"The Werks" calls to mind a combination of many potent elements that form a masterwork... like a "works" pizza. In some seriousness, (pizza is very serious) an amalgamation of musical traits and genres are is exactly what these guys are. Funk? Check. Rock? Check. Psychedelic? Please.

The tools by which they craft this musical monster are fine tuned and sharp. Shredding guitar, slap bass, and bouncy organs and synthesizers tear up and refine the ever evolving paths of their songs.

In a constantly expanding, popular jam band scene, The Werks improvise their way through some juicy, intense musical fusion. Their passion for improv is heavy, so that nearly every show they play is a wholly unique experience.

Their show in Buffalo tonight has been moved from Nietzsche's to The Waiting Room, and pre-sale tickets WILL be honored.   Doors are at 8PM, and tickets are $12

The Greys awaken the spirit of Jimi Hendrix and channel the zainy persona of Tyler the Creator in their first full-length album off of Dead Trash Mob Records, Project Grey Matter, which was released this month after their first EP, All Grown Up, was met with much success in April. From the heavy guitar riff and steady snare beat in “Made in America,” to the dark, apocalyptic mood evoked in tracks like “Mob Mentality,” the 14-track album provides an eerily stimulating experience through grunge, alternative rock and paranormal hip hop sounds. 

Most of the album takes on a horror story-telling tone that thrills and chills the senses as it leaves the listener either on another planet or feeling trapped alone in a dark room only to confront their subconscious. The duo, consisting of Tonawanda-born emcee Ian Cochran (Sparkmatik) and Buffalo lyricist Tré Marsh (Tre Ocho), turn tracks like “The Project” into outlets for deeper discussion through subtle spoken word moments and tell-it-like-it-is lyricism. Bagel Jesus spices up the listening experience by building up the angst on "Trash-Hop." The dark and silly immaturity of "All Grown Up" offers some comic relief among a stressful work day. Weird and catchy, the album is a must-listen.

You may stream and purchase The Greys' Project Grey Matter on their bandcamp page.

This weekend was the first weekend of Coachella, the ridiculously popular music festival that takes place in California every April. Besides being quite jealous of all the people who actually got to attend this massive party, when looking at the lineup, I noticed something - you had very few bands that would qualify as "mainstream." Other than the Red Hot Chili Peppers, who closed out the opening weekend last night, the number of bands that get played on the radio was pretty slim. Phoenix - Saturday's closer - had a crossover hit with "1901," but they still aren't exactly the sort of band that gets eaten up by the masses.

The festival was a haven for indie rock fans (assuming the Chili Peppers don't bother them too much), but the bands that supposedly make up "mainstream" rock were just about absent from the proceedings. This begs a question - does anyone know what mainstream rock music really is, or whether or not it really exists anymore. If we were to believe the Billboard charts, or perhaps the opinions who claim to hate anything mainstream, it might be represented by the sort of bands you'd hear on radio stations like The Edge - bands like Shinedown, Theory of A Deadman, and everyone's favorite scapegoat, Nickelback.

But if the notion of mainstream is defined solely by popularity, are any of these bands really all that big? Would any of them be viable as a closing act at a festival like Coachella? Probably not. of course, that's partially because the people who attend Coachella tend to be the same type of people who hate this sort of music. But suppose there were a music festival specifically aimed at fans of so-called Active Rock? Would in draw in the numbers of something like Coachella or Bonnarroo? I doubt it.

The music we refer to as mainstream rock exists on an island - it has almost no crossover fans. You have the people who listen to this music every day, and have no idea what everyone else is talking about when they blast it for it's lack of originality, or uncreative lyrics, and you have the rest of the music world, who wouldn't touch those bands with a 39 and a half foot pole. It's not like this with many other genres. There's a relatively equal number of dedicated hip-hop fans, and people who casually enjoy mainstream rap artists. Same goes for pop and R&B. Even country,long known as a "niche" genre likely has more casual fans than mainstream rock - you'd probably find more casual fans of Blake Shelton and Luke Bryan than you would for Breaking Benjamin or Buckcherry.

So, does this mean indie is the new mainstream? Well, maybe a little, but keep in mind, very few of these bands have hits. Once in awhile you get a fluke like fun., who had two smashes out of nowhere. or you get a band like Mumford & Sons that began life as an allegedly "indie" band before capturing the hearts of the masses at a rather alarming rate. That's the confusing thing - the bands that get played on the radio aren't popular outside of the radio, the bands that have larger followings don't get any airplay. It's left us in an era where rock has no identity, no flagship bands or sounds. It's no-mans-land right now.

There are few rock acts that I would count as being truly "mainstream.". The Chili Peppers would be one, Foo Fighters would be another, then Green Day, U2 as the elder statesmen, and finally, the Black Keys, since they're just about the only band I can think of that has radio hits and an indie following (even if that following began to evaporate the second they started having radio hits). This isn't necessarily a good or bad thing, it's just worth noting - the term "mainstream" rock tends to be used as a strawman, to describe the dull, unentertaining music swallowed by the masses, but lately that music's following is dwindling rapidly, to the point where it's nothing more than a niche.

