Showing posts with label Nick. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Nick. Show all posts
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Humble Braggers Release Say EP


Since being featured on one of our Album of the Week features last year, Humble Braggers have been quietly working on their live set. They've also been hard at work on some new material. The Say EP was released today and features three new songs that show that the Braggers have been working hard at honing their reverb-soaked indie rock.

 I'd like to call these songs "sharper" than their last release, but that wouldn't be the right word... In fact, they specialize in swirly songs whose instruments seem to decay for days. The EP puts a spotlight on prominent bass, ambient guitars, and foggy synths. There is a distinct 80s vibe to some of these songs (most notably, the cover of Tears for Fears "Everybody Wants to Rule the World"), but on songs like "Hold On, We're Going Home," the Braggers nail it with catchy, contemporary guitar lines.  Have a listen below.


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buffaBLOG Road Trip: Lydia


In the winter of 2008, I was a despondent college sophomore with bad hair trapped in a major I didn't care about. The one thing keeping me grounded was the opportunity to digest some new music on my 35 minute commute to school every day. Over the course of the season, I tried many albums and failed many times... but two of my selections caught me at the right place at the right time and have had a very important place in my life ever since - one of them was Band of Horses' Cease to Begin and the other was Lydia's Illuminate.

 Somehow the winter of 2008 was five years ago, but every time I hear Illuminte, I get a huge wave of nostalgia and start thinking of those times when I was a student driving my car through the dirty snowbanks and crammed pedestrian crossings at UB. Both albums had huge, reverb-soaked guitars and a singer with a high, gentle voice. There was something "wintery" about those albums, and it was soothing to think that, even though I was having a rough season, there was still some sort of beauty to be found.

 When I found out Lydia was going on a tour where they would play Illuminate start to finish, I knew I owed it to myself and to them to make the trek out to Rochester to see them play. The show is tonight at the Bug Jar - doors are at 6:00pm and it's $15/$17.



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Buffalo's Newest Export: American Low


There's something about Buffalo music that seems to be catching fire lately. With several of our "local" bands now approaching national status, American Low is poised to be Buffalo's newest export. Recorded at our very own Quiet Country Audio, the band brings to mind an American version of the Arctic Monkeys with just the right touch of Everclear, Eve 6, or *insert your favorite 1990s pop rock band here.*

The four-piece recently gave us a sneak peek of their upcoming material with "Back Door," a throwback to the underrated simplicity of nineties alternative rock... That is, of course, mixed with all the glorious, gritty guitar tones of a modern-era buzz band, a sharp black wardrobe, and an impressive pedigree of Buffalo-based musicians. Check out the video below.
 

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Tonight: Head North Tour Kickoff


After tonight, Head North is, ironically, going to be heading south on an East Coast tour... (I should probably make a joke that includes the word "West.") But tonight they celebrate with an official tour kickoff featuring the likes of The Traditional, Real People, Figurehead, Lancer, and Maritime Law. Needless to say, this lineup is pretty stacked.

 Doors open at 6:00pm tonight. If you can grab them from a band before the show (I know they would appreciate that), they're only $10. At the door, tickets are $13.

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Album of the Week: Pleistocene - Ontario Girls


Upon first listen to Ontario Girls, I knew Rochester's Pleistocene was a shoo-in for an Album of the Week nod. I was pleasantly surprised at just how uplifting Ontario Girls could be - I think as a whole, it really brightened up my week. The Weezer-tinged shoegazers specialize in catchy, female (and occasionally male) fronted jams full of crunchy guitars and squiggly keyboards. Besides Weezer, pleistocene has a fuzzy jangle that brings to mind Ozma or Zolof the Rock and Roll Destroyer... Maybe even a hint of Metric or Wavves. 

 I might be speaking too soon, but Ontario Girls is one hell of a release, and I'm predicting a year-end sweep (or at least a few more-than-pleasant comments). Pleistocene has penned some great songs here that, for lack of a more eloquent phrase, are just a really good time. "Big Bang" is a raucous introduction, building a hyper catchy tune off of a bouncy, electric piano. "Cream and Citrus" follows suit, making use of droning background synths and gain-saturated vocals.

Pleistocene are no one-trick-ponies though - for every delightfully straightforward track like "Butter," we are rewarded with something a little different like the ethereal "Talk to Me." The oddest moments on this album come from "Hit the Books" and "Finer Things" which, to pleistocene's credit, don't seem to fit into any discernible genre.  The guitar line in "Finer Things" alone was intriguing enough to make me crane my head to get my ear closer to the speakers. Once I realized how ridiculous I must have looked, I realized how exciting Pleistocene can be. 

