Latest Posts

Jason Nolan – “Cantonese Dream”

May 30, 2023

“Cantonese Dream” is the lead single off of Jason Nolan‘s upcoming LP, Pink Sky in the Real World. His unique blend of bedroom-pop compositions bring a dulcet, incredibly calming voice with a healthy dose of chill wave thrown in. The bass track throughout really unites “Cantonese Dream” and keeps it pulsating with a shimmering energy that never bogs down into mood-setting ambiance. The album itself was written over a four year period of time around the various locales of New Zealand, including a small suburb of Wellington. The ethereal nature of the track is very much on purpose, as Nolan says regarding the song: “Cantonese Dream is about being the wrong side of the mirror and feeling like a passenger in your own dream. Depending on the day, it’s about being weak to a lot of the easy temptations and distractions or being open and curious about the peculiarities…the name comes[...]

Mise en Scene – “Burn Out”

May 27, 2023

It’s been a minute since we’ve heard from Winnipeg-based act Mise en Scene (ICYMI, we covered them all the way back in 2017). Don’t be fooled by their Canadian roots – this duo pumps out sugary surf-pop that blends vintage Beach Boys roots with a modern day sassiness a la Best Coast or Beach Bunny. “Burn Out” is their latest offering – a perfect encapsulation of what surf-inspired indie rock is meant to be. An upbeat and boppy good time, layered heavy with reverb and borderline doo-wop lyrics with simple rhyme schemes that anyone can relate to. You can find “Burn Out” below via YouTube or on Spotify.

The Rocket Summer – “M4U”

May 27, 2023

If you’re a millennial of a certain age like me, you might remember the mid-00s… More specifically, the sun-soaked emo-pop coming from Bryce Avery, aka The Rocket Summer. Those were good times, but like any good artist, Avery refuses to sit still, and that’s evident in his latest offering, the genre-bending “M4U” (which, I have gleaned, is short for “made for you”). The cornerstone of his 8th(!) full-length album, SHADOWKASTERS, “M4U” is built around a dizzy acoustic guitar, a blippy drum machine, and Avery’s unmistakable voice. It’s gritty, it’s catchy, and its unmistakably Avery, and we can’t help but love to see/hear that he’s still making great music 15+ years later. You can find “M4U” on YouTube (below) or on Spotify.

Jake Minch – “Handgun”

May 26, 2023

20-year-old Connecticut native Jake Minch embodies our misspent youth here on latest single, “handgun.” With nothing more than a voice, an acoustic guitar, and some atmospherics, Jake brings us back to our college days (not that we’re too OLD to relate… or something) – drunk and hungover and coming into our own as adults. Striking imagery and charming lyrics reminiscent of The Front Bottoms or Modern Baseball really help to paint us a picture of Jake’s wonderfully youthful world view. With deeply narrative songs like this one, sometimes it’s best just to hear from the artist themselves – here’s what Jake had to say: “The song takes place right before ‘doing music’ was on my mind. It lives in the morning, waking up after my first big party-weekend at a new school. My head hurt too much to move, so I skipped my Econ class to lay with my thoughts[...]

Thavoron – “Why”

May 26, 2023

Get ready to be inexplicably crushed by Seattle-based artist Thavoron – the 22-year-old has crafted a slice of indie/folk/emo called “Why” that is goosebump-inducing. Reminiscent of emo acts like The Hotelier or indie-folksters like Alex G, “Why” pairs a spiraling guitar twinkle with strikingly gentle falsetto to create an odd amount of beautiful tension. Just when you think you can cut through the mood with a knife, Thavoron adds a booming drum sample or a smattering of woodwind energy to root you back to earth. It’s a song you need to truly experience for yourself… But only if you’re ready to feel heartbroken (and not be 100% sure why). Check out “Why” on Spotify Thavoron · Why

Salarymen – “Echoes”

May 26, 2023

Sydney’s Salarymen strike a perfect balance between retro and contemporary on their latest dream-pop track, “Echoes.” At the forefront is vocalist Renee de la Motte’s beautiful vocal delivery – it lays overtop a bed of warbly guitar energy and otherwise reverbed-out instrumentals, giving the song an expansive and atmospheric vibe. A trip past the three-minute-mark will reward you with an emotionally soaring outro that will put you into a heavenly trance. Fans of Alvvays, Beach House, or Still Corners will like what “Echoes” has to offer. Check out the YouTube video below or peep “Echoes” on Spotify.

