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Shane Meyer – To the broken coast / on the crystal wave / it’s you, oh / hey

On his latest full-length, Buffalo’s Shane Meyer reaffirms his status as one of the area’s most distinct and disarming songwriters. A veteran of the scene, formerly of the slacker-rock outfit Difficult Night, Meyer’s solo work has found its own lane and cruises there comfortably. His new album, released August 1st on Steak & Cake Records, arrives with the wonderfully unwieldy title, to the broken coast / on the crystal wave / it’s you, oh / hey. Failure to edit? Perhaps. But it seems messy on purpose: across ten tracks of sparkling, minimalist jangle-pop, Meyer continues to perfect his unassuming, heart-on-sleeve style, delivering fractured vignettes of life that are gentle on the ear but carry surprising emotional weight.   The core of the album’s sound is Meyer’s intricate fingerpicked acoustic guitar, which provides the foundation for nearly every track. The arrangements are often sparse, allowing his lyrics and uniquely conversational delivery[...]

Tonight: Steak & Cake Records Six-Year Anniversary

Has it really been six years of Steak & Cake?! S&C ringleader Brandon Schlia has been bringing us quality WNY music (122 releases to be exact) for exactly that long, and he’s celebrating his legacy (and his birthday) with a stacked showcase featuring some of S&C’s best and brightest. The lineup is as follows: 1.) Dildon’t 2.) The J.A.C. Trio 3.) Wren Williams & The Sons of Luther 4.) Yellow House 5.) Shane Meyer 6.) Sonny Baker band 7.) Slow Cooker 8.) MACE (DJ set) Doors are at 5pm and music starts at 6pm. Bring $5. The show is at Curly’s – ask a punk or a Steak & Cake alumni for the address.

Tonight: Izzy True

When it comes to medium blending, Izzy True of Trumansburg, NY doesn’t disappoint. Front-woman Isabel Reidy is both parts songwriter and cartoonist, but as an artist she’s one hundred percent muscle. I heard about her newish band (the Troll EP was released June of 2015) when I saw a preview for their record release with the excellent Painted Zeros from NYC, and after checking out the fascinatingly bizarre music videos for songs “Swole” and “Absolute Troll,” I was hooked. Reidy combines sweetly masochistic imagery–such as greasy elbows during cake baking or rotten fruit–on the EP, while evoking dissonant tones and melodic hooks that bigger-time artists like Alex G or Waxahatchee would dig. With her brother Silas Reidy on bass and Chris Ploss on drums, the tunes are smooth in their transitions and timing, but conundrums on a deeper level. Don’t think too hard. Catch Izzy True at Curly’s tonight with[...]