Latest Posts

slackjaw – friendly pestering

April 6, 2015

You’ve got a friend in slackjaw, and not just because their bandcamp URL says so. The Geneseo quartet’s catchy blend of garage punk and slacker rock has a pleasantly affable vibe to it, an air of innate approachability. Their self-appointed description is “weekend rock,” which I think they wear well. Start with the indie charm of Waxahatchee or Lemuria, add a little Pumpkins-esque crunch, and just a dash of late nineties emo influence, and you’ve got yourself some slackjaw. The band just put out their first release a few short days ago, the wonderful friendly pestering EP, already earning a bit of buzz and some heavy rotation here at the blog. I’m happy to crown friendly pestering buffaBLOG’s Album of the Week. It didn’t take very long to warm up to the songs, suffice to say that’s what the band was going for. Singer Ella Mosco delivers lyrics with an[...]

Death Grips – The Powers That B

April 3, 2015

There are very few bands that have as strong of a cult following as the controversial, experimental hip hop trio, Death Grips. Over its five year life span, DG has put out some incredibly genre defying music, even attracting the ears of one of the biggest names in the world of hip hop (I’m looking at you, Kanye). It seems that with countless cancelled tours and shows, shrouded release dates, and the wild goose chases fans have been led on, that Death Grips has been surrounded in controversy since the beginning. While I will fully admit that this kind of music is most definitely not for everyone, if you go into this with an open mind, it is easy to find the talent that Death Grips possesses. The group’s latest project, and supposedly its last, is the new double album, The Powers That B.  The first part, titled Niggas on[...]

Breach, The Beloved Releases Debut Album

April 2, 2015

Buffalo-based instrumental hip-hop and experimental electronic producer, Romello, recently revealed a new side-project under the name Breach, The Beloved, which features a more lyrical, rock-oriented sound from the young artist. So Far From Parkside begins with a hazy instrumental referencing Willy Wonka and The Chocolate Factory and leads into a collection of twelve tracks with gritty percussion and distorted guitars with a lo-fi psychedelic feel reminiscent of artists like Thundercat, Tame Impala, and Unknown Mortal Orchestra. Standout tracks from the album include “Desert Dream” with its introspective vibe, reverb-laden guitars, and rubbery bassline along with “Blue Keys,” whose smooth melody and understated vocal delivery offers a mellow, jazzy sound which is an interesting drop in energy towards the end of the release. “Alternative Dreams” shows off the producers instrumental range and songwriting ability with a memorable chorus soulful guitar solo on a record that ultimately provides a glimpse of an intriguing new[...]

Sufjan Stevens – Carrie & Lowell

April 1, 2015

Loss can alter a person. Whether it’s reinvention, recollection, or flat-out despair that hits the hardest, the death of a loved one often times has a profound effect on an individual. In the case of Sufjan Stevens, the feelings resulting from his mother’s death in 2012 became the creative fuel for Carrie & Lowell, his most masterfully put-together musical release to date. However, this claim does not come without its irony. The album, an emotionally-baring open-book chapter of Sufjan’s personal life, is also the artist at his most torn-apart. Detailing childhood feelings and the difficult relationship he had with his late mother, Sufjan lays out his experiences without expectation, covering a wide spectrum of human emotion. Struggling with alcoholism and bipolar disorder before her untimely death to stomach cancer in 2012, Sufjan’s mother Carrie (along with his stepfather Lowell, who now works at the label that put out this very[...]

Death Cab for Cutie – Kintsugi

March 31, 2015

“I don’t know where to begin,” croons perennially plaintive vocalist Benjamin Gibbard on Kintsugi, the eighth studio album from indie-rock vets Death Cab for Cutie. Indeed, with its synth flourishes and electronic left-turns, it does ring of a band that’s struggling to maintain its identity while still growing musically – albeit one that’s doing it fairly successfully. Kintsugi mostly follows in the electronic-tinged footsteps of its predecessor Codes And Keys, but while maintaining the sense of heart and intimacy that has made the group among the more interesting in indie pop. Gibbard evokes a stark, forbidding landscape with space for relationship conflict in the most straightforward rocker “Black Sun” – a piece which begins with an “I Am The Highway”-like riff that progresses unexpectedly into cascading riffs and an awesomely static-y guitar solo. And on “Ingénue,” he tells of a young woman ignored and under-appreciated over a slow-building, electronica influenced power[...]