Even though the band is capable of writing simple pop songs, the refreshing (and downright surprising) thing about Pleistocene is their ability to push the boundaries of pop music. "Finer Things" might not get attention from the radio in the way that "Big Bang" might, but the plethora of strange sounds and intriguing effects are enough to catch any person's ear in just the right way.

 Lastly, "The Band" finds Pleistocene channeling Wolf Parade with just a touch of cynicism. That being said, it's no secret that pop bands are a dime a dozen... And with the recent explosion of great new shoegaze and emo bands, it's a welcome experience to stumble upon a band like Pleistocene who knows how to mold pop music into an interesting format. I am usually biased since I live in Buffalo and all, but I have to say, Rochester and Pleistocene have set the bar pretty high this time.

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Tonight: The Bunny The Bear


Breet breet. Okay, so The Bunny The Bear doesn't actually have pig squeals, but wouldn't that be appropriate? The Buffalo-based post-hardcore group is hitting the Waiting Room tonight, clad in their trademark masks of - you guessed it - a bunny (who screams) and a bear. It's a little ridiculous (and I'm sure equally as fun), but hey, who is buffaBLOG to judge?

Supporting The Bunny The Bear are Jose Garzon, The Bella Donna, Lost Elysium, and As Summer Dies. Tickets are $13 at the door, 16+ for all you youngins, and doors open at 6:00pm.
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Inquiring Mind Releases New Genre-Defying Single



In some strange twist of fate, Buffalo's Inquiring Mind has discovered a way to mix Pavement and Lorde into some sort of ultra-hip, "Royals"-esque hybrid. The title of their song is "The Only Way," and the instrumentals have that out-of-tune slacker vibe without the out-of-tune ramblings of a frontman like Stephen Malkmus. In fact, frontwoman Jaz Frazier is quite the talented singer. If you don't believe me, feel free to listen below, or better yet, stop by the Steak & Cake 3 Year Anniversary show on February 15 - Inquiring Mind will be performing.  


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Just Announced: Manchester Orchestra


After a long three-year hiatus, Manchester Orchestra is back with a new single(see below) and a new album, titled Cope, set to drop on April 1st. These guys specialize in dirty, southern-ish anthems that bring to mind Neutral Milk Hotel and Built to Spill, but tinged with just the right amount of Brand New-like anger and angst... Not to mention Andy Hull's soul-crushing lyrics and the band's uncanny shiver-inducing sense of dynamics. 

The band will be making its return to Buffalo on Tuesday, May 20th, at the Town Ballroom. Concertgoers are almost guaranteed a spiritual experience during the emotional breakdown of songs like "Colly Strings" or "Everything to Nothing." Joining MO will be Bad Books collaborator Kevin Devine and Balance and Composure, both of whom just had successful headlining shows of their own throughout this past month. Tickets will go on sale this Friday, January 24th, at 10am for $16.50 in advance/$21 day of.


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Tonight: Balance and Composure with Cedar Kites and Real People


For those of us who have a worry free life, a perfect relationship, and a stellar group of friends who have never wronged you, my suggestion would be to look the other way...  But fans of loud, angry, emotion-packed music should definitely not miss this one - Balance and Composure will be hitting the Waiting Room tonight in all their alternative glory. Between the angry, sneering vocals and unreasonably huge guitar-driven choruses, listening to them is kind of like getting punched in the face while simultaneously punching someone else in the face... In other words, tonight is sure to be one of the sweatiest (in a good way) nights the venue has seen thus far.

Joining B&C are local favs Cedar Kites and Real People. Hit them up for tickets if you can - it's $12 with doors at 6:30pm. Don't miss the openers - I promise they are just as angry and sweaty as the headliner.



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Buffalo's Alleys Continue Emo's New Wave

Emo is back! I guess it's semi-official at least. Maybe we're just lumping every imperfect, heartfelt band into that one big category... Needless to say, one of Buffalo's newest emo offerings is Alleys, who self recorded their debut EP, It Happened Because They Left, and had it mixed by GCR's Jay Zubricky. Combining clever wordplay ("quell" is a personal favorite) with bouncy guitar riffs, Alleys could draw comparisons to now-defunct Rochester band Keeler, or emo mainstays like Everyone Everywhere or You Blew It!  Check them out below.
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buffaBLOG's Best of 2013: Staff Picks - Favorite Albums Part 1



Jon Krol

 David Bowie - The Next Day
Bowie disappeared for nearly a decade before returning with the best album he's released since the 70's. A dynamic, familiar-yet-still-reaching, piece of work that only adds to an already great legacy. Bowie is the representation of all things great and powerful in music. His is art, pop, love, loss, thrill and despair. This album, like Bowie's best, somehow manages to straddle the line between mainstream bubblegum and seedy-city sleaze without compromise. And "Valentine's Day" is one of the best songs he's ever released. Period.


