A hybrid of experimental electronic and offbeat performance art, Lesionread has just released her new EP. Dogs was released in two parts, the first containing Lesionread's avant-electronic at its finest, and Pt. 2 being a collection of jumbled and contorted love songs. The EP will be for sale at the show in the form of a Lesionread flash drive. Dogs is a perfect showcase for Lesionread's successful marriage of soul gripping vocals and playful, violent electronic chaos.

Dogs Pt 1 heads off with the track "If/Then/Therefore" which is the most inspiring song I've heard in a long time. Lesionread shows determination in the face of opposition and disbelief, and kicks snow at it. This one will bobble around your head for quite a while, perhaps motivating you to step out of your boundaries and pursue your dreams. The track "Snowball Fight!" has a backbone comprised of dancy- brainwave, and stands strong as the EP's only instrumental.

Dogs Pt 2 may be the most accurate aural representation of the actual experience of love that I've ever heard. The highs, lows, excitement, confusion and anxiety are all present. On SoundCloud, lyrics are available for all of the songs except the one titled, "I Want to Fall in Love." Instead, the curious party is privy to this interesting message:  "(YOU WISH YOU COULD READ THESE LYRICS BUT NO THEY ARE PERSONAL I'M NOT GUNNA TYPE EM UP ON BANDCAMP."

This statement could be in place for nearly all of the tracks, as many of Lesionread's lyrics come across as the innocent, slightly awkward mental narrations of a torn lover with a shredded heart. You can connect with the songs on a basic human level, even as the instrumentation glitches around you like a bad tape, teasing at different strains while consistently remaining danceable. If Aphex Twin had a kid cousin who was a soulful singer, the music would sound sort of like this.

Tonight's performance (hint: click hyperlink for more info) consists of Lesionread, UVB-76, Kristachuwan, and Copy Manager, and promises to be a mind bending adventure the likes of which may never be reproduced. Lesionread is constantly topping her strange live performances which are thrashing wild and unpredictable. Past shows have contained props, lights, silly string, projectors, and audience interaction. If you walk through the door, you'd better be prepared to play. Come out to the show tonight and expect nothing less but to leave with a lust for enjoyable insanity.

Entrance is free, with a recommendation to donate or support the artists by purchasing their work.

Just yesterday, Buffalo garage rock foursome, Sleepy Hahas, debuted the music video for their heavy new single "I Hate My Body (and It Hates Me Too)," taken from the band's forthcoming LP, Dull Days. The trippy clip, directed by Shawn Lewis aka Lesionread, would be a perfect way to spend a few mins during an upcoming LSD trip. The band will be celebrating the release of Dull Days on Friday, May 16th at Buffalo Iron Works. Full show details can be found here. Watch the video for "I Hate My Body (and It Hates Me Too)" below.

Lesionread - "Neutron Bomb"
From his bonkers sets at Hardware for Inventory Mondays (RIP) to turning the Tralf into his own personal warped circus, Shawn Lewis aka Lesionread arrived to the Buffalo music community in 2013 in a big way, whether you like it or not. The art student's brand of avant, electro-punk is brash, abrasive, in your face, and at the end of the day, a lot of fun. "Netutron Bomb," his stand alone August single, finds Lewis wrangling in his many maniacal selves into a cohesive cut of house music that would make any Chemical Brothers fan turn their head. Mixed with some buzz saw drops, funkafied beats, and surprisingly soulful vocals, "Neutron Bomb" is Lesionread in a nut shell: an unpredictable force that demands your attention. - MPM



Aircraft - "Wilt"
The second track off Aircraft's stellar debut LP Sonic Boom feels like it could be the soundtrack to a great Western shoot out. The gunmen each reaching the center of town, eyeing their counterparts and waiting to reach for their holster and fire. When that gun finally does go off, the meticulous tension turns to chaotic thunder. From Ian Be's booming drums to Justin John Smith's haunting wail, Aircraft's "Wilt" is a building cut of psychedelia that rides the the band's killer rhythm section for nearly 6 mins of soaring rock. - MPM


The SSC - "Grassroots Metro"
Buffalo lost a good man this year when lo-fi wunderkind Jacob Smolinski, formerly of the Cascos, moved to Pennsylvania to pursue an education (or something). Luckily, the Cascos released a farewell album, Garage on Martha. Before that happened, Smolinski found enough time to sneak in a four song EP, Slush. The highlight of the EP is "Grassroots Metro," an upbeat, synth-heavy satire of disingenuous "scene" dudes trying to stay relevant. It's one of those songs that walks the line of "intentional lo-fi pop genius" and "that bedroom demo that turned out away better than a studio quality recording ever could." My guess is that it's a little bit of both - and either way I'm still not sure how he made those canned Casio keyboard drums sound so cool. You will be missed Smolinski. - NAS