Rilo Kiley are marketing their newest release, rkives, as a nostalgic collage of murmuring memories, chronicling the band's progress and evolution. Presented as a "B-sides and Rarities Collection" the (mostly) refined tunes on the record (largely) contradict the idea that such collections consist of inferior curiosities to be pawned off on die-hard fans.

Whether longtime or casual listeners, many may ask themselves why this "B-sides and Rarities Collection" even exists. Why weren't half of these songs on albums? Who decided these tracks were expendable? The record's first few "rarities" are tight little gems, significantly better than some tracks found on "legitimate" Rilo Kiley albums. If the collection's alt-bluegrass opener "Let Me Back In" is good enough to receive music video treatment why wasn't it good enough to be replace some of the chintzier songs on earlier works? And why did a band whose last release was in 2007 choose to return in this way? Has frontwoman Jenny Lewis been too busy with side projects to continue with her most famed vehicle in a serious manner?

The collection loses traction by the time it reaches Zondo's "Dejalo" remix (featuring awkward in-da-club cliches courtesy of guest rapper Too $hort). Though it redeems itself with the varied textures of "Town Called Luckey" and rockers "Emotional" and "Patiently," it never reclaims the strength of its initial plunge. Songs featuring guitarist Blake Sennett's voice generally seem too precious when compared to his fellow all-grown-up-child-TV-star's soulful weariness and acerbic vocal stabs.

Ending the sixteen track collection with a bitterly comic twist, rkives perhaps is more geared toward nostalgia and fan-appeasing than it is toward consistent artistry. After the quality back-to-back run of "Let Me Back In," "It'll Get You There" and "Runnin' Around," and the cracked folk brokenness of "Bury Bury Bury Another" the record is only intermittently memorable. It does, however, remind listeners of what Jenny Lewis and company are capable of when they aren't slacking off.

Grade: B

Though buffaBLOG's focus might be (mostly) on Buffalo, the blog itself has already brought in readers from across the blue-green planet. As much of a brain-melting life-drainer as the Internet can be, it does connect us, and it can introduce us to some wonderful music that otherwise may never have made it here from over the seas and far away.

Emerging musicians from all ends of the earth (plus or minus Antarctica) have reached out to buffaBLOG, sharing their songs, their souls, and expanding the way we think about the arts. The following acts are well worth dipping your ears into:

Ilias is an Algerian/Australian musician based in Sydney, Australia. His ghostly, indefinable debut album, Somewhere in Time, is the result of ten years of songwriting. "I wrote maybe 100 musical pieces, some songs, some sketches, some instrumentals," says Ilias, "But I was always haunted by a certain group of songs... I decided I needed to produce these songs, to break the spell and move on, in a sense." 

Putting in place rigorous standards for the recording process, Ilias explains, "I felt that something so ambitious needed a set of rules, and producing, writing, and playing everything myself was one of them." Refusing to use pitch correction or fade outs and relying heavily on a modular, improvisation-tinged approach, Ilias further ensured Somewhere in Time displayed an organic, authentic style of songwriting.

Citing as diverse artists as D'Angelo, Brian Wilson, and Burt Bacharach for influences, Ilias has nonetheless developed an ethereal, hypnotic jazz-inflected dream-pop sound that is very much his own. He can be visited here. 





I Said Yes are an alternative folk-pop act composed of members from throughout the UK, proud to be hated by Noel Gallagher of Oasis. Despite Gallagher's qualms, I Said Yes have been lauded by BBC London and XLM, and have performed alongside such renowned musicians as Florence + the Machine and Johnny Flynn.

In an interview with the BBC, the band described their formation, stating, "For three of us, it all started with recording really lo-fi covers of punk-pop songs in our sitting room, and then after an afternoon's busking a couple of years later we became a five-piece."

Clearly impacted by the New Folk movement that spawned Noah and the Whale, Mumford and Sons, and others, I Said Yes bring freshness and instrumental variation to a popular subgenre. Their colorful first EP can be heard here. 





Closer to home, Bazile is a space folk solo artist from Houston, Texas. His latest effort, The Sojourn of Professor Narducci, is an odd and endearing exploration into the unknown. It also benefits from sound engineering and co-production courtesy of Alabama Shakes keyboardist Ben Tanner.

Creating his own genre fusions, Bazile pursues "gospel punk" on "Hi-Fi" and refers to his song "Save the Manatee" as a "lyrically eccentric love mystery." His satirical jabs, sonic switches, and bursts of emotion are as surprising as they are surreal.

Part Beck, part Ben Folds, part Sufjan Stevens, Bazile is always inventive. The Sojourn of Professor Narducci is now streaming on Soundcloud and its single "Employment" can be downloaded for free.