Ryan Wolf

Vampire Weekend - Modern Vampires of the City
I am going to flip-flop what I said earlier in the year. Though I admire Modern Vampires of the City and Push the Sky Away about the same artistically, and both albums have resonated for me throughout 2013, I have to give a slight edge to Vampire Weekend that I granted to Nick Cave a few months ago only because of this: I listened to Modern Vampires more times. The music remains as devilishly catchy as it is profound.

 In the end, what I dub the greatest album of 2013 barely matters. But the bold existence of Modern Vampires of the City seems meaningful. Not only did the album turn a good band great, it brought spiritual questions to the forefront of the alternative and indie music scene in a playful but ultimately sincere way. Vampire Weekend did not simply name-drop biblical references for poetic cred: they dealt with contemporary religious crisis as if their very souls were on the line. When the market gets hip, the hip get hungry for something more than merely being cool.
Runners-Up: Push the Sky Away, Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds; Reflektor, Arcade Fire; Perils from the Sea, Mark Kozelek & Jimmy LaValle; AM, Arctic Monkeys


John Hugar

Janelle Monae - Electric Lady
This was not an easy choice -2013 had a ton of albums that could have taken the top honors in a lesser year, but no album in 2013 could match Monae's Electric Lady in terms of sheer ambition and creativity. Imagine if Prince, Outkast, ELO, and Funkadelic all made an album together, and you'd have a rough idea of what were dealing with. Anthems like "Q.U.E.E.N." and the title track manage to be political while not losing anything in danceability, while "Dance Apocalyptic" might be the most purely fun song since "Hey Ya." Really, though, there isn't a weak track on this album. With 19 tracks and a run-time over an hour, the album never drags or ceases to be interesting. A brilliant record from an artist who is probably just getting warmed up.



Nick Sessanna

 Pity Sex – Feast of Love
Almost all of my favorite albums are “growers…” That being said, Feast of Love is an excellent album that I really wasn’t expecting to grow attached to. Looking back, had I not given this album the chance it truly deserves, I really would have been missing out. Between the blissful shoegaze of lead single “Wind-Up” and the more subdued bass fuzz of “Keep,” this is an album truly appropriate for all moods. Call it “emogaze” if you will; it’s dirty enough to get you excited when you are happy and moody enough to satisfy any level of deep depression. The true strength of this album comes from co-lead singer Britty Drake – you’ll never hear her belting it out gospel-style, but her delivery on gems like “Hollow Body” is one of the saddest and unreasonably beautiful things I have ever heard. Recommended for fans of noisy shoegaze like My Bloody Valentine, straightforward fuzz rock like Smashing Pumpkins, or pretty much anything emotive you’d expect to hear at a basement show.



Ailsa Forlenza

 Unknown Mortal Orchestra - II 
Ever twist in circles while sitting on a swing? So tight that it seems the ropes are about to break, and then when you release, the whirred rush of the world undoes itself and perception ceases for a blissful moment. The release is what this album feels like to me. Guitar riffs that blur and swish a daydream paintbrush across a sonic page, and lyrics that push the boundaries of this album into a psychedelic realm. II lifted my subconscious and implanted a sweet reverie that I can access as soon as I hear "I wish that I could swim and sleep like a shark does/ I'd fall to the bottom and I'd hide til the end of time…"

Cliff Parks

Chvrches - The Bones Of What You Believe 
This debut from the Glasgow electronica is pure perfection from start to finish, a smart sugar rush of exquisitely crafted pop songs built around tasteful synths, undeniable beats, and the stunning vocals of steely Lauren Mayberry. While it wasn't a banner year for woman power and feminism in pop music, Chvrches' Mayberry proved to be a fine and much needed exception. Brilliantly sequenced and executed, this freshmen album came out of nowhere, and ended up owning me this year.



Tom Etu

 Tomahawk - Oddfellows
A "supergroup" of musical weirdos, Tomahawk had been silent for years until throwing this rock in the faces of music lovers who like their experimental rock with a side of fucked up. Oddfellows is not the best album of 2013, but it was widely overlooked and light needed to be shed on its grotesquely deformed underbelly. The lyrics take you into the regret of a jailbird and the patience of a sniper, with a few sprinkled references to kinky sex. It almost follows a deranged plotline. Duane Denison can still rock out with his Jesus Lizard out, and Mike Patton can still roar and then croon like a gentleman quicker than you can have a heart attack. The addition of bass player extraordinaire Trevor Dunn to the line-up gives this album a slinky jazz vibe. Sexy and repulsive. 


