Latest Posts

The Black Ships – Dead Empires

December 15, 2015

The question of what would have happened in a world where Joy Division still exists is one of pop culture’s enduring questions. And while the Manchester foursome may have never been able to answer, Saratoga Springs’ The Black Ships may be able to, at least sonically. Awash in the same emotional bleakness and unease as Joy Division, and the same new wave pop hooks as New Order, the band finds a middle ground that immediately wins over fans of both groups. This, however, is no mere tribute band. While it’s easy to spot their influences, The Black Ships are making a definitive statement on Dead Empires. This is a act that sounds wholly unlike any other band in the upstate NY area but arrives fully confident in their technique and vision. Take for example the stellar “Sea of Cortez.” While the band’s synth/guitar combo gives a rather new wave vibe, The Black[...]

YLXR Releases “Covergirl” Remix

December 15, 2015

Buffalo electronic R&B producer YLXR balances maximalist synth and drum sequences with saccharine swells and exuberant vocal sample on his latest remix of the 2009 RuPaul track “Covergirl.” Keeping the bass and drum sounds rooted in the club, the artist patiently builds to the spirited drop that finds the woozy synth melody at its most compelling. With an ability to create interesting progressions from minimal beats to sample-heavy breakdowns, YLXR continues to impress with productions that combine pop sensibility with club music’s exultation. Stream/download “Covergirl” below [soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/234913496″ params=”color=ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false” width=”100%” height=”166″ iframe=”true” /]

Parade Chic – One And Only Secret Dream

December 14, 2015

One of the most exciting developments for Buffalo’s music scene has been the emergence of progressive and vibrant art spaces like Sugar City and Dreamland as music venues. These spaces are not only excellent for shows, intimate and immediate; they bring the city’s art and music scenes together in a search for mutual liberation and survival, and foster a more open ethos for both artist and audience that makes bands like Parade Chic, whose debut One And Only Secret dropped on Bandcamp last week, more possible. Our Album of the Week, One And Only Secret Dream finds the previously lo-fi art rockers embracing a richer, almost chamber pop sound that’s preserves the Belle and Sebastian vibe while introducing an early of Montreal influence. Colin Griffin’s vulnerable and searching voice guides the whole effort, with standout cuts like the surging yet delicate “The Birds,” the simultaneously minimalist yet soaring melancholic title track, and[...]

Susanna Rose – Snowbound

December 7, 2015

Though this album was written during and inspired by last winter’s brutal reign (as detailed by Susanna Rose’s Bandcamp), there is something inherently warm and inviting about Snowbound. It takes a minimalistic look at some of life’s most tender moments — parting with a lover, suppressing a broken heart, convincing yourself of your own independence. Susanna possesses an incredible ability to be conversational through her writing. It almost feels as though a longtime friend is seated next to you, sharing her worries and shedding small wisdoms. On “Working Girl,” the opening track to the album, she sings “Oh, I want to go home / where the wind blows / and I’m not in an office every day / I can’t live this way…It’s time to go / because I’m going crazy here in my troubled mind / I need natural light / I need loving at night / I need a passionate life”. I’m sure every 9-to-5’er[...]

High Drags Side Project, SLUGS, Release New Single

December 4, 2015

SLUGS are a fairly new project for long-time collaborators (and siblings) Marissa and James Longstreet. We have covered the pair in the past under their high-energy electro-pop moniker High Drags. With roots in Rochester, SLUGS is now Los Angeles-based, and probably as opposite of High Drags’ vibes as it can get. The new project’s sound drawing comparisons to Courtney Barnett, Angel Olsen, or Deer Tick. “Anything’s Impossible” is desert-y rock and roll tune, with some 90’s grunge tinge. Check it out below. [soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/233472120″ params=”color=ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false” width=”100%” height=”166″ iframe=”true” /]

Peach releases new album The Fall of Rome

December 3, 2015

Buffalo production duo 桃 [peach] with only a pair of bandcamp releases to their name are responsible for one of the more unique sounds to come out of the local electronic scene. With their latest album The Fall of Rome, the artists explore sounds rooted in vaporwave, house, and electronica while adhering to the ancient Roman theme with track titles like “Julius Caesar,” “The Ides of March,” and “Fall of the Republic.” Opening with the downtempo, glitchy “Ode to a New Age,” Peach complements fiery drums with lush chords and dark atmospherics while the more house-oriented “Julius Caesar” brings to mind the work of Toronto duo Crystal Castles with its abrasive textures and frenetic synth leads. Their eclectic production skills lend themselves to more groove-based, mellow tracks as well with “Welcome to Rome” and “Crossing the Rubicon” providing a more subdued tone while maintaining the experimental, scatter-brained approach that characterizes Peach’s sound. Perhaps[...]

