Latest Posts

Snoop Dogg – BUSH

May 12, 2015

Snoop Dogg sure is having one hell of a late-career rediscovery. After more than two decades in his revered gangsta rap persona, the D-O-Double-G reinvented himself as a peace-loving, rastacap-wearing reggae crooner for 2013’s Reincarnated. After that he had a brief stint as SnoopZilla, for his one-off 7 Days of Funk album with Dam-Funk, and a longer stint as DJ Snoopadelic, a phase which pretty much explains itself. For his latest project, BUSH, the unlikely hip-hop chameleon teamed up with Pharrell Williams for an upbeat set inspired by old-school funk, disco, and modern EDM music. Think Kanye’s 808s filtered through the jazzy funk amalgam of To Pimp A Butterfly’s production. What you end up with is the funnest, most-focused set of Tha Dogg’s career. The record opens with “California Roll” – a piece of sunny, Golden State-loving funk set over the bass-line and rhythms of “Drop It Like It’s Hot.” It’s[...]

Yes YES Drops Latest Song “Korean girls”

May 12, 2015

Buffalo’s most interesting man, Michael Ersing (aka Yes YES), continues to make Korea his new home. The always fascinating folkie has been making the most of his time overseas, appearing on Korean shows Hey Rookie and BalconyTV over the past year, and just last week, Yes YES dropped his latest song, the understated “Korean girls.” Featuring a very Andrew Bird like whistling intro, a melancholy Ersing delivers a bare bones, Jeff Buckley-esque number. Give it a listen below.

Space Cubs – The Fire And Things Forgotten

May 10, 2015

The Fire And Things Forgotten, the celestial debut full-length from Buffalo born electronic musician Suzanne Bonifacio (who records as Space Cubs), is the result of what the artist refers to as a “journey of creative reflection and change” that included a move to Chicago before settling in Charlotte, North Carolina. Drawing comparisons to experimental pop artists like Bjork, Grimes, and Jessy Lanza, Bonifacio’s strength as a songwriter lies in her ability to forge melodic, blissful sounds from underneath an uneasy, murky veil of reverb and restless percussion. Mostly recorded during a period where the artist found herself living in the middle of Pisgah National Forest, the album successfully conjures the remote, ruminative circumstances of its creation, as is apparent from the atmospheric opening cut, “Back Lies,” with its siren-like vocals and inviting melodic elements. The following track and lead single, “The Eye,” is perhaps the strongest display of Bonifacio’s classically trained vocal[...]

Mumford & Sons – Wilder Nights

May 5, 2015

Though the de facto leaders of the folk revival movement, Mumford & Sons have always been arena rock as much as anything. On songs like 2009’s “Little Lion Man” and “I Will Wait” off their GRAMMY-winning sophomore effort Babel, frontman Marcus Mumford brought a dramatic edge – and of course, huge singalong choruses – that practically demanded a huge starry-eyed audience. For their third effort, Wilder Mind, they embrace their inner pop – and populist – impulses, and, of course, plug in. And while they do deserve a kudos for a radical departure from a very successful formula,the results are anything but bold. With help from The National guitarist Aaron Dessner, the group employs a slow building and moody approach that replicates a watered down approach of that group’s style. They also add Coldplay-esque sentimentality, loads of boring chords that’d find home in a Snow Patrol songs and splashes of[...]

Cookie Drops Latest Tune “Take It Slow”

May 5, 2015

One of the blog’s favorite songwriting partnerships comes in the form of Cookie, a collaboration between Jordan Nittoli (Newish Star, Dream Journal) and Dave Dluga (Softlines, Mapmaker). Yesterday afternoon, the duo debuted another incredibly curt song, titled “Take It Slow,” which rings in at a fast one minute and 13 seconds. The follow up the band’s early 2015 EP, Tell it to the Fudge, “Take It Slow” continues to waste no time delivering quickly-paced indierock tunes that always seem to end too soon, but that’s what repeat buttons are for, right? The band does not expect to bring the project to a stage/basement any time soon, so listen to “Take It Slow” below.