 For Part 2, click here.
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buffaBLOG's Best of 2013: Staff Picks - Favorite Songs Part 1



Jeannette Chin

 DJ Koze - "Marilyn Whirlwind"
Being someone who likes to listen to electronic music because of the puzzle-piece like configuration of its elements, for me, the release of "Marilyn Whirlwind" marks the debut of a new level of possibilities in bass production. Through the blocky, symmetrical template of its 4/4 thud (via an almost engine-rev like bass and kick), Koze cleverly weaves in a diverse catalog of sounds as the track progresses. And further listens reveal subtle tempo changes and bass chord progressions. It's one of those tracks that appear repetitive on the surface, upon starting it, yet four minutes in you find yourself still listening to it. Pure audio alchemy.

John Hugar

Nine Inch Nails - "Came Back Haunted"
While How To Destroy Angels, and the soundtracks to The Social Network and The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo were certainly compelling, it was great to see Trent Reznor recording music under the Nine Inch Nails banner once again. This was easily the best track off of Hesitation Marks. In classic NIN fashion, the tension build up in the first verse, then is released in the chorus, like pent-up rage being spat at the listener. A well-deserved hit, and Reznor's best single in years.



Cliff Parks

 Daft Punk - "Lose Yours"Lose Yourself To Dance (feat. Pharrell and Nile Rodgers) 
Sure "Get Lucky" was the song of the summer before "Blurred Lines" shamefully overshadowed it, but "Lose Yourself To Dance" was it for me this year. Nile Rodgers laid down the best guitar riff of the last few years for this Soul Train line dance worthy jam, and reminded us all why Johnny Marr named his son after him. Daft Punk's ambitious Random Access Memories was loaded with information and an album with a mission, but this jam was it's most straight ahead, pleasurable, and irresistible nugget. 


Steven Gordon

Shark? - "California Grrls"
A YouTube Vortex that either started with Thee Oh Sees or FIDLAR eventually introduced me to Shark? and the song “California Grrls.” It's a dark, guttural surf song made by tongue-in-cheek New Yorkers about a certain west coast sub-species. SPOILER: it's about girls from California. Super snide and catchy and accessible, too; it accounted for probably like 80% of my data plan the last couple months. Maybe I should have just paid for it instead of repeatedly smartphone jukeboxing it, but oh well ya live and ya learn. As a side note, “Minotaur” by Thee Oh Sees and “Cocaine” by FIDLAR are super-close runner-ups.


Jon Krol

The Impossibles- "Come Back" 
I have to give props to fellow buffaBLOG writer, Mike Moretti, for turning me on to this band, and in particular, this track. Heartfelt lyrics, a beast of a chorus, and hooks that made my head spin, I probably listened to this song a hundred times this year. As someone who grew up loving that early 2000's brand of emo-flavored indie rock this was the clear-cut choice. I could have chosen a song that was abstract (esoteric lyrics and the like), or a b-side cut. Perhaps a track without the obvious pop inclinations. But at the end of the day, I know what I like. And this song spoke to me. 


Ryan Wolf

Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds - "Higgs Boson Blues"
Following my flip-flopping attitude toward my mid-year list, I am swapping out "Ya Hey" for "Higgs Boson Blues." Perhaps the Nick Cave and Vampire Weekend releases are not so different after all as they both deal with spiritual angst, dread, and longing in the Digital Age. Nonetheless, the chilling "ooohs" that propel the "Higgs Boson Blues" plunge deeper into the unnameable than most anything on Vampire Weekend's magnum opus (no easy feat).

 The song icily reminds us that Martin Luther King Jr., Robert Johnson, Miley Cyrus, missionaries to Africa, and physicists at the superconductor in Geneva all inhabit the same world, where no thought, idea, or action is truly separable from any other. Great men die, pop stars float in swimming pools, and the universe carries on, fundamentally unaltered by our species' cultural shifts and scientific investigations.

 Runners-Up: "Ya Hey," Vampire Weekend; "Afterlife,"Arcade Fire; "Down Down the Deep River," Okkervil River; "I Sat By the Ocean," Queens of the Stone Age



Nick Sessanna

 Weatherbox – “Big News”
I have been repping this song all year and I don’t care who knows it. Between the impossibly irresistible guitar riff and singer/mastermind Brian Warren’s abstract-yet-relatable lyrics about how the entire world hates him, there’s really nothing about this song that isn’t flat out awesome. Listen and try not to get the alliterative “who got my bed bangin’ on the back of the board” stuck in your head for the next few hours. Recommended for fans of angular indie rock and 90s emo purists looking for something contemporary with sharp edges. Fans of Archers of Loaf, Say Anything, or Manchester Orchestra won’t be disappointed.



