Latest Posts

Newish Star – His Excellent Ray

July 6, 2015

I was pleasantly surprised to receive an email from bandcamp the other day, noting that a band that I follow had a new release, and even more pleased when I saw that band was local indie/punk tinged act Newish Star. I don’t think I’ve ever talked to someone at buffaBLOG that wasn’t into NS, and that is for a good reason. Since its beginning, the trio has been able to produce some of the catchiest tracks that I have heard out of a local band, and with each release, the band has managed to show an extreme amount of progression. With that being said, it comes as no surprise that I love His Excellent Ray as well. The band’s description for its latest EP is “six songs inspired by ‘Dr. Dude and His Excellent Ray.'” No big surprise here given the trio’s bumper fondness, but “Dr. Dude and his Excelent[...]

slowshine – “Solid State”

July 6, 2015

I think it’s no secret at this point that I split my time between Albany and Buffalo. The drive sucks, but it definitely keeps my life interesting leading two completely different lives. One of the things I’ve liked about Albany life is being able to discover all the local bands/scene. Although there is are like two legit venues for indie bands to play in (with an additional two DIY venues that I know of), the quality coming out of the region is pretty remarkable with what seems to be little support. This brings me to the band slowshine, an Albany-based three piece that I first discovered when researching the 17 Best Bands to check out at Move Festival.  Consisting of the songwriting partnership between Noah Bondy and Cameron Castan, and a rotating drummer, the duo seems to be on the bill for every great indie show coming to the capital region. In[...]

Teenage Satan Drops Video for Cheerful Medley

July 2, 2015

Speaking of new local music videos, experimental folk act, Teenage Satan, has just released an accompanying clip for its latest EP, Cheerful Medley. The bedroom project of Kimmy’s Dan Bauer added to its steadily growing catalog near the back end of June with the 2-track release, and just yesterday, paired the songs with a John Heim produced video featuring cuts from old home videos and films. The frequent pensive and worried looks match well with Teenage Satan’s off-kilter pop sounds. You can stream the two tracks at Teenage Satan’s bandcamp page here. Watch the video for Cheerful Medley below.

Aircraft Releases Music Video for New Single “Dig A Little Deeper”

July 1, 2015

Aircraft has been paying its dues for quite some time now, especially after 2013’s debut LP Sonic Boom made some waves in the Buffalo scene and cemented the four-piece as both great songwriters and nuanced psych-poppers. Two years later, the group is about to release its follow up, an EP titled 7 Gems from the Sparkling Void. Yesterday saw the premiere of the EP’s first single, “Dig A Little Deeper,” via Pure Volume, and today, the track’s music video has debuted. The aptly-titled seven-song release is a perfect representation of Aircraft’s ethereal, occasionally surf-tinged space rock and is bound to propel the band to heights unknown. Local dynamo label Admirable Traits will be releasing 7 Gems from the Sparkling Void on August 28th, while the band’s release show is tentatively scheduled for August 29th with Rochester favs Pleistocene and new rock-saviors, Sixties Future. Watch the video for “Dig A Little Deeper” below. Video by Jeff Mace and[...]

MileHighMuzik Drops Visuals for “Smile”

July 1, 2015

The MileHighMuzik crew is always releasing something. The rap workaholics closed out last year with “Juugcember,” a stretch of 31 song releases for each day in December. In the half year since, they’ve been giving Juugcember tracks like “Red Carrera” video treatment. Their latest visuals accompany “Smile,” a track loaded with some great verses from the crew, a killer chipmunk sample in the beat, and a smooth neo-soul effort from Teddy Bear Casanova. As always, new MileHigh is on the way. Group leader M-A is already working on tracks for the group’s upcoming project Juugly. Check out the vid below and stay tuned for more from the hip hop group.

Neil Young and Promise of the Real – The Monsanto Years

July 1, 2015

Sure, in writing it sounded like a good idea, or at the very least a ballsy and righteous one. Neil Young, one of rock’s most dedicated social and environmental activists, dedicating the space of an entire LP to taking down one of the most controversial corporations in modern America, Monsanto Company, your trusted neighborhood manufacturer of carcinogenic PCBs, genetically-modified farming seeds and various herbicides. But political art – be in poetry, literature or music – is a delicate balancing act, and usually necessitates a less-or-more approach. This is the central problem for Neil Young and Co. on The Monsanto Years: he drives home the same points so heavy-handed and incessantly that his message grows dull and befuddled long before the record’s end. Attempts to clarify his argument – on “A Rock Star Bucks A Coffee” he addresses legislative efforts to have GMO foods labeled, and the company’s responding lawsuits –[...]

Victory For Poland Re-emerges with “Summer Solace”

June 30, 2015

Its been a minute since we heard from former high school all-stars Victory For Poland. A couple summers back, V4P, along with fellow underage acts like Brimstone Blondes and the Cascos, seemed like the next wave of great Buffalo bands. Then college happened. Since then, front man Tylor Colby put out a solo album on LIPS Records and future V4p material seemed less and less of a possibility. That is until late last month. The band announced a self-titled LP was in the works and teased that a single would soon be released. That single, “Summer Solace,” was just dropped last night. First of all, the song is bouncy as hell, and as for Colby, he seems to have developed a snarl similar to that of Joseph D’Agostino (Cymbals Eat Guitars). Plus, those horns give it just a touch of a ska vibe. Give “Summer Solace” a listen below and keep[...]

