Latest Posts

Gay Angel Releases Under The Radar Album, Places I’ll Eat, People I’ll Meet

August 21, 2014

One of the more interesting releases to grace our mail box this month has to be from Rochester’s Gay Angel. The moniker of singer/composer Jake Bellissimo, the musician recently released his latest album, Places I’ll Eat, People I’ll Meet, in late July. My first thoughts when listening to this album were that it is busy as hell. Look at the liner notes on the bandcamp page. Aside from Bellissimo, nearly 25 musicians contributed vocals, horns, strings, and more to the nine track album, which, according to Bellissimo, is “a collection of stories, people, sex, food, and music collected over the past 3 years.” Here is the thing though. While some artists compensate lackluster song writing with busier complex sounds, Gay Angel is one of the few that can combine swamped audio with quality. Its wild and all over the place at times, but I never once listened to the album and[...]

PG: A Female Rapper with a Golden Era Steez

August 20, 2014

The Roc is in the building! Rochester’s own PG is a female emcee with a dope flow and a knack for storytelling. On “Brooklyn Girl,” the femcee narrates an encounter with a fly chick on the train tracks of NYC. It’s an old school-styled song that’s refreshingly focused on songwriting, that which PG s already very good at. We’ve all been there, wanting to talk to that cute person, waiting for that moment to actually speak while your nerves build. The song touches on that feeling we’re all familiar with. As PG actually tracks down the BK girl, the song doesn’t lose any of it’s honesty and relatability. Check it out, it’s a great introduction to a promising new femcee.

Harmonica Lewinski Releases First Single From Upcoming EP

August 20, 2014

We have been doing parties for the blog for nearly four years now, and I feel it’s safe to say that the set from Harmonica Lewinski at our fourth birthday party last March was my favorite yet. Making their debut Buffalo show, the band almost didn’t make it due to some out-of-nowhere snow that had them stuck on the I-90 for much of the early evening. Luckily for those in attendance, Harmonica showed up and delivered a tight, retro-tinged performance that lured everyone to a very crowded Duke’s dance floor. You can watch a clip from that performance right here. The band has been teasing some new material and subsequent tour all summer long, and early this morning, the wild Rochester surf punk crew released the first single from their forthcoming 7″ EP, Naked Brunch (9/11). Titled “Har Har Bizarre,” the song is a retro-synth based carnival-like track that maintains an eerie vibe[...]

HUNS

August 20, 2014

Editor’s Note: Fresh Meat will be a periodical, in-depth look at some of the area’s freshest bands. For the first installment of the series, we focus on the instrumental trio, HUNS. For HUNS, it’s all about the improv, and no, I’m not talking about the comedy club. Improvisational music is usually something that you correlate to jazz, even though there have been a few bands who have thrived on it, such as Fugazi, Mogwai, Kyuss, and Clutch. “We record everything we do right here,” drummer John Neiss says, pointing to a shelf of stacked recording equipment. The shelf is nestled into the corner of Huns’ tiny rehearsal space in downtown Buffalo. “We go back and listen to it,” adds guitarist Brandon Schmidt. According to Schmidt, the biggest obstacle is keeping Neiss engaged. “He is very punctual when it comes to time.” “I can’t stand 4/4,” Neiss chiming in. An interjecting Schmidt[...]

Taylor Swift – “Shake It Off”

August 19, 2014

The popular image of pathetic-failure-chic is tired as hell. See: He’s Just Not That Into You, Girl Most Likely, and other movies in which potentially capable women get sucked into very cute, very milquetoast humiliations and histrionics. Taylor Swift can often be the aural embodiment of perpetuating those stereotypes. Girls! It’s Victimhood lite! Now in adorable and sassy flavors. The Bechdel Test is just based on a little conversation between two characters in a 1985 comic strip, Dykes to Watch Out For by Allison Bechdel. It is usually applied to film, but it works for other media. All the film/album/novel/what-have-you needs is a) at least two women who b) have conversations c) about something other than a man. The heteronormativity and the perfect image of a relationship, the super sublime womanhood and manhood we’re supposed to aspire to, really does run so deep that the art which rewards this complex[...]