Click here for Part 2.
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buffaBLOG Holiday Party Artist Spotlight: Marine Biologist


It's that time of year again!  We buffaBLOGGERS will be hosting our annual Holiday Party at DBGB's this Saturday, December 21st. Of course, we have invited some of our favorite local acts to help us celebrate how great of a year 2013 was for music.  The anthemic Marine Biologist will be opening our party this year - they specialize in atmospheric, post-rock songs like "Allegro," which landed very high in our Best Songs of 2013 list. According to their bandcamp page, their latest batch of songs aims to take the focus off of traditional song structures and overblown instrumentals to focus on the bare bones of what makes music interesting in the first place...  In essence, it's bound to be a magical experience, especially as we introduce the rest of the artists throughout the week.  We'll see you Saturday at 10:00!
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buffaBLOG's Favorite Buffalo Tracks of 2013: 10 - 1


Well, here we are, our top 10 Buffalo songs of 2013. I took some time last night and re-listened to every song that we included on our countdown of Buffalo's best, and at the end of the night, I realized Buffalo is in a pretty good place right now when it comes to music. We have a great variety of bands all making entertaining and even, at times, genuinely thought-provoking music. A friend and I were talking the other day about how it is easy to knock local music. Statements like: "it's good...for Buffalo," are so casually tossed around because giving ourselves credit is sometimes really hard. The Super Bowl losses, lack of jobs, the weather, frequently color our opinions and are just projected onto our music scene. We end up thinking that if one thing is going to suck, then it's all going to suck.

 Growing up here has made me an eternal pessimist, but you can feel the city changing for the better, and I think our music scene is a perfect example of that. Why can't there be great bands in Buffalo? What is so different about this city than any other? Creativity flows just as fast as Blue Light you know. This was a great year for Buffalo music and I am proud to be part of it in some way or another. I hope you enjoy our top ten list as much as I do. It was a lot of fun to make. See everyone in 2014.
- Mac McGuire, Editor-in-Chief

10) The Malones - "Clenched Fist"
Even if you only casually follow buffaBLOG, you probably know that The Malones were probably one of the bands we covered most this year, and for good reason. With a sound that mixes the best aspects of The Strokes and Hot Hot Heat, these veterans of the scene (including Steak & Cake records mastermind Brandon Schlia) released their debut EP this year, and it was excellent. We decided on “Clenched Fist” for our top 20. The song doesn’t even breach the two minute mark, but when singer Steven Floyd yelps that his “ears are tape recorders and his mouth is a microphone,” you can’t help but get riled up. Oh, and I won’t forget to mention the band's secret weapon - Elliott Douglas’ delicious Steak & Cake bass lines. - NAS



9) Jack Toft - "Jump Up and Down"
Jack Toft had an amazing 2013. Between his numerous music video appearances, collaborations with up-and-coming emcees, and dropping singles so fast that buffaBLOG just simply could not keep up, Toft found time to partner up with producer TEEN WOLF to make an exceptional full-length album, TEENWOLF AND JACK TOFT. “Jump Up and Down” is arguably the most listener friendly track on the an already very listenable album. The song is abstract rap-pop where Toft hypes the listener to, well, jump and down, while also incorporating his signature delivery of one-liners, Allentown observations, and dated cultural references. Toft's partnership with TEEN WOLF spurred Toft's momentum this year which is on course to translate well into 2014. "Jump Up and Down" makes you want freak out with your buds, jump uppin' down and bust your nuts. - MJM



8) Bryan Johnson & Family - "Mt. Vesuvius"
Bryan Johnson & Family are Buffalo’s resident surf rockers. Despite Johnson's omnipresence in the Buffalo scene, he had yet to release a large batch of recordings of his songs until this year. BJ released “Mt. Vesuvius,” which might be one of the catchiest joints to come out of Buffalo in the history of time (perhaps even since the tragedy at Pompeii). With the surf rock tag, there are hints of Beach Fossils, Surfer Blood, and even a bit of Cloud Nothings. Regardless, BJ&FAM has perfected their surf rock sensibilities. Trust us when we say this is one of the best choruses of the year; 'I feel like, I feel just like Mt. Vesuvius' will be stuck in your head for days. - NAS

7) Failures' Union - "Between"
Indie rock veterans/mainstays Failures’ Union have always been known to deliver and definitely did not go against the grain with the lead single, “Between,” which is from their late 2013 full-length, Tethering. "Between" made its internet debut via music video in late August, resulting in the buffaBLOGGERS spending the tail end of the summer rocking out to heyday '90s indie rock. The video also sparked an internal blog debate as to whether or not Will Sasso makes a celebrity cameo at 1:00, but that's not very important. What is important is that Failures' Union is brash Americana for a blue collar city like Buffalo. They are the rust belt's Hold Steady and with age/experience, Failures' Union continue to become more refined. - MJM 