Tired Iron - "Rut"
Tired Iron may be a fairly new name, but its members are not fresh faces. Consisting of Jason Rich (Vocals/Guitar), Zach Ausman (Guitar), Flip Ragusa (Guitar), and Adam Wakefield on drums, this quartet’s sound was molded and shaped by that upstate NY’s post-hardcore punk oasis, Medina. In August 2013, the band released their second EP, 2013, which closed with “Rut,” a rousing audio memorial to a friend who passed. The majority of “Rut” is a proggy post-punk instrumental, with Rich’s vocals cutting out at the 1:09 mark. From there, “Rut” goes into an epic, almost ballad-like Propoghandi/Minor Threat influenced memorial for their friend. Stick with this one through til the end. - MJM

There's a first time for everything. This is my first article about my time seeing Melt-Banana.

Lets start with Ay Fast, though, the first musical act of the night. With quick transitions and heavy house bass tracks, Adrian Bertolone went from Sega Genesis space age RPG to crazy acid club tunes and everywhere in between. This is definitely something to check out if you're a fan of Squarepusher.

Although the show's attended was initially light, the next act sparked the interest of a growing crowd. Consisting of only baritone sax and blasting metal drums, the group surprised us all with a truly unique sound that involved heavy droney repetition and Eastern influences. Unfortunately when they introduced themselves, the announcement was so heavily masked by effects you couldn't tell what was said.

Lesionread aka Shawn Lewis, Buffalo's freak out electronic DJ, followed next. Known for bringing something new to the table every show, Shawn Lewis built a 15 ft tall robot, erected off to side of the stage, who interacted with the crowd between songs by talking with Lesionread, only to later be destroyed in the parking lot shortly thereafter. Over the course of his performance, Lewis ordered everyone in the room to run in a circle, gave away the "eat my vag" he wore, and made all of us lay on the floor. Lewis continues to create a new experience for each one of "her "shows.

Finally, Melt-Banana, the chaos from Japan, brought the show to its  energetic climax. Playing only as a two piece and controlling the backing tracks with a brightly color gamepad, each song turned those in attendance into quite the agressive, thrashing bunch until everything was just motion with distorted squealing guitar pounding with heavy, out of control percussion. I hate that you missed it but you'll be at the next one.

It’s all over blogs and shit that musicians should hate Spotify and other music streaming businesses because they do not compensate artists enough. My heroes Thom Yorke, David Byrne, and Nigel Godrich have all made written statements condemning Spotify, claiming they hurt the blooming artist. These three [white men] have been my heroes, my inspiration. Somehow though, for the first time I find myself strongly disagreeing with their statements. I believe we are in a digital age, where information is shared equally by all. Should we not have access to music the way we have access to books? Could our society not be improved by the socialization of enjoying others’ music?

David Byrne, of the band Talking Heads, wrote last week in a New York Times Op – Ed, “In the future, if artists have to rely almost exclusively on the income from these services, they'll be out of work within a year.” Yes, of course times change,but in my opinion, that just means that the artists’ service should change too. In art school, I learned from an established professor that a great artist uses what they have, that they conquer their limitations. When David Byrne mentions these future artists, it is assuming that they make their music using fancy studios, full orchestras, and the latest equipment. Musicians now shouldn’t sit on their ass and complain about how they don’t have enough money to rent a studio, rather they should prove they are worth listeners' time and make something with what they have. 

Take me for example, I would love to have a full band and studio time, but I don’t have the money, so I just use my slow and decaying 4 year old slow laptop, and I make it work because that’s what a great artist does. Byrne fails to see the possibility that a different kind of musician could become prevalent. Musicians are already starting to become known for their resourcefulness and DIY quirks and charms that happen under the circumstance of a DIY budget are appreciated. This is the whole point of hipsters, isn’t it?

Nigel Godrich was quoted in a lengthy blogpost saying, “Smaller artists who are not in the position to charge anything like the Rolling Stones or Madonna [on merchandise and concert tickets] are not the ones that benefit…” blah blah blah. Yes ok, just making good music doesn’t sell anymore. So artists should find something that does. This is the whole point of merchandise. I put up my songs for free on bandcamp (when they aren’t a sarcastic $500), but every now and then I get someone who gives me some dough, just because they enjoyed the service I gave them and felt they could help out. It’s like busking, and it isn’t a disrespectful way to be an artist in my opinion. But this occasional generosity doesn’t in any way come near to the amount that I have made by selling T shirts, posters, and albums. How closed off and stubborn does a musician have to be, to not be able to make a package or some type of physical representation of what their music is, and then offer that to fans in exchange of money?