Passion in Constellation Releases Latest Single, “Smash”

August 19, 2014

Passion in Constellation has recently released a staggeringly catchy single. Packed with monumental transitions, euphoric synth hooks, and moments of serene grace, “Smash” is a full exhibition of the burgeoning dance producer’s strengths. Furthermore it’s his most experimentally playful release up to date. The single opens with a gritty and sultry bass line before the primary hook takes over. Here, synth stabs are accompanied with deft high-hat work, mallet samples, and anonymous female vocal coos. “Rainforest part-ayyy” is what she appears to be announcing and the fun is only beginning. The track craftily conjures an atmosphere of the jungle-book meets the disco, veering in and out of various adaptations of it’s infectious hook and don’t you worry, PIC makes sure to scatter surprises throughout. A sudden shift at 1:48 puts the bass-synth combo on full display via sparse kicks and shuffled high hats. Towards the end, a lush key melody[...]

A Hotel Nourishing Releases First Single From Empty Gesture EP

August 19, 2014

I remember my introduction to the Buffalo music scene. I drove from my hometown in central New York to catch a glimpse of Say Hi to Your Mom in the dark Sound Lab basement in the middle of a snowstorm. The Wishes and the Glitch was an amazing album. Anyways, upon arrival, I realized I was in Buffalo like an hour before the show even opened it’s doors (Buffalo time was foreign to me) so I had to wait outside in my car for an hour, then inside alone in a booth for an hour, then standing up front until eventually I caught the first band, A Hotel Nourishing. I initially had thought they were a touring band based on how tight they were as a duo, with Cameron Rogers’ lightning fast, thunderous drumming coupled with Sonny Baker’s wry energy and sprawling guitars. The night capped off with me nervously introducing[...]

J. Cole Releases Track in Response to Events in Ferguson, MO

August 15, 2014

J. Cole is the first big activist coming from the world of hip hop regarding the tragedies outside of St. Louis. This past Saturday, an unarmed black teen was shot to death by a police officer. Facts are muddled. The police say 18 year-old Michael Brown was assaulting an officer, reaching for his gun. Witnesses say Brown was running for his life from an officer who started the interaction with his gun drawn threatening to shoot. Some people of Ferguson reacted honorably with events like candle-light vigils, but others complicated the problem recklessly looting stores and vandalizing property of their own community, a community that already had big-enough problems at hand. It’s a tricky issue. Four nights of clashes between police and protesters followed, including the use of rubber bullets and tear gas. In the last couple days, tensions have settled and it looks as though the community will try[...]

Charles Bordeaux Releases Latest Track, “Hungry Hands”

August 14, 2014

The rather anonymous and low key Buffalo producer/singer-songwriter Charles Bordeaux has recently released a new track on his bandcamp. Featuring jazzy keys, some basic beatboxing, and lovely backing vocal harmonies, “Hungry Hands” is a smooth down-tempo number which puts Bordeaux’s velvety style of singing on full display. As it evolves, it crosses into new-wave territory, introducing crisp high hats and bouncy square synths. Never superfluous, the track retains a steady sense of warmth and ripeness throughout, making it the artists most mature release up to date. Check it out.

Strawberry Boys Release First Single, “Got It”

August 14, 2014

Earlier this week, we received an e-mail from Rochester-based electro-pop twosome, Strawberry Boys. In the message, the sender described Strawberry Boys’ sound as a “boy band but serious.” The single, “Got It,” is slow building, but soon evolves into an Architecture in Helsinki-like backing coupled with vocals of Proto Zoa, the fictional band from Disney’s Zenon: Girl of the 21st Century. Although Strawberry Boys prefer to release their music under a veil of mystery, I would not be surprised if familiar names are behind the project. Check out “Got It” underneath these words.

