Dilla with it’s spry, bouncing feel. The vibe perfectly captures the producers wide array of influences, showing an impressive mastery of texture and movement as the track closes out with a lush, emotive synth breakdown.   Bicep – “Nova” London via Belfast duo Bicep recently shared their latest cut, “Nova,” an exclusive that will appear on Will Saul’s upcoming DJ-Kicks mix. Like many of their tracks, the gritty percussion and soaring vocal samples makes for a 90’s house feel with subtle, yet elegant transitions. Look for the track on Saul’s mix due out June[...]

Cloud Nothings – Here and Nowhere Else

April 3, 2014

Cloud Nothings‘ face-crunching fourth album is a fearless, assertive follow-up to 2012’s Attack on Memory. Oscillating between a chaotic rush of existential howls and throaty but tuneful melodies, Here and Nowhere Else pounds its presence out through furious snare slams and clamorous cymbal crashes. For better or worse, Cloud Nothings are as foggy and nihilistic as their namesake implies. “You’re born / you’re gone,” cries frontman Dylan Baldi repeatedly on “No Thoughts,” succinctly whittling the human condition down to its coming and going. As in the songs of similarly-minded peers Titus Andronicus, however, the absurdity and cruelty of existence makes for some pretty addictive punk rock.  Here and Nowhere Else largely consists of blurry, anti-pop assaults of pop song length. Baldi is a dynamic vocalist, sliding from screams to Strokes-style singing with relentless charisma. Even as he complains that “life gets boring, it fades away,” he seems impassioned enough to annihilate the ennui he fears. On[...]

Hamilton Leithauser – “11 O’Clock Friday Night”

April 3, 2014

Despite the Walkmen calling it quits, their former members have been keeping quite busy. Bass player Walter Martine appears to be releasing children’s music, albeit with some help from indie friends like Karen O. Organist Peter Matthew Bauer is prepping his solo LP, which if you have heard the song’s first single “Latin American Ficciones,” you may be wondering who the real secret weapon of the band is. And finally front man Hamilton Leithauser is putting together his own solo album, Black Hours, featuring contributions from Rotsam Batmanglij of Vampire Weekend, Richard Shift, former Walkmen bandmates, and many more. After releasing the very fun “Alexendra,” Leithauser dropped the video for another new track today, called “11 O’Clock Friday Night.” Ditching the slightly over-the-top feel of “Alexandra”  for a moodiness that made the Walkmen’s You and I so great, this track can be found on the forthcoming album Black Hours, set to[...]

Rackmastas Release Return of the Rack LP

April 3, 2014

Rackmastas, a long time duo born out of the basement of Gates Circle Wine & Liquor, recently released its long awaited LP, Return of the Rack. Spanning 17 tracks, the record has a lot going on, although don’t be misled by the long tracklist as a handful of those songs are fun little radio station under writings. The long form tunes cover many genres, including R&B, hip hop, dream pop, experimental post-rock, jazz, and pretty much you name it. Stand out tracks include “Girl Watcher,” a pretty cut dreamy computer pop that would please Dntel fans, and “H.H.G.M.T Zoppity,” which sounds like what Collections of Colonies of Bees might sound like on a sugar high. You can stream the entire Return of the Rack, which features contributions from members of Inquiring Mind, Crows and Jays, and more, at the band’s bandcamp page. In the mean time, listen to “Girl Watcher” below.

Girl Talk and Freeway f/ Waka Flocka Flame: “Tolerated”

April 2, 2014

Ok, so technically the song and video came out on Monday, but I finally stopped shaking with excitement over it to have steady enough fingers to type about it today. Mind you, it’s not the best thing I’ve heard this week, but it is my most anticipated. The first teaser from the Broken Ankles EP that drops next week, this track will hold you over until April 8th when the full-length video and album are released. Full disclosure: I’m borderline obsessed with Girl Talk. Haters gon hate, but I think his baggy sweats/no shirt/dope hat and/or headband steez at shows is superfly. The Pittsburgh native has been churning out mixtapes for years, sampling everyone from Jay-Z to Bruce Springsteen on well-produced and well-acclaimed albums that are the lazy man’s dj at parties. Too lazy to make a playlist? No worries, because Gregg Gillis has you covered. Freeway, *not* to be confused with “Freeway” Rick Ross, though[...]

Listen to “See Me Again” by Soul Butchers

April 2, 2014

Soul Butchers have recently made a blip on our radar with their debut 7 deep EP/short album 18 Wheeler (produced by Mr. Skimask). The album starts off with a retro-punk flavor similar to that of locals Irving Klaws or Wolf Tickets, but the real magic creeps out on the third track, titled “See Me Again,” where the band distances itself from the rowdy Stooges-like intensity. “See Me Again,” sounds like a mix between a lighter Les Savy Fav meshed with more cathartic Dismemberment Plan. Comprised of past members of 90’s hardcore/punk band, Black Tar, and more recently Delores, and Trailerpark Tornados, Soul Butchers’ next show will be at Spiral Scratch’s Record Store Day showcase on 4/19. Request “See Me Again.”

Thievery Corporation – Saudade

April 2, 2014

Rob Garza and Eric Hilton are busy guys. Since forming Thievery Corporation in the late ’90’s, they’ve produced eleven studio albums, with the release of Saudade as their twelfth. Normally when one thinks of Thievery Corporation, they are associated with the acid-jazz movement and over-dubbed relaxing reggae. For the duo, things are shifting with this new release. What drew them together is the Brazilian-born genres of music that can be seen here in purely classical form on Saudade. After straying and exploring several elements of the electronic world, as Garza says, ‘it’s us coming full circle from electronic music back to something organic.’  The Portugese word ‘saudade’ means “a longing or something or someone that is lost, a contented melancholy, or, simply, the presence of an absence.” This is an appropriate titling for the group and the musical shift they are exploring. Sometimes, in order to get rid of that feeling of loneliness,[...]

The New York Breakfast Releases DON’T CALL IT A COMEBACK

April 1, 2014

Anyone who takes even a brief dip into the waters of Buffalo’s live music culture quickly realizes that Steak and Cake founder Brandon Schlia is one of its proudest captains. On the eve before his label’s third anniversary show (which also happened to be Valentine’s Day), he was part of an unforeseen and harrowing turn of events that left him hospitalized. Showing perseverance in the face of adversity as well as true rock n’ roll diction, the two part show went on, and even included Schlia, home from the hospital and sitting on a chair in his living room.  Last Friday, Steak and Cake released a 4-track album titled DON’T CALL IT A COMEBACK by his personal solo project, The New York Breakfast. The New York Breakfast has always been an intimate vessel, and these songs make the listener feel as if they’re spying on Schlia in his bedroom while he plays[...]

Passion In Constellation Drops New Single

March 31, 2014

Passion in Constellation, the project of Buffalo producer Chris Alan, released its follow up single to “Sunlight” this past weekend. On “Weird Tonight,” Alan appears to be aiming to drop a summer anthem on Buffalo as playful synths lead up to a big chorus that recalls Empire of the Sun’s “Alive.” Fans of Passion Pit, MGMT (at their less difficult), and yes, Empire of the Sun, should give the track a listen. Keep an eye out for future tunes from this interesting project. Check out “Weird Tonight” below.