The Jürgen Clubs – “Rare Candy”

May 26, 2023

“Rare Candy” is the follow-up single to an earlier track, “Soft” from The Jürgen Clubs that we actually covered back in March – check it out here in case you missed it. While not singing about the Pokémon leveling item, rare candy, this song still doesn’t disappoint. Much like “Soft,” TJC brings a fun, raucous energy with the heavy synth you’ve grown to know and love from them, but bring more of a guitar focus along this time. Similar in tone to Passion Pit or Phoenix, you certainly won’t be put to sleep by this banger. In keeping with my edict from our past post, this is very much a song you could add to your summer playlist. If you have friends over and play this they’ll be like “Whoa, who is this?” You can then confidently say, with an air of superiority, “Oh just this band called The Jürgen[...]

Buck St. Thomas- “Quiet Thrills”

May 26, 2023

Hailing from Rhode Island, Buck St. Thomas brings us a crispy indie ditty of a track in “Quiet Thrills.” With just the right mix between melancholy and hopeful; his voice croons betwixt a nice sliding acoustic guitar and simple piano chords. As the track goes on, you hear some light drums and bass guitar join the fray that builds into a much more complex movement. Fans of Band of Horses, Elliot Smith, or their folksy ilk would find a lot to enjoy here, especially since this isn’t a one trick pony track – Buck more or less has an established sound that he sticks to and plays with, but isn’t afraid to take some risks. Be sure to check out the “Quiet Thrills” as well as Buck St. Thomas’ other tracks over on his Bandcamp or Spotify. Let us know what you think over in the comments on your social[...]

Dawn Park – “What It Was”

May 21, 2023

New York based duo Dawn Park started off, as told on the band’s Instagram “origin story”, something like this: *video of rough version of melody* “basically just making real estate loops” “I love it” “Yeah yeah. Loop deez” “colin i’d be down to record this tn if you are” “for sure” That night, Colin Reilly and Zach Aumueller pounded out what would become “What It Was.” A healthy combination of bass, electric drums and that the aforementioned underlying melody, you can hear the influences going from Real Estate or Alex G with some Strokes thrown in. The vocals are uplifting and poppy, which provides a nice juxtaposition to the neurotic instrumental, and avoids the pitfall of being just another post-post-punk wannabe with access to recording equipment. This jives well overarching narrative behind Dawn Park, “to embody the feeling that you can always find something beautiful or funny worth experiencing in[...]

Gold Spectacles – “Man or Machine”

May 21, 2023

buffaBLOG and Gold Spectacles have a long, storied history – in case you’ve missed all of our previous articles, you can find them here and here and here and… here. They’ve certainly caught our ears a number of times, so it’s no surprise that they’ve nailed it yet again, this time on effervescent new single, “Man or Machine.” Twinkly synth sprinkles and spaghetti-Western guitar tones give this one a lighthearted feel and the perfect backbone for soothing, cooed vocal melodies. Sure, Gold Spectacles know how to write a hook, but they also know how to inject some true meaning into their songs – here’s what they had to say about “Machine” below: “… the lyric[s] came after chatting about a person that is very close to our hearts and how gritty they are. They have this deeply caring nature and desire to make sure everyone is OK even down to[...]