6) Forealists - "Livin' It Up"
For a city that seems to be dominated by punk bands and the latest wave of emo rock, the emergence of the party pop group, Forealists, this past summer was just the right amount of fun for the fairly pessimistic city. The funk/R&B/soul, hell even a little boy band, flavored outfit's debut single, "Livin' It Up," surfaced this past August with quite a bit of local buzz. The relatively simple music video, which mixes in performance cuts and the band 'cruisin round town' in a convertible on a pleasant summer day, became equally addicting. Who the hell is that guy in the mask by the way? No matter. "Livin' It Up" is a blast because it doesn't take itself too seriously. Sunny synths, great harmonies, and some of the best bass work in town make it hard for even the most anti-pop of people (that would include yours truly) to hate one of the more surprise hits to come out of Buffalo this year. - MPM



5) Cinnamon Aluminum - "Girls in Disguise"
Cinnamon Aluminum has always been an unpredictable enigma, both as performance artists and musicians. Sometimes their songs are surface level electronic tracks, while others are best described as upbeat acid/jamtronica fronted by a nun with a strap-on dildo. Regardless of your favorite flavor of Cinnamon Aluminum, it’s undeniable that this band has a gift for commanding attention. Knowing this, we were pleasantly surprised to find “Girls in Disguise,” nestled as track four off of the band’s farewell EP titled Guys, Warlords. Girls. “Girls in Disguise” is enchanting dance-punk track featuring front man Hurricane Relic mumbling/babbling about girls lying/wearing disguises accompanied with Kristachuwan’s smooth jazz saxophone and a !!!-like percussion backing provided by Kid on Purpose. If you told me that "Girls in Disguise," was from the latest batch of DFA signees or a James Murphy production, I would believe it. It's that good. - MJM



4) Marine Biologist - "Allegro"
I noted earlier in this post that what I loved most about Forealists' "Livin' It Up" is that the song didn't take itself to seriously. It was a fun tune about, well, having fun. Now, take what I just said and throw that out when it comes to Marine Biologist. This post-rock four piece is dead serious and wants you to know it. Take the opening track to their devastatingly good EP New Works. Formally under the rather long working name of "WE'VE SEEN ALL OF THIS BEFORE. NOTHING IN THE WORLD IS NEW. IT'S ALL BEEN DONE," "Allegro" is a stirring call to arms with a slow building intro of muted riffs and big drums. Front man Aaron Folmsbee spends the first minute of vocals reminding us how fucking boring life can be: 'We've seen all of this before. Nothing in the world is new.' Hell yes we have! "Allegro," thematically, recalls the stuck-in-the-suburbs dread of Arcade Fire's Funeral or what many post-grads must be thinking after that first job honeymoon fizzles. Think the heavy emotions of the Antlers backed by post-rock heavy weights Mogwai or Explosions in the Sky, and you have yourself Marine Biologist. - MPM



3) Smart House - "Car Ride"
Things have been a bit quiet on the Smart House front as of late, but earlier this year, the four piece electro pop act captured our attention with their incredible debut single "Car Ride." Led by the Ogadzhanov Brothers, Alek and Staz, Smart House recalls the sunny side of the Cure and just enough Wild Nothing to get you dancing. You can't listen to "Car Ride" and tell me you don't hear a lot of "Pictures of You" in that guitar or even a sans vocals "Boy's Don't Cry" in the song's first half. When we talked about this song at the year's half way point, nostalgia seemed to be the driving factor of our love for "Car Ride." For me, I am reminded of those endless nights as a teen in Amherst with nothing to do and nowhere to go, but everything still ahead of me. Those nights were perfect. I can almost pin it down to the exact second in song, right around that sun peaking through the haze moment at the 1:57 mark, where those feelings emerge. "Car Ride" reminds me of a time in my life when things were so much more simple, before bills and 9-5 jobs, before the thought of marriage and children were running through my mind, a time I still wish I could go back to every now and then. - MPM 



2) JOHNS - "Worm Wall"
When we got hold of the pre-release zip file of JOHNS’ House of Wrongheads, there was an instant excitement that 2013 was going to be a great year for Buffalo music. “Worm Wall” is the first track on House of Wrongheads, and is a droning, dissonant work of beauty with an eerie sense of urgency. From lead singer Johnny Toohill’s ghoulish 'ooo' ing introduction, to the band’s one-chord jam session breaking out at the two minute mark, and ending with drummer Ryan McMullen’s tribal drum outro, this haunted-garage rock five-piece has made one of the best songs we’ve heard in years. - MJM