Chae Hawk Releases Cinematic Vid for “Dinner Plates”

August 13, 2014

Love is complicated. Break-ups are complicated. Relationships are complicated. Continuing with that theme, Chae Hawk releases this 7 minute epic music/movie video for “Dinner Plates.” There’s a hawt Penelope Cruz lookalike, a couple of scorned lovers murdering each other, some pseudo-zombie action, and an impressively cool Chae Hawk back tat. Featuring beautiful black and white cinematography, this has got to be one of the highest quality local music videos we’ve seen in some time. Coupling that with a typically dope musical release from the Team Radio emcee, this is a vid you’re sure to enjoy.

Rustie & Danny Brown – “Attak”

August 11, 2014

Rustie and Danny Brown collabed on a song together, which isn’t the first time. With Danny’s lyrical flow and Rustie’s electronic masterpiece, “Attak” is a complimenting blend of high energy. The official video was released today. As URL increasingly seeps into the IRL world, this video uses superimposed text, suggestive emojis and rolling lyrics that are reminiscent of having fun with 3D word art in the early days of Microsoft Word. It’s perfect. Rustie – Attak ft Danny Brown (Official Music Video) from Music on Vimeo.

Brimstone Blondes Sign To Admirable Traits, Release First Single

August 11, 2014

Brimstone Blondes, a new wavy (save the synths), post-punk revivalist four-piece, will see their debut EP, Age of Consent, released later this month via Admirable Traits Records, a label with Buffalo and Brooklyn roots. The album’s first single,”Social Smokers,” premiered this morning. Backed by peppy, crunchy chords, Matthew Danger Lippman (think David Byrne and Fred Schneider of the B-52’s), one of Buffalo’s most charismatic and confident frontmen, snarls his way through the frantic number, one of the seven new/revisited tracks to be found on Age of Consent. Long time live staple, “Get Lifted!,” also appears on the EP, given a fresh makeover from Brandon Schlia, Steak and Cake Records founder and Age of Consent producer. The band will celebrate the release of Age of Consent next week, Thursday, August 21st, at Buffalo Iron Works with support from Harmonica Lewinski and Wooden Waves. The 18+ show costs $10 to enter. Admission will include[...]

Buffalo Sex Change – Buffalo Sex Change

August 11, 2014

When I first heard of Rochester garage post-punk band Buffalo Sex Change and their self-titled, debut album, my initial reaction was mostly just trying to figure out their highly specific and provocative name. Fairly early into the album, however, I was having a hard time imagining the two-piece being referred to as anything else. With a gritty lo-fi drums, androgynous sounding vocals, and a distorted guitar sound that can only be described as dark and dirty, the band explores music rooted in a liminal phase, never quite clear of itself. And yet, the general mood of the record comes off confident, as if the members are aware of and quite comfortable with their own liminality. With only two members, BSS does well with filling in the space of sound, particularly with Phil Pierce’s guitar playing, which switches from Buddy Holly licks  in “Gender Unknown” to early Jesus & Mary Chain/Kevin[...]

buffaBLOG Premiere: Work Drugs – “Free To Roam”

August 7, 2014

We’ve been a fan of Work Drugs at buffaBLOG since their 2011 sleepy dream-pop single, “Rad Racer,” so we were beyond excited to jump on an opportunity to premiere their latest single, “Free To Roam.” The band is comprised of electro-pop, Philadelphia-by-way-of- Florida, synth workhorses, Thomas Crystal and Benjamin Louisiana. “Free To Roam” is a featured track on band’s  eighth album in four years, RUNAWAYS, with a set release in early October.  The single, from a flavor sense, is more in the realm of “Double LIfe” than “Rad Racer.” It’s bouncy, carefree,  and accessible, similar to if you let Two Door Cinema Club produce a Phoenix album after sitting down with the latest Cherub release. For a local recommendation, they would be perfectly nestled somewhere between JOYWAVE and Humble Braggers. The subject matter of “Free To Roam” is about young love, hitting the country side, and discovering a new color with[...]