Sarah Coolidge – “Ice Pack”

May 21, 2023

“Ice Pack” is the lead single from Bay Area Sarah Coolidge’s upcoming debut album, Call Me When You Get There. Currently residing in the Bay Area, this is Sarah’s second song written about an injury, the first being her 2020 single “Nosebleed.” The ostensibly injury prone Coolidge’s “Ice Pack” is a well crafted indie-shoegaze gem that, while at first unassuming, packs quite a punch between the impeccably-layered guitars and Sarah’s frank and creative songwriting and delivery (pepper flake in the eye, people cry when they fall down/everyone needs something to laugh about). Fans of Courtney Barnett or Kurt Vile (rocking a My Bloody Valentine pedal board) would certainly find a lot to enjoy here, though Sarah Coolidge and company manage to bring enough of their own flair to stand on their own. You can hear “Ice Pack” as well as the back catalogue of singles over on Bandcamp as well[...]

The Landing – “This Way”

May 21, 2023

Looking for an out of this world trippy soundscape? Look no further than The Landing‘s “This Way” off of their upcoming debut album Beautiful Human, Beautifully Human. Bringing a pop-forward track with some hip hop beats snuck in for extra flavor, The Landing shows up their composition chops quite spectacularly. Synth heavy with with lots of fun little flitty effects interspersed through, you’ll hear something new on each subsequent listen. Telling you TL is an amateur astronomer shouldn’t surprise you at all after listening, but if you didn’t pick up on that, look at http://www.whatisthelanding.com/ and you’ll see a quote attributed to Neil Degrasse Tyson – “Cosmic discovery doesn’t become mainstream until the artists embrace the fruits of those discoveries.” You can hear “This Way” over on Soundcloud or Spotify, be sure to check those out along with their future LP, unless you’ve discovered faster than light speed… In which case[...]

CatchTwentyTwo – “Heartbreak Dance”

May 20, 2023

Up and coming Florida native CatchTwentyTwo has released a celebration of slick soulful disco and neon synths with his new single “Heartbreak Dance.” Smooth, dulcet vocals layered and electrified deliver emotional lyrics that originate from his heart while he is lost in the romance of a warm Californian night. A groovin’ bassline and four on the floor drum pattern carry CatchTwentyTwo’s production while synth stings dance and glimmer in the night sky as they pulse from you head to your feet and hips, making for a deliciously melodic dance track filled with hooks and mouthwatering production. “Heartbreak Dance” has influences ranging from Michael Jackson, The Weeknd, Pharrel, and Daft Punk all of which come together in CatchTwentyTwo’s undeniable and joy filled single. Listen to CatchTwentyTwo’s new song “Heartbreak Dance” on Spotify, Soundcloud, Youtube, and Apple Music.

Blondes – “Beautiful World”

May 20, 2023

Nottingham’s Blondes are on a bit of a hot streak lately (ICYMI, here’s our writeup of their previous single, “The Basement”). The quartet strikes again with their warm and luscious take on dream-pop, this time in a song called “Beautiful World.” A bouncing bassline provides the root for twinkling guitar leads to spiral around your ears – it’s topped off with a beautifully-delivered vocal, airy and gentle, that seems to yearn for better times. The band further explains their perspective below: “Beautiful World feels like our first proper pop song. It’s my favourite that we’ve written so far. It’s about our relationship with our environment and each other. We wrote it to speak not just for ourselves but to anyone that finds themselves looking around at our world and wondering just how we’ve become so disconnected from one another and the planet. We hope you like it.” Fans of Turnover,[...]

Dreamhouse. – violencewave

May 17, 2023

The latest release from local electronic artist, Dreamhouse. is titled violencewave. The album is a forlorn stare into the causes and effects of violence in light of the racially motivated 2022 Buffalo shooting. Regarding the tragedy, Jordan Walker, the beatmaker behind Dreamhouse., said: “I was driving around North Buffalo. It’s not really over there, but it’s about a five-minute drive if I took the right streets.” His girlfriend let him know there was an active shooter at Tops, and that was all he knew until he saw the full news coverage. After this intense experience, Walker dove headfirst into the main theme of violencewave, expressing his feelings while discussing humanity-wide violence. While creating this auditory collage, he sourced samples that represent the inescapable anxiety surrounding violence. The ambient intro track, “dreamers intuition,” features an undulating airy melody, glittery sample splashes, and a toaster oven-like dinging sound that signals the palatable[...]