1) Del Paxton - "Motion Sick"
Well, it’s unanimous. Del Paxton captured our hearts this year with Worst. Summer. Ever., a six song EP of perfect emo-meets-math-rock masterpieces. It was hard to pick only one, but in “Motion Sick,” Del Paxton gradually crescendos out of their soaring, angular indie rock into a blissful, reserved sing-along, complete with jazzy drums and far-off harmonies. This EP perfectly encapsulates where the emo genre was headed before it was bastardized – Del Paxton is able to be introspective without being sad. The blend of emotion, complexity, intelligence, and just the right amount of pop sensibility helps this album appeal to almost anyone you can think of. Emo enthusiasts, fussy musicians, gear nerds… even punks. I think we can all agree on one thing, Del Paxton brought it home this year. This is music that makes you want to fall in love. - NAS 

If you missed songs 20 - 11, you can check them out here.
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buffaBLOG's Favorite Buffalo Tracks of 2013: 20 - 11


This past year, we at buffaBLOG carefully combed through hundreds bandcamp pages, e-mails, soundclouds, and even facebook music pages to pick out the 20 best tracks from the year of 2013. Yesterday we reviewed our five close call tracks. Today begins the first half of our official top 20 countdown. 


20) The Traditional - "Retribution"
It's not really a secret that Buffalo's indie/punk scene has a lot of talent. So with so many great songs and bands to choose from, it's definitely saying something that one of the best songs in the genre this year came from the Traditional. Recorded at Buffalo's own GCR with Jay Zubricky, "Retribution" is a painfully honest kiss-off to an ex. The song exemplifies precisely what makes emo so great - taking singer Anthony Musior's sincere, twenty-something angst and encapsulating it into a no-nonsense burst of energy and anger. There is nothing about this song that isn't catchy - even the instrumentals are flawless (Hint: Mike Bienias' blistering lead guitar lines). "Retribution" isn't overblown or over produced, and that's precisely what makes its so poignant. "All I wanted was some retribution for the things that you said, don't want to make it work - I want to make it hurt worse than it ever did." - NAS



19) Victory for Poland - "Save Yourself From Me"
V4P might be the youngest band on the top 20, but "Save Yourself From Me" shows an astounding amount of songwriting skill from a group of high school age musicians. Featuring a slew of horns, fiddles, and a guest appearance from Brimstone Blondes frontman Matthew Danger Lippman, "Save Yourself From Me" is saturated with all sorts of genres, including psych rock, ska, and even some folk, all with a "can't-quite-put-your-finger-on-it" flavor of  "that could only be from the UK." We buffaBLOGGERS have been mourning the loss of many of our favorite high school aged bands this year but luckily, Victory for Poland is still around. - NAS



18) Strange Acres - "Faith"
Strange Acres’ crawling “Faith” was arguably the most gripping track off of the band’s impressive debut self titled full length. A Harvest Sum super group of sorts, Strange Acres (featuring former members of Sleeping Kings of Iona and current members of Orphans) began as the score to an imaginary film, but the band eventually evolved beyond their original “cinematica” concept. The album's first track, “Faith,” accentuates the sultry songstress Molly Grace’s, chillingly dreary delivery as well as highlights her personal struggle with religion. Fans of chilled out electro (Fever Ray, Portishead), will dig this. - MJM



17) Andy Vaeth  - "Never Make a Sound"
As a member of Johnny Nobody, the Old Sweethearts, On Beta, and the Backpeddlers, Andy Vaeth has been entrenched in the Buffalo music scene for over a decade. For someone involved in so many projects, it was a welcome surprise when he released his solo EP, Sad Synthetic Sounds, via Steak & Cake Records. Vaeth, whose voice has long been one of Buffalo's secret weapons, sounds as fragile as ever on the gorgeous, alt-country tinged "Never Make a Sound." The track is a bare bones tune featuring the singer and his trusty acoustic guitar. Little touches like the layered vocals during the chorus, subtle electronic melody, and the digital drum beat remind you that this is a Steak & Cake release after all, but Vaeth, as always, manages to convey emotions through three and a half minutes better than almost anyone in Buffalo. - MPM



16) Cross Stitch - "Worst Dancer in the Room"
I have a confession. I get a lot of music sent to me via the internet and as a “music journalist” I would be bankrupt if I bought every digital release I liked. I am the guy that types “0” in the pay what you want option on bandcamp. Now that I got that off my chest, I enjoyed Cross Stitch’s debut six-song EP, The Early Years (Drug Party Tapes), so much that I bought it. Cross Stitch is an all-girl feminist punk band that sounds like a punkier Marnie Stern in a basement with Sleater-Kinney undertones. “Worst Dancer in the Room,” is the fifth track on their EP, a slow-to-start crescendo-ing diddy about the fear of being alone. - MJM



15) Space Wolves - "Too Short"
You would think that the lo-fi surf rock that comes from Space Wolves would be happy-go-lucky or at the very least, irreverent. Sometimes it is – some of their best songs are about buying cigarettes on the Res or driving out of state. That’s not quite the case with “Too Short”… not even close actually. After a burst of pipeline guitar, Nick Reynolds and Chris Scamurra launch into an intelligent, albeit self-deprecating song about being, well, just not quite good enough. “Too Short” is about that little voice in all of us that reminds us of all the insecurities  we secretly hope no one else notices.But at the end of the day, this is why buffaBLOG loves Space Wolves so much - we can count on them for both genuine emotion or a song about buying cheap cigarettes. Now that’s a balance I can relate to. - NAS



14) Mallwalkers - "Going Downtown"
If I were to make a video compilation of memories from summer 2013, Mallwalkers’ “Going Downtown” would be the soundtrack provided my memories were summed up in roughly three minutes. For those unaware, Mallwalkers is a super-group of sorts, featuring a few Buffalo’s major players in the rock and roll scene (Biff, Dan Carosa, Stephen Floyd, Tony Flaminio). They could best be described as an 11-piece punchy funk-punk band, complete with a horn section and interpretive dancer. “Going Downtown,” was the first single off the band’s August release, Shake Off The Rust, where singers Carosa and Jaime Rowitsch sing of gathering the masses in downtown Buffalo like punk rock pied pipers. - MJM



13) Lancer - "Elephant in the Corner"
Rarely does an album make me want to cuff my arm around my buddy’s neck and scream lyrics from a band, let alone a local band, in their face. Lancer’s Don is Rich EP is full of such moments, with “Elephant in the Corner” being the most outstanding on an already very strong EP. Lead singer Victor Castillo gravely vocals and delivery of “Elephant in the Corner's” chorus make me excited to see how this band will grow in 2014. Lancer does not make songs, they make pop-punk anthems. - MJM
 

12) Camp Counselors - "Charyou"
Haunting. OK, I got that word out of the way mostly because its the easiest/laziest description one could give to "Charyou," the standout track from Huntress, Cemeteries mastermind Kyle J. Reigle's side project Camp Counselors. "Charyou" leads off with an unnerving, throbbing beat that gives way to Reigle's airy vocals. Out of nowhere, (well specifically the 2:05 mark) "Charyou" transforms into a cut of atmospheric witchhouse. The sense of dread that Reigle loves to deliver lingers over the entire tune, never allowing you to get too comfortable. Fans of The xx, Atoms for Peace, Timber Timbre, and modern Radiohead, this is for you. - MPM

11) Applennium - "Island"
Applennium might be one of Buffalo’s most understated and underrated bands. If you think this is a point worth arguing, you should first listen to the dreamy groove of “Island.” Singer Stacey Stoll’s hushed delivery is flawless, reminiscent of Still Corners or even Karen O if she took a Xanax or something. On top of this, they’ve filled the background of “Island” with distant vocals that range from a haunting moan to a “tribal” howl. I can really appreciate when a band takes the time to fill out the background of a song. So, yes, this song isn’t quite a face-melting barnburner, but it is the perfect song to put on when you want to chill out and melt into your bed. - NAS




 Check out songs 10 - 1 here.
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buffaBLOG's Favorite Buffalo Tracks of 2013: Five Close Calls


With Rochester behind us, it's time to turn our attention to Buffalo's year in music. After spending months listening to great (and not so great) music to come out of the Queen City, our committee spent the last few weeks ranking our top tracks of the year. While our top 20 will come later this week, we had five songs that just missed the cut that we feel deserve attention too. You can think of them as the 25 through 21 best songs from Buffalo this year if you like. We call them our five close calls. 

Alex Berkley - "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan"
Unassuming Buffalo singer/songwriter Alex Berkley has been releasing collections of witty yet touching folk music for years. Following the release of his ambitious 28 Days of Fun project in March, Berkley channeled his inner fan boy for his Star Trek tribute EP, The Star Trek Movies. On the EP's opening ode to the series' favorite ripped, space tyrant , "The Wrath of Khan," the songwriter recounts the events of the second Star Trek installment, matching the detailed lyrics with the singer's trusty classical guitar, subtle backing vocals, and always welcome heartland harmonica. Fans of the Weakerthans should be digging through Berkley's catalog right now. - MPM                                                 


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
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