Sixties Future Premieres Debut Tracks

May 5, 2015

New to the scene, Buffalo four-piece, Sixties Future, debuted its first two tracks this morning. Featuring Mo Halliday, the former bass player of Sleepy Hahas, the quartet dropped the double single, “Skeleton”/”Shot” via soundcloud. Of the two, “Skeleton” is the stand out track, kicking off with a very “Heroes”-esque melody and featuring bassy National-like vocals and some retro organs. We hear a lot of Teddybears in the song. Both tracks can be streamed over at the band’s soundcloud page. Listen to “Skeleton” below.

The Naturalists Announce New EP, Premiere “Slip” Single

May 4, 2015

This past week, Buffalo-based grunge trio, The Naturalists, revealed the first single off its forthcoming EP, Home Honey, I’m Hi. The EP’s lead off track and single, “Slip,” was recorded with Paul Besch at ever busy Quiet Country Audio studio. The band’s brand of raucous and brash garage rock would have fit in nicely during the genre’s revival in the early 2000s. Look for the four-track, Home Honey, I’m Hi EP to drop on July 28th. You can catch the trio next at Mohawk Place on May 23rd with The Retinas and Pale Hound. In the mean time, listen to “Slip” below. Photo by Drew Lazelle

Night Slaves Release Debut Demo “Crown of Walls”

May 1, 2015

John Toohill (JOHNS, Alpha Hopper, the Hamiltones) and Dave Kane (Them Jazzbeards) just released the first song from the duo’s new group, Night Slaves. The dark, industrial act immediately recalls Nine Inch Nails on the unnerving demo, “Crown of Walls.” The pair will make its debut performance tonight at Nietzsche’s as part of the eighth installment of ElectroRespect, an evening of music dedicated to the late, local musician/artist/visionary, Mark Freeland. The show kicks off around 10pm. In the mean time, listen to “Crown of Walls” below, which, by the way, can be yours for a mere $100.

Blur – The Magic Whip

April 30, 2015

It’s 2015, and there’s a new Blur album. That phrase itself seems kind of strange, like “Bad Pizza” or “Best Michael Bay film”, but at last, it has finally happened. And there’s no way a release of this magnitude could not feel like an event. Blur was globally one of the biggest bands of the 90s, with a string of #1 hits in almost every country (except the US). It even took an actual act of God for this album to even exist, the product of a series of cancelled shows in 2013, that left the band stranded the in Hong Kong for a week. Over that week, the four members of Blur would reconnect and produce the sessions that led to The Magic Whip. There also is an inherent oddness to The Magic Whip itself, While others have struggled to frame it in among Damon Albarn’s past work or[...]

Raekwon – Fly International Luxury Art

April 29, 2015

The Wu-Tang Clan as a collective has unquestionably seen better days, but the group’s most talented member (if not Ghostface Killah) has enjoyed something of a Raekwonaissance as of lately. Buoyed by the 2009 release of the excellent, long-delayed sequel Only Built 4 Cuban Linx Pt. II, Raekwon has been unusually high-profile in recent years, turning in guest verses for the likes of Kanye West and SchoolBoy-Q. Naturally, the Chef tried to build on his success and create music that would appeal to a broader audience than his usual Mafioso rap narratives. At least that was his stated goal in 2013, when he announced Fly International Luxury Art, his sixth studio album. But after two years of push-backs and delays, it’s hard not to feel underwhelmed with much of the final result. Production-wise, the album is yet another return to Raekwon’s roots – specially the first Cuban Linx – with[...]