Petite League- Slugger

December 2, 2015

Baseball. Rock ‘n’ Roll. The Carrier Dome. Do those phrases resonate as “American” to you? Well, they should. And they’re three words that, more or less, resonate with the band from ‘Cuse known as Petite League. Petite League is a lo-fi garage rock band currently inhabiting Syracuse’s scene. The band’s newest release is titled Slugger. When one pays a visit to their bandcamp page, they’re greeted visually by a collage of vintage baseball trading cards which easily blend with Slugger’s album art. When you hit play on Slugger’s first track, “Ocean Honey,” you’re instantly transported into a basement in Syracuse with your cheap beer of choice in hand; accompanied by the smell of cigarettes, cheap whiskey, and the guy standing next to you. It’s garage-pop music for sure– in the same realm as early  Cloud Nothings, Ex Hex,  and Wavves. Each song brings an upbeat guitar riff– technical, yet not intimidating. Repeating melodies[...]

Prince Daddy & The Hyena – Adult Summers

December 1, 2015

Prince Daddy & The Hyena has me baffled. They’ve just put out something truly unique, an almost unclassifiable sounding new EP called Adult Summers. My attempt at classification: take equal parts Andrew W.K. and The Hotelier, and toss in a dash of The Locust. One of their songs even sounds like Atom and his Package. Either way, their music is fast, loud, and weird… In a good way. A very good way. Amidst the aggression, there’s a cavalcade (yes, a cavalcade) of really impressive and beautiful guitar work, not to mention the myriad of other creative noises peppered into the mix. At any rate, Prince Daddy & co. are pushing the limits of whatever genre they’re defying. In order to truly describe this band, you’ll probably just need to use the word “party.” If it’s not apparent by their irreverent approach to musicianship, Prince Daddy & the Hyena are a release from Broken World[...]

Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings – It’s A Holiday Soul Party

December 1, 2015

It’s not that holiday music stinks per se, it’s the fact that holiday music is bloody ubiquitous for a solid month; weaponized against us every time we go into a store (notably, except for The People’s Wegman’s on Amherst St). There’s also a lot of terrible holiday music out there, which doesn’t go well with the whole ubiquity thing, a shame considering most music fans have a holiday music stash of their own they annually retreat into. Beach Boys Christmas singles, “Christmas In Hollis,” Mr. Hanky’s Christmas Classics, Flaming Lips’ psychedelic Yuletide jams… we’ve all got something  that makes our ears feel warm and fuzzy in the month of December. Enter It’s A Holiday Soul Party, the latest from Daptone Records stalwarts Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings, a dynamite multi denominational collection of holiday classics that provides some serious emotional release while showcasing the incredible range and power of Miss Jones, and[...]

Gypsy Freight – I’ll hold this close

November 30, 2015

Ariel Piazza is not your run-of-the-mill college rock musician. Writing and performing under the pseudonym Gypsy Freight, Piazza paints emotional sonic portraits in a vein of ambient folk all her own. Her newest release, a full length titled ‘I’ll hold this close, ‘ bleeds with emotionalism, twelve tracks of ethereal folk atmospheric music worth swimming in. The thing about Gypsy Freight is that it’s not far off from what you’d expect if you were to imagine what the project sounds like based on name alone. That’s not to say the tracks aren’t striking (because they are), but the fact that many of the songs sound as if they were recorded in a halfway-haunted grand cathedral is remarkably suiting. Piazza’s voice is both sweet and powerful; this prowess is especially prominent in tracks like “I don’t know what I’m doing but I’m okay” and “building homes,” her Daughter-esque delivery riding the dark[...]