Steak & Cake Releases SAMPLER 6 Compilation

March 30, 2015

I remember the first time I met Brandon Schlia, the founder and operator of Steak & Cake Records. We were throwing our first birthday party at Nietzsche’s and he gave me the label’s first sampler compilation, featuring a collection of Fredonia and Buffalo musician friends’ songs. Fast forward to four years later, and the label has released its latest in the series, SAMPLER 6. For this time around, the comp includes some off beat covers, unreleased b-sides, and remixes from S&C acts like FYFE, Inquiring Mind, and Scary Planetary, and most intriguingly, a previously unheard track from Schlia’s former buzz trio, the Malones. Fun Fact: the cover of SAMPLER 6 features a shot from the Buffalo-based cult classic, Buffalo ’66, which just so happens to be playing at the North Park Theatre this Thursday evening at 7pm. Listen to “Green Rock” by the Malones below.

JOHNS – Grift Marks

March 30, 2015

The melodic dissonance of JOHNS’ new album, Grift Marks (released this past Saturday via Peterwalkee Records), comes from a dark, post-industrialized corner of the world. Imagine Joy Division’s Ian Curtis growing up in the rust belt. Still, every track, every note on the newest release demonstrates a high level of precision. JOHNS may conduct a pathos of unbridled terror, but it is with great care, rather than sloppy angst, that quintet does this. Multiple guitars from John Toohill and Nick Gordon leave their trademark scrape on the surface of every song, but with delicate harmony rather than chaotic noise. The dueling leads in “Wasteland,” for instance, intertwine to create a pallet for the track’s chanting, gang vocals. The guitar and bass hits in the chorus of “Erase Them” hit so hard because of the band’s attention to melody and countermelody. While uniform in mood and composition, each track employs a[...]

Tobias Jesso Jr. – Goon

March 25, 2015

The narrative of heartbreak and desperation that runs through the debut album of Canadian artist Tobias Jesso Jr. has been countlessly explored by numerous singer-songwriter types who strive to craft a universal sentiment from their internal struggles. It’s worth mentioning that the series of events leading to the period where Jesso Jr. wrote these songs included a heavy breakup, being hit by a car on his bike, and learning his mother had cancer before returning to his childhood home. The compelling sounds found on Goon are nothing ground-breaking, as the instrumentation includes piano, drums, with the occasional strings and a few guitar-led tracks, yet their earnest nature coupled with the singer’s wary delivery make for a refreshing listen. Obvious comparisons to classic songwriters like John Lennon, Paul McCartney, Randy Newman, and Harry Nillson have been made and their influence can easily be heard on the album’s opener “Can’t Stop Thinking[...]

Earl Sweatshirt – I Don’t Like Shit, I Don’t Go Outside

March 24, 2015

Could Earl Sweatshirt make it any clearer that he has no interest in being a chart-topping rap-star? With the release of his sophomore album, I Don’t Like Shit, I Don’t Go Outside, it’s pretty obvious the only right answer is no. An entirely self-produced effort – under the alias randomblackdude – the barely 21-year-old SoCal rapper pushes the restrained minimalism of his debut, Doris, to even further extremes. The beats are weirder and more abrasive; his flow is even more down-tempo and heavy-handed; his lyrics are intensely personal and dark, at times suffocatingly gloomy. Rap braggadocio this is certainly not, though he and his stolid-voiced guests do manage to cram a few disses and kiss-offs in with all this introspective ruminating. “Fingertips to tapers, now, salute us when you face us / give a fuck about the moves all these loser niggas making now,” he raps over eerie keys on[...]

The Televisionaries Drop Latest Track “AGAVE”

March 23, 2015

Despite this last blast of winter, summer is coming (we think), and with that, we have a seasonable new song from Rochester surf trio, the Televisionaries. Titled, “AGAVE,” the track is set to be included on the band’s forthcoming sophomore album sometime in the near future. Just don’t mistake that intro for “When The Saint Go Marching In.” You can catch the Televisionaries in their live (and free!) glory along with Buffalo’s finest surf acts, Aaron & the Burrs and the Hamiltones, next week on Friday, April 3rd. No matter what the weather looks like outside that evening, thoughts of sunny skies and tiki drinks will be in the air in the Glitterbox basement. Listen to “AGAVE” below. Surf’s up.