Gay Angel Releases Second Installment of floral

April 28, 2015

As promised back in February, the next installment of floral, the ambitious, 100-track project from Rochester’s chamber folk musician, Gay Angel, has arrived. After about a year of listening to Jake Bellissimo’s Gay Angel recordings, there are always a few things to expect on each release: an overwhelming track list (although once you look at some of the track lengths it becomes much less), an endless list of featured musicians, and some vulnerable, heart on your sleeve lyrics. For floral, pt. 2, Bellissimo didn’t stray to far from what made pt.1 so great, but the new installment does see the musician head in a couple new directions. “growing leaves” finds Gay Angel dipping his toes into folk-punk, while “letter to brazil” may be the closest Bellissimo comes to releasing a doo-wop song. “whose fault is it” even sounds Dirty Projectors’ Amber Coffman doing some vocal warm ups before a show. With the sudden[...]

Space Cubs Readies Debut LP The Fire And Things Forgotten

April 27, 2015

Buffalo born electro musician, Suzanne Bonifacio (aka Space Cubs), left town nearly two years ago for Chicago, and later found herself hiking the Appalachian Trail before settling in North Carolina in the late summer of  2014. What followed was a “journey of creative reflection and change” for the former Chromakid member. And after a period of recording, today sees “The Eye,” the first single from Bonifacio’s upcoming, debut LP, The Fire And Things Forgotten, premiere, while the album is set to be released on May 12th through Unspeakable Records. “Some of the recordings are ones I started many moons ago and re-worked entirely, explains Bonifacio. “I produced most of this album while living in the middle of the woods for three months in the Pisgah National Forest during the fall and winter of 2014-2015. I also spent some time recording outside sounds from that area as well as in Charlotte, North[...]

THICK WINTER BLUD Debuts First Single “Stupid Me”

April 27, 2015

With the official conformation that one of the blog’s favorite pop-punk acts, I Can See Mountains, are no longer (again), it was a pleasure to see that Mountains’ guitarist/vocalist, Matt Cox, has debuted a new project called THICK WINTER BLUD. Recorded with Buffalo’s go-to producer, Jay Zubricky of GCR, the catchy and crunchy single “Stupid Me” should appeal to fans of Say Anything, the Maine, and yes, I Can See Mountains. Give the track a spin below and catch the trio live at the Humble Braggers’ EP release show later this June.

Humble Braggers Sign to Admirable Traits, Release “How It Starts” Single

April 27, 2015

Humble Braggers, the latest project from former Streamside front-man Tom Burtless, has signed on with the ever busy local label, Admirable Traits, to releases it’s debut EP, Disposable Friends. After ditching the pop-punk scene for synth pop, HB has been building a nice following over the past year while sharing bills with fellow local buzz acts like Made Violent, Bryan Johnson & Family, and M.A.G.S.. “How It Starts,” the huge, soaring first single from Disposable Friends, premiered this morning, and is the first listen to a new collection of tunes that just happen to be the band’s best yet (wait til you hear “Cold”). Humble Braggers would appeal to fans of acts like Tears for Fears, Passion Pit, the Temper Trap, and even Rochester’s rising Joywave. The band will celebrate the release of Disposable Friends at Mohawk Place on Saturday, June 13th, supported by a great cast of WNY acts[...]

Joey Mason – Lazy Beach Baby

April 27, 2015

There’s a romantic charm to being lazy, especially when it involves sunshine, warm sand, and an expanse of blue ocean an arm’s length away. It’s one that we all lust after, on our busiest of days, on our not-so-busiest of days. This is the charm that Joey Mason has managed to capture on his latest 18-song release, Lazy Beach Baby. The title characterizes the overall theme and sound of the album pretty darn well. With fuzzed out vocals, reverb-laden guitar riffs and the occasional smooth tenor sax line, you are transported to a breezy landscape. Think down tempo surf rock with a little more spaciness. Stylistically, the instrumentals share the same pep that a band like A Great Big Pile of Leaves has, and the vocals bear a pretty apparent similarity to a more mellow Julian Casablancas. The beach aesthetic is plenty mentioned. On the song “Baby Baby” Mason sings[...]