Orations Share New EP, Incantation

November 24, 2015

With two back-to-back weekends of 80’s dance parties and recent shows from Joy Division, Jesus and Mary Chain, and Replacements cover bands, it’s fair to say that the spirit of the decade is alive and well in Buffalo. So if you miss the pulsating bass lines of New Order’s Peter Hook or the shimmering jangle pop guitar of the Smiths’ Johnny Marr, then Buffalo’s Orations should have you covered. The band just released its sophomore EP/7″, Incantation, and it’s four tracks of invigorating, post-punk gems. Orations show their immense range on Incantation, generating an ability to seamlessly transfer from the dreamy pop sounds of opening number, “Curses,” to the more nocturnal punk sounds of tracks like “Nosedive.” This is no imitation, though. While Orations dig from a plethora of 80’s sounds, there’s no particular band they seem to sounds like. Rather, Incantation is the sound of a band who grew up loving[...]

North Collins – North Collins

November 23, 2015

You know the saying—“Another day, another rad album of the week from Rochester.” Pretty sure that’s how it goes. At any rate, it holds true this week; Rochester pop-folk duo North Collins having dropped a wonderfully-composed nine tracks of lush experimental folk. With its uplifting male-female harmonies and striking, appropriate orchestration, the self-titled debut fits nicely on a shelf between an Illinois-era Sufjan Stevens and indie-folk contemporaries Mates of State. When Mac first sent me the link to the duo’s bandcamp, I thought perhaps he was making reference to the project’s name; North Collins is also the name of a town neighboring my hometown of Eden, a Buffalo suburb. “Heh, a suitable listen for an Edenite,” I thought, as I opened the link and plugged in my headphones. All novelty aside, North Collins is the real deal. From the very first track, “Western Sky,” I was drawn immediately to the[...]

Don Scuzz and Tech’o Drop “Already” Visuals

November 20, 2015

Don Scuzz has a penchant for aggressive rhymes to compliment his gruff vocal delivery. This remains the case for the Buffalo rapper on the track “Already,” which comes with a new video this week. Scuzz holds nothing back as he kicks off the song its rapid chorus rapping “I ain’t even made it and they wanna do me dirty already, I ain’t gotta say it,if you in the city then I’m just guessing that you heard me already.” The Hooligan Records rapper couples his confident statements with some pretty provoking lyrical content, particularly when Scuzz relays “I’ve just seen my little brother going off the deep end and I don’t know if I’m the solution to the problem or the reason.” Scuzz interchanges his impressive verses with two from the 17-year-old Tech’o, who has some pretty great bars of his own. Standout line “I remember running ’round playing ‘Duck, Duck,[...]

The Modern Age Shares New Single

November 19, 2015

New-to-the-scene alt rock act the Modern Age shared its latest single late last week, the follow up to their debut single “All the Time.” Formerly a duo that consisted of past members of Mosaics and Aria, the retooled act is now a quartet and has been working on tracks over at Paul Besch’s Quiet Country Audio. On “We Belong Together,” the group recalls a less bratty version of Made Violent or a cleaner M.A.G.S., the second comparison being rather apt as M.A.G.S. front man Elliott Douglas does drum tracking on the tune. The Modern Age has already teased its soon to be next track, “Feel It,” set to drop next month, so keep an eye out. In the mean time, listen to “We Belong Together” below.

A Relative Term – The Quiet End of the Space Age

November 16, 2015

Atmosphere isn’t an easy aspect to apply to folk music. The predicament almost becomes a matter of mathematics; include too many layers, and the ambiance detracts from the songwriting itself. But for A Relative Term—the musical project of Mark Longolucco—a sound atmospheric ratio comes naturally. When that ratio is applied to the contemporary folk songs on the project’s latest LP, The Quiet End of the Space Age, we’re left with an immersive collection of tracks that melds thoughtful musicianship with a warm-hearted nature of songwriting that makes it difficult to remain unaffected by. Mathematics aside, The Quiet End of the Space Age has an alarmingly natural feeling to it, despite the lush offerings of keyboard often found filling out the ten tracks. It’s a pretty unique balance—think the rusticity of an early Iron and Wine meets the haunting ambiance of the latest Sufjan Stevens album. Folk contemporaries Mutual Benefit strike[...]