Lesionread – Lesionread’s Greatest Hits! Vol. 1

March 23, 2015

Just a little shy of two years ago, Lesionread exploded onto the scene opening for Wild Nothing at the Tralf with an experience high on avant-garde mischief and mayhem, and Buffalo frankly hasn’t been the same since. The performing moniker of ever ambitious artist Shawn (Sean?) Lewis (Louis?), Lesionread has been an adventure ever since: staging fun yet challenging happenings, constantly refining his sprawling sound, doing his best to live his “art all day” mantra, and in 2015, he’s compiled two year’s worth of work onto a CD/tape cheekily titled Lesionread Greatest Hits Volume 1, and it’s our Album Of The Week. Still, as cheeky a name as Greatest Hits is for a debut album, it’s not entirely undeserved. From the start, it was clear that he wasn’t thinking about his art strictly in terms of songs, instead focusing on the experiences he’s orchestrating, and Lesionread has always been fine[...]

Kendrick Lamar – To Pimp a Butterfly

March 20, 2015

This is an album that will be remembered. Kendrick Lamar’s second major-label album follows the narrative of a poem that Kendrick wrote about his path from a Comptonite into one of the most important leaders to the African American youth. Tied into this poem is another recurring theme, the metamorphosis of a caterpillar into a butterfly. This butterfly is an extended metaphor for a person (Kendrick) who leaves their home (Compton) behind to become a star, and the trials and tribulations that come with that evolution. Although they believe that their stardom frees them, it really exposes them to an industry that aims to squeeze as much money out of them as possible. The butterfly is pimped out by corporate America, and a success story for one is a pawn to another. Kendrick’s poem is told in final form on the album’s final track but we hear it build to[...]

Twin Shadow – Eclipse

March 19, 2015

After a delayed release date last year and a rescheduled tour, George Lewis Jr.’s new wave synth-pop outfit, Twin Shadow, is back with its third studio full length, Eclipse. On his latest release, Lewis really pushes the “pop” in synth-pop. He has definitely been leaning more towards this transition over time since his 80’s synthesizer filled new wave 2010 debut Forget to the 2012’s Confess, which featured more rock oriented instrumentals. The main appeal of the debut record was the incredibly simplistic approach to synth-pop Twin Shadow took. Everything was so smooth as Lewis’ vocals seemed to sort of ebb and flow along with the electronic drums and synthesizers, giving a distinct R&B type feel on many of the tracks. On Confess, Lewis went for a more grand approach, with similar verse structure to Forget, but as soon as the choruses hit, the vocals and instrumentals exploded. While most songs followed the similar instrumental[...]

A House Safe For Tigers Release Debut Single “Evaporate”

March 19, 2015

Buffalo multi-instrumentalist Brandon Delmont (Girlpope, Son of the Sun, Odiorne, Lindbergh Babies) has a new project called A House Safe For Tigers, this time collaborating with Mark Constantino (Exit Strategy, Returners), and the pair’s first track from its forthcoming album is terrific. Harmoniously fusing Constantino’s gentle, plaintive, searching vocals to lush Beatlesesque psychedelia by way of Mercury Rev and late 90’s Wilco, “Evaporate” is straight up headphone music. Sweetly melancholic, beautiful, and loaded with mellotrons and Ringo drum fills from Delmont, it’s a hell of a change-up from hardcore stalwart Constantino and a great teaser for the upcoming full length vinyl release from Headless Actor Records.

EdWang and Mad Dukez Link Up for MadWang

March 18, 2015

Buffalo producer EdWang has a knack for remixing songs, giving them vibrant, weird beats. Mad Dukez is one of Buffalo’s premier MCs, and has a CMJ chart topping album to his name. 2013’s Gettin’ Gatsby was a critically acclaimed collaboration between Dukez and Toronto beatsmith Fresh Kils. EdWang has taken to reinventing some of the album’s songs, along with a couple of the duos tracks from The Open Affair EP in a new EP with Mad Dukez, with the DOOM-esque blended name MadWang. One of the two Open Affair tracks on the project, “World Wide” features a delicious beat of trap sounds and video game blips and bloops. “Rearview Reminders,” an inspiring track appreciating the path you’ve taken, features Rhymesayers artist Blueprint. On Gatsby, the beat was a mellower one, built around some humanized drums. EdWang takes his version in the opposite direction, making his beat heavy on robotic synths. The newly imagined track has a[...]