Or if not a physical copy of something, artists should just focus on the experiential aspect of listening to music, by making concerts so good and so different that people would be willing to pay for it through ticket sales. What even is music and why should it be considered a different medium than merchandise and performances? It’s all the same. Being considered an indie/pop musician today is an art form in itself. 

I leave you, Buffalo aspiring musicians like myself, with this: if you want to navigate the world, adapt to it. There will be more musicians out there than in the past, there will be a surge in creative expression, but if you want to get anywhere with it you need to set yourself aside by being truly out of the box. The box being preconceived notions of what is required of you.

The Lesionread (L) and Kristachuwan (K) tour is on the road! Last Saturday, the crew left for their first away show in Baltimore. Whilst in Pennsylvania, L ran into a bit of an issue with a Penn resident, but his girl Jeanette handled it. Their show in Baltimore made everything right, with a wickedly wild crowd loving every minute of their performance. L moshed and wrestled with people in the crowd; the video of that should make its way around soon.

Kristachuwan

They're already off to a nostalgic kickoff for a two week, partially mapped tour that zig-zags the eastern board. L and K are on the road now, journeying to Bodymore, Murderland (Baltimore, Maryland, for the unhip) for their upcoming show tomorrow at Club K with "Bollywave" artist Ami Dang.  

Settlers.

which is gunna get obliterated

and after the tour we will be destroying all the merch we haven't sold

to make sure that the artifacts documenting the tour will be true

in their essence of someone else wanting them to live on.”

Come out to the kick-off show tonight (the shoe-gazey two-piece Settlers will also be performing) to wish these fellas well, pick up some merch while you can, and enjoy some confounding but ultimately fun music/art, then follow the tag #LK2013 for updates, photos, and videos from the road.

Over the last few years, Jack Tatum's dream pop project, Wild Nothing, have released a string of strong records. Last year's Nocturne was excellent and this year's EP, The Empty Estate, indicated that Tatum was continuing to change and grow as a songwriter. In what is shaping up to be a great summer and fall for The Tralf, Wild Nothing will be stopping in Buffalo tonight.

Wild Nothing's music is a wistful blend of shoegaze and new wave that fits in well with acts like Beach Fossils, DIIV and Heavenly Beat, all of whom release records through Brooklyn based label, Captured Tracks and all of whom - barring Heavenly Beat - performed at the Tralf this year.

Wild Nothing will be joined by local acts, Lesionread and buffaBLOG favorite, Marine Biologist. With tickets being only $15, I am having trouble trying to come up with a better way to spend a Monday night. Unless you are going to the Moon, and by Moon, I mean the actual Moon. So really, unless you have a ticket to the Moon and back, you have no reason to miss this show.

Wild Nothing w/Lesionread and Marine Biologist
The Tralf $15
7pm Doors
8pm Show

"Trap-pop" is not a phrase you'd think would warrant a lot of fanfare, but Detroit based Jamaican Queens make it seem like a revelation on their latest album, Wormfood. Deep, dusty beats accompanied by folksy songwriting which, on tracks like "Wellfleet Outro," manage to straddle a line between melancholy and irreverent. Songs get yanked in every direction by acoustic guitars, boy-girl harmonies and kinetic instrumentals, yet nothing ever feels out of place. This level of unpredictably is often attempted but rarely pulled off as successfully as it is here, even pulling off an unexpected grand crescendo on ballad, "Sharkteeth." They'll be stopping by The Vault tonight with local support from Lesionread and Ay Fast. Doors are at 8pm.

Lesionread is a Buffalo electronic group, led by Shawn Lewis, that wants to succeed! So bad! Every reverberated beat cries for attention: please-please; please-please; please-please. I'm projecting the Lesionread Facebook profile—where the most obvious cute, banal pleas to friendly listeners resound—onto the music a bit, but something within it says it, too. I like attention, so I think understand this kind of music. It's a little obnoxious, but it's also refreshing and gritty. It's music for people who harp because they're genuinely interested in stuff. It's music for inventive, hyper kids, for newly radicalized readers, short-distance travelers, and forgetful lovers. Distracted by its own sound, it manages to get inside your head like good pop music, but is undeniably anti-social.

The wacky explosions of dislodged, swimmy beats sound like they were extracted and recorded from old public television shows or beat speakers. A very young man's lyric is strewn throughout many of the tracks, but it's angry, and drops into dark, ever-deepening pits where it usually breaks a leg.

Lesionread reminds me of Gang Gang Dance when they were weird in a break-out, we-don't-give-a-fucking-shit stage of music-making. The more I listen, the more I like it. So much so that I feel comfortable likening it to Thom Yorke's work. Of course you can't seriously compare anything to Radiohead or Animal Collective, so I'll just say this: for a low-fi, misunderstood, alternative psych project, the music is incredibly rad and oddly relatable.