The Get Money Squad Drops Follow Up Single “Pillow Talk”

June 30, 2015

One of our favorite releases from last summer came from the Get Money Squad. Featuring Quinton Brock and Jon Bap of Network, the act’s short, self-coined “urban surf” EP was the perfect blend of off beat Mac DeMarco meets Shuggie Otis/Bill Withers lo-fi vibes. The group went on to open for Girl Talk at Canalside, but since then have been pretty quiet. With the release of Money Squad’s latest single “Pillow Talk,” though, Brock and crew are back to once again to help soundtrack our latest rust-belt summer. The rather sensual “Pillow Talk,” a track the band describes as a “song for summer lovers,” appears to be the first single off of the Get Money Squad’s forthcoming EP, titled Ruff Buff, and while the group has maintained its lo-fi sounds, Brock now appears to be vocally channeling the Beach Boys and even the soulful side My Morning Jacket (those falsettos[...]

Wavves X Cloud Nothings – No Life For Me

June 30, 2015

If you were up on Sunday night around midnight, you may have been pleasantly surprised by something on the internet. No, it wasn’t an admission from one of your facebook buddies that he was in fact, totally in the wrong about having a confederate flag vanity plate on his Silverado. It was, however, the “surprise” release of the collab album No Life For Me from Cloud Nothings and Wavves. If you were paying attention a while ago, you did know that this project was going to happen. However, the release date was kept a mystery until Sunday night when it appeared on bandcamp (and on iTunes). It won’t have a true physical release, but if you really want a hard copy of it, it will be available on vinyl. Who collects CDs anymore anyways? The album takes a somewhat surprising step back into the lo-fi roots of the two bands.[...]

Space Cubs Shares New Song via Unspeakable Records Comp

June 29, 2015

Former Buffalo ex-pat Space Cubs made her recent return to Buffalo count with the release of her solid debut LP, The Fire and Things Forgotten, early this spring. And just last week, the electro musician dropped her latest tune, the haunting “Pearls,” which is included on the new compilation from her Unspeakable Records label, Unspeakable Records Vol. Two. The comp features contributions from fellow UR artists like BATHHOUSE, Christal Sarah, and Astronautica, and can be listened in full here. Make sure to catch Space Cubs live as she joins Humble Braggers at Hardware next month on Thursday, the 16th, and in the mean time, listen to “Pearls” below ,

Jon Lewis Drops Music Video for “Let It Slide”

June 25, 2015

Rochester singer/songwriter Jon Lewis has released the music video for his new song “Let It Slide.” The highlight of the three shared tracks (so far) from his upcoming album, Panic Rock, “Let It Slide” finds the musician sounding rather Gibbard-esque on the mid-tempo number. Lewis paired the track with clips from Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day, a cartoon I don’t remember being quite as eerie until just now. Panic Rock is set to drop in mid July. You can stream the album’s first three tracks here and watch the video to “Let It Slide” below. Jon Lewis – Let it Slide from Jon Lewis on Vimeo.

Tomoreaux Releases “Bennington” Single

June 23, 2015

Tomoreaux first caught our interest last year while performing under the name of Yesterday vs. Tomorrow. The pair has just released its latest in the Mark Rothko E.P., a collection of anthemic Muse meets Taking Back Sunday tunes. Since then, the band has grown to a quartet while renaming itself to Tomoreaux. Late last week, the four piece dropped the first single from its yet to be titled album. “Bennington” sticks with the group’s penchant for the grandiose, but now has honed in on an emotive, Explosions in the Sky-esque post rock sound. The band is set to open for Spoon and July Talk at Canalside this Thursday, so if you like what you hear, head down to the water early. In the mean time, check out “Bennington” below.

Pleistocene – Space Trap

June 22, 2015

I probably shouldn’t even be surprised anymore; at this point it’s safe to say that Rochester has officially raised the bar. Our I-90 neighbors have been churning out quality release after quality release, and their latest surge of fresh local music has given no sign of relent. This week we bring your attention to Space Trap, the latest EP from jangle pop superunit Pleistocene. The EP, officially released earlier this month via Cherish Records, finds itself amongst some of the best material in Pleistocene’s growing discography and proves itself worthy of inclusion with a confident bite to back up its bark. For those of you unfamiliar with Pleistocene as anything other than the ice age epoch of mammoths and sabretooths, it’s in your best interest to refamiliarize. The band’s jangly surf pop/shoegaze blend frequents our blog often (their 2014 song “Secular” snagged a top 3 spot on our ‘best of’[...]

Tiny Rhymes Announces A Kinder History EP, Releases “Arrows” Single

June 17, 2015

Our first introduction to Buffalo chamber-folk outfit Tiny Rhymes was a clip of the band performing its wonderful song “Arrows” over at the Unitarian Universalist Church last fall. And now, the band has officially released the song as the lead off single to its upcoming debut EP, A Kinder History. The newly recorded version of “Arrows” is Andrew Bird-esque, full of rich harmonies, lush strings, and whimsical percussion. The 4-track EP (which is currently streaming via Exclaim!) will be available to purchase/download beginning on June 23rd, and you can join the band later next month on Saturday, July 18th, to celebrate the EP’s release over at Pausa Art House on the Allen/Wadsworth bend. Listen to “Arrows” below.

Girlpool – Before The World Was Big

June 16, 2015

Girlpool is as punk rock as it gets. Two girls, at 18, release their first LP and gain a moderate following. No drums, just bleeding heart lyrics that are as honest as it gets with a clean guitar and some simple bass lines. A year later, a second, finely tuned LP drops from the duo and the punk rock continues. Of course, this isn’t the type of punk rock that the Beastie Boys pissed off their parents with. This is the new age of lady-punk that has taken over the indie scene ever since genre prophets Sleater Kinney bursted back earlier this year. Before The World Was Big hits you right in the heart when you hear it. I don’t care if you’re an 18 year old girl ready to ship off to college that has a moderate collection of vinyl she’s trying to